Hat Chat

Last week Purdue presented the annual Woman in Agriculture Award. One of the women honored was Beth Bechdol. Bechdol has been a true behind the scenes movers and shaker of Indiana agriculture. Bechdol served Indiana agriculture most recently as deputy director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture where she helped lead the process to craft a strategic plan for the industry. She also participated and helped plan six governor and lieutenant governor trade missions to Asia, Central America, Europe, and Mexico. She helped Indiana‘s agriculture industry through her work in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as chief of staff to the Undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services and by serving as deputy staff economist on the Senate Agriculture Committee with Sen. Richard G. Lugar. She resides on her family farm in Auburn, where she represents the sixth generation of family members to live there. She is currently serving as director of agribusiness strategies at Ice Miller LLP. She is also an advisor to the Daniels campaign on agriculture.

When you stop and think about it, there are a number of women who are in key positions to influence and direct Indiana Agriculture. Tammy Lawson heads up the Soil Conservation Service; Jane Hardisty heads Indiana NRCS; Julie Wickard is Executive Director of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association; Jane Ade Stevens runs the GINA program; Beth Archer heads the AgriInstitute; Deb Abbott is a high ranking department head at ISDA; Cindy Hoye runs the State Fair; Jeanette Merritt runs the Wine grape Council; Renee McKee is a top official at Purdue, directing the state’s 4-H program; and of course Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture is Becky Skillman.

For an industry dominated by men, we sure have a lot of women running Indiana agriculture. Keep it up ladies; you’re doing a great job!