Kern S. Hendrix, BS ’67, West Lafayette, who retired from

Purdue in 2003 as Extension beef specialist, a position he held for almost 30 years. He continues to give leadership to beef cattle programs as secretary/treasurer of the Indiana Beef Evaluation Program and director of the IBEP Bull Test Station.

His professional expertise in cattle nutrition and management were invaluable to Hoosier cattle producers, but it’s his manner and ability to communicate with anyone at any level that they remember most. He met his clients where they were and taught them in their real-life classrooms.

Don D. Jones, PhD ’76, West Lafayette, who is a professor and Extension agricultural engineer at Purdue, where he has served on the faculty since 1976. He was recently appointed assistant Extension program leader for agriculture and natural resources.

With his extensive applied research, teaching and Extension programs in the area of agricultural structures and environmental systems, Jones has made a tremendous impact on the discipline of waste management, both as it relates to livestock production and to home sewage disposal.

W. Dean Jones, BS ’61, Crown Point, Ind., who retired in 2003 after serving Purdue Extension for 30 years as a county and area educator, including 20 years as county Extension director in Lake County.

While he was Extension director in Lake County, he also served as coordinator of the Lake County Community Development Committee and as a board member and president of the Lake County Park Board. He also was a board member for Leadership Northwest Indiana, and he has served as a member and president of the Lake County Plan Commission and as president of the Lake County Library Foundation.

Marshall A. Martin, MS ’72, PhD ’76, West Lafayette, who is associate director of Agricultural Research Programs and professor of agricultural economics at Purdue. He joined the Purdue faculty in 1976, and his leadership is recognized in the areas of agricultural policy and the economic assessment of agricultural biotechnology and integrated pest management. He has lived in South America for six years (Bolivia and Brazil) and has taught and conducted research in more than 20 countries.

Martin is the executive secretary of the Indiana Farm Policy Study Group and secretary of the Indiana Pork Board, and he served on the USDA Ag Biotechnology Advisory Board.

David L. Miers, BS ’70, Greensburg, Ind., who is a sixth-generation farmer operating a farm that has been run by his family for 173 years. Miers is an innovator in agricultural production, having been an early adopter of GPS technology, grid soil sampling and variable rate lime and fertilizer application.

Miers’ primary crop is seed corn for Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and he has consistently been among top seed corn producers and has worked closely with the company to experiment with different planting patterns to maximize yields. Miers served as Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh’s first deputy commissioner of agriculture and was the chairman of the Indiana State Fair Commission.

Alan L. Sutton, West Lafayette, who is professor of animal sciences at Purdue, where he has served on the faculty since 1971. He is known nationally as a pioneer and leader in the relatively young field of nutrient management. His research has focused on determining management practices to utilize animal manures as a resource and to minimize the threat of pollution from animal manures.

Recent research has focused on diet manipulation to reduce nutrient outputs and to reduce odor emissions from manure. Sutton helped establish the National Center for Manure and Animal Waste Management, and he has given presentations in at least 13 countries.