Farm Credit partners help make Purdue building a reality 

Last fall, Purdue broke ground on two buildings that make up the new Purdue Animal Sciences complex.

More than 50 years ago Purdue University’s Animal Science Department moved into the new, state-of-the-art Lilly Hall of Life Sciences. Since then, agriculture has undergone an incredible transformation, spurred by growth in production and technology. For Purdue to continue to be an important player in Indiana agriculture and to make an impact on livestock agriculture across the country and around the world, new facilities and modern labs and equipment are essential. 

Last fall, Purdue broke ground on two buildings that make up the new Purdue Animal Sciences complex. At the November 6 groundbreaking, Purdue’s dean of agriculture, Jay Akridge, spoke to the urgency of the need. “This department is an important provider of human talent and an important provider of research and extension for animal agriculture,” he said. “They needed world-class space to do the world-class work that that industry needs and our students need as they take positions of leadership in the animal industries.”

Construction is underway on the Hobart and Russell Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences and the Land O’Lakes Center for Experiential Learning. The former will include 90,000 square feet and be the new home of the Department of Animal Sciences, while the latter will include 22,000 square feet of research and teaching space. 

To help this dream move from planning to reality, Farm Credit Mid-America invested $150,000. The gift was matched by two Farm Credit partners, AgriBank and CoBank, to bring the total Farm Credit gift to $450,000. In addition, Farm Credit Mid-America donated more than $100,000 and countless volunteer hours to a variety of other Purdue initiatives over the past year. 

Farm Credit Mid-America President and CEO Bill Johnson said that the gifts have been an excellent investment. “Purdue is known not only in America but around the world for its leadership in many facets of agriculture, including developing future leaders and strengthening the economies and quality of life in rural areas,” he said. “Those are values we share, and a big part of why we value our relationship with Purdue’s College of Agriculture.”