Welcome to the 2025 Purdue Extension Annual Impact Report! We are honored to share stories that highlight what our Extension educators and specialists have accomplished collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders throughout Indiana.
This year’s report features how research conducted at Purdue’s College of Agriculture is being utilized in critical situations such as dealing with how tar spot is affecting corn crops, how and why invasive species need to be monitored, and how Extension is assisting farmers affected by and concerned with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (bird flu). Extension also directly benefits the quality of people’s lives, as featured in articles about community childcare, 4-H teen leadership and a collaboration between Purdue and Health First Indiana to address community health needs.
Recently, Purdue Extension launched an important initiative to strengthen outreach and collaboration with Indiana’s communities. Two Regional Teams have been formed, one in the west and one in the east portion of the state. These teams will bring Extension staff and county officials together from multiple counties to evaluate needs, share resources and amplify benefits. Our goal is to learn from this effort by reaching out to our colleagues and community members for input and insights. By the end of 2026 we anticipate announcing how our Regional Team model will be adapted throughout Indiana.
Thank you for supporting and working with Purdue Extension to make a critical contribution to our state’s agricultural achievements, youth development, citizens’ health and welfare and community growth and success.
Purdue Extension’s Community Childcare team has been working with local providers to effect change. Carroll County ranked 91st out of 92...
With an economic impact of more than $2 million, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program — supported by Purdue Extension in...
Purdue Extension has helped subdue invasive species ranging from kudzu and emerald ash borer to thousand canker disease and spongy moth. The work...
Since 1904, 4-H programs in all 92 Indiana counties have invested in and empowered Indiana’s youth. Purdue Extension continues this legacy by...
When Terry Briscoe’s doctor recommended the Food Is Medicine program led by Purdue Extension Miami County, Briscoe was skeptical. He was...
Tar spot looks innocuous at first, but the tiny black dots on leaves scattered across a cornfield can lead to significant yield losses —...
Tech Changemakers is at the heart of Purdue Extension’s 4-H Youth Development mission: preparing teens for personal and professional success...
After Indiana’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in January 2025, Adams County Purdue Extension educator Brad Kohlhagen...
Growing communities means growing job needs and opportunities. Across its four program areas, Purdue Extension is helping the Hoosier workforce...
Indiana’s 18 employability skills standards for youth include integrity, perseverance, adaptability, self-confidence and problem solving. For...
Last year in a 4-H pilot program called Discovery Challenge, Madison Hardy chose to study Yorkshire pigs. “I’m in 4-H, and every year I...
As vice president of programs for the Hendricks County Community Foundation, Eric Hessel has been in his share of meetings. He can spot one...
Vivian Delatorre is part of the first cohort in Purdue Extension’s Food as Medicine program held in the new Healthy Communities Teaching...
Purdue Extension’s Scott Gabbard had known Mike and Anngie Steinbarger since their daughters Hayley and Michelle — now married with...
Stacy Killion credits the training she received from Purdue Extension’s board development program for her positive experience as a volunteer...
Looking ahead … Purdue Extension is always assessing the needs of our Indiana communities to provide practical, research-based information to...
Purdue Extension, in collaboration with the University of West Indies at St. Augustine, is implementing the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter...
Busy running a medium-sized milling operation as a family-owned business, Lynn Stieglitz hadn’t given much thought to succession...
Adam McQueen, assistant chief probation officer at Wayne County Probation, is an active member of the Taking Action to Address Substance Use in...
Changes are a normal part of life; however, sudden or unexpected changes, such as a divorce or separation of parents, can significantly affect...
Mark Kingma, farmer cooperator in Jasper County, has been farming for 45 years with his family. In addition to knowledge from years of experience,...
Purdue Extension is addressing workforce development in Indiana with an overriding goal to foster prosperity for individuals, communities and...
The Ag Innovators’ mission is to train 4-H youth to utilize modern technology for precision agriculture and other 21st century career paths....
Sam Gettinger, owner of Gettinger Family Custom Meats in New Palestine and Rushville,says the stress of working in the meat packing industry...
Ranked as first in the nation for commercial duck production, second in production of layer and table eggs and third for turkeys raised, Indiana is...
An advisor from the Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Agribusiness Initiative can help. The service is one on one, confidential and...
Diana Dickerson, a veteran family and consumer sciences teacher at Mooresville High School, has long observed that even some of her academically...
As Indiana communities seek to increase quality of life and long-term economic growth, limited availability of a diverse supply of housing options...
In collaboration with Arizona State University, University of Illinois, and University of Florida, Indiana 4-H received a grant from the...
Purdue Extension Jackson County health and human sciences educator, and representatives from numerous organizations at Healthy Jackson County...