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.
Courtesy Jim Beaty
2 LEADERS IN OVER 70 YEARS: Until Jim Beaty (left) retired recently, only he and the late Ozzie Luetkemeier (right) had served as superintendents at the Purdue Agronomy Farm. Purdue’s Jim Beaty reflects on changes as he retires as Agronomy Farm superintendent.
The Purdue University Agronomy Center for Recreation and Education has had three name changes but only two superintendents since it was established as the Purdue University Agronomy Farm in 1949. The late Ozzie Luetkemeier was the first superintendent, and he handed the torch to Jim Beaty in 1986. Beaty held the post until he retired at the beginning of 2021.