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| Corn mazes are one of the
most popular agri-tourism attractions in Indiana and around
the nation. |
"Jerry is someone we can go to and ask questions,”
says PPA president Louie Rusch. “If he doesn’t know
the answer, he’ll say, ’Let me look into that for you,’
or ‘I’ve heard of something like that at Purdue.’”
Nelson also connected PPA with Purdue’s
Technical Assistance Program (TAP), which helps Indiana’s
business, industry and government sectors implement new technology.
PPA used TAP’s services to evaluate its feasibility study.
“TAP crunched some numbers for us and developed a computer
program to evaluate scenarios for different prices of corn. This
information helped us determine if the plant was feasible,”
Rusch says.
When the plant is built, Nelson anticipates that
30 or more jobs will be generated and that PPA will be producing
a value-added product with a rapidly increasing demand.
“Without Purdue Extension, our project
would be two years behind schedule,” Rusch says. “Purdue
has been a tremendous help to us, and the expertise that Jerry brought
to the project was irreplaceable.”
The process served as a learning experience for
Nelson, as well. Through it, he compiled information that he’ll
be able to use as resources for future projects.
Diverse developments
Purdue Extension educators and specialists are
assisting with a wide range of economic development ventures throughout
the state. This effort will be boosted by a $1 million grant from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create an agricultural innovation
center in Indiana to assist farmers and rural businesses in developing
value-added agricultural ventures.
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