Courtesy Jim Beaty
HISTORIC DRIVE: Jim Beaty “drives” this restored Farmall tractor, used in wheat breeding at the Purdue Agronomy Farm, to its destination atop the loft inside the Beck’s Ag Center. Longtime ag center superintendent recalls advances in technology over his career.
Anyone who has visited the former Purdue Agronomy Farm over the past 35 years has likely met Jim Beaty. He served as superintendent of the Purdue Departmental Farm near West Lafayette until he retired at the end of 2020.
To say that the Purdue Agronomy Farm changed during his tenure is an understatement. It was nothing short of a transformation, starting with name changes. “It was the Purdue Agronomy Farm, then it became the Purdue Agronomy Research Center,” Beaty says. Later, it was changed to its current name, the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education, commonly referred to as Purdue ACRE.