SfL Network
The Indiana Smart Agriculture Work Group
Indiana Smart Agriculture Work Group
Solutions from the Land and Purdue University’s College of Agriculture are supporting a special self-directed Work Group, composed of Indiana agricultural thought leaders and value chain partners, who together are exploring and assessing the impacts that potential extreme weather events and changing climatic conditions are having and are expected to have on the state’s agriculture sector. More than 80 percent of Indiana’s land is devoted to farms and forests and every 10 jobs directly related to agriculture supports an additional eight jobs in the state. The Indiana Smart Agriculture (INSA) Work Group is Co-Chaired by Don Villwock, a farmer and past President of the Indiana Farm Bureau and Tom McKinney, corn and soybean farmer.
Goals Include:
Assist Indiana agriculture leaders
in examining the potential vulnerabilities and opportunities created by changing climatic conditions in ways that are relevant to their daily lives;
Equip producers
with the tools and knowledge they need to make informed decisions and manage new risks under changing conditions; and
Mobilize thought leaders
Work Group
Leaders
Producer of Non GMO corn and soybeans, commercial corn, seed soybeans, Plenish soybeans and some commercial soybeans, uses cover crops on several hundred acres.
Don Villwock, is a retiring no-till sustainable farmer from Edwardsport Indiana. Don and his wife Joyce have no-tilled for 40 years and have used cover crops for over 20 years. He produces white corn, seed soybeans, seed wheat and popcorn. Don served as president of Indiana Farm Bureau and was a founding board member of the 25×25 renewable energy group.
Group Members
Work Group Activities
Building a Resilient Future
The INSA Work Group has issued its new report, “Indiana Smart Agriculture: Building a Resilient Future for Indiana Farms and Forests.” It is the culmination of a more than a year of meetings and listening sessions to construct and build support for a science-based, climate-smart action plan that can guide future policies, programs, partnerships, and investments needed for Indiana agriculture to adapt and thrive.
It identifies five major pathways leading to Indiana’s Smart Agriculture Future, with lists of needs and multiple associated action points the INSA Work Group proposes for consideration and discussion among the wide range of stakeholders needed to make this future a reality. Read the news release about the new 2024 report.
The Phase One Report, released by INSA in January 2023, contains the Work Group’s initial assessments of climate change impacts on Indiana agriculture and set the stage for the latest report and action recommendations.
Next Steps
In its next phase of work, INSA share will its findings and recommendations with other agricultural stakeholder organizations and build a coalition to secure policymaker and value chain partner support for their adoption. The INSA Work Group invites all stakeholders, and especially young, next-generation farmers and ranchers, from across Indiana’s agriculture and forestry value chains to join the conversation and be part of Indiana’s resilient future.
In the Press
Stories from Indiana Leaders
No results.
INSA Project News
Check out SfL updates related to the Indiana Smart Agriculture Work Group.