The US EDA grant will enable Benton, Jasper, Newton, Pulaski, Starke, and White counties to examine the agricultural output in their regions to identify opportunities for creating new markets, applications, or processing facilities that can enhance the local value of the agricultural output. This will create new markets and income for local farmers, generate more local jobs connected to agriculture, and capture a greater source of revenue for the region’s communities.

The Rural Economic Development model was created as a collaboration between the Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA), Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) with support from the Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

“I’m very appreciative of the opportunity for Pulaski County to be involved in this effort to highlight agriculture and work to add value to the many commodities produced by our farmers,” said Pulaski County Commissioner Chuck Mellon. “I’m pleased to see Pulaski County, partnering with five other counties, taking the lead in developing an agriculture strategy that will add value to the commodities our farmers grow. As we work to sustain our local communities we need to build upon one of our strengths. Agriculture provides that opportunity in rural Northwest Indiana.”    

The Rural Economic Development Model employs a proprietary technology developed by PCRD that enables counties and regions to examine the agricultural output unique to their locale, and then engages a local planning team composed of local economic development officials, farmers, and other local stakeholders to create and implement a plan to leverage local agricultural outputs, expand existing agribusinesses and attract new economic opportunities.

The 18-month process kicked off in the third quarter of 2021 and will be completed in the autumn of 2022.