INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — For the past six years Purdue University extension has singled out two women for exemplary service to Indiana agriculture, presenting them with its prestigious Women in Agriculture Award.

One is the Achievement Award, for a woman directly involved in a home farming operation, and the other is the Leadership Award, given to a woman in agribusiness or a policymaking position. Christa Holloway, an extension educator in Fulton County and organizer of the annual awards program at the Indiana State Fair, said it was created to recognize women who have made a positive contribution to ag.

“By validating the importance of women in the industry, we hope to encourage others to seek agriculture as their livelihood,” said Holloway. “Since Purdue extension is about making a difference in the lives of people, it is only fitting the awards go to two women who have gone above and beyond in their respective realms.

“They are role models for both women and men, by educating people about Indiana agriculture.”

Chosen for this year’s Achievement Award was Stacey Pedigo of Dorsey Farms in Frankfort. The Leadership Award went to Susan Brocksmith, chair of the Vincennes University Business and Management Department.

Pedigo said when she was told she was going to receive the honor, “I thought they had the wrong person.” She said it was difficult for her to differentiate what she does from what hundreds of other Indiana farm women do.

But her work at Dorsey Farms, her father’s 1,500-acre corn, soybean and wheat operation, was judged to be significant, as was her involvement in education and farm-related organizations in Clinton County. “I spent 10 years in 4-H, but now my involvement with farm groups is a lot more fun,” said Pedigo, adding she’s not competing against anyone for a trophy. “Now I can just enjoy the event.”

Away from the farm, she is an instructor in the Ag in the Classroom project and co-chair of the Clinton County Farm Education Conservation Camp. That project works with fourth-graders and is co-sponsored by the Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Clinton County Farm Bureau.

As part of that project, Pedigo and her husband, Aaron, created a farm trivia computer game for students called “Reap What You Sow.” It is modeled after the television game show “Jeopardy!”

For the past 14 years, Pedigo has been a 4-H volunteer and one project of which she is especially proud is the Tractor Project. Open to youngsters from third through 12th grades, the tractor project teaches safety and proper driving technique on tractors of all sizes, but especially lawn and garden tractors.

Since that kind of equipment is common on all farms, she said it’s important for children to learn how to safely operate them. “I learned how to drive on a small tractor and a lot of children today do, too,” she said.

In addition, Pedigo helped establish a chapter of the Clinton County Young Farmers and last spring, received a grant to create an outdoor classroom at Blue Ridge Elementary School in Frankfort for students to grow vegetables and flowers.

Brocksmith, who grew up on a farm near Bicknell in Knox County, in southern Indiana, continues to farm with her husband, Mike, and since 1993 has led the agribusiness program at Vincennes University, the state’s two-year community college. In that time she has added an Introduction to Precision Agriculture course and a one-year program for a Precision Ag Certificate.

“This is such an honor,” said Brocksmith. “It’s important to note that no one ever gets to this level without the help of others.” She not only thanked her family, but also her colleagues and students at Vincennes. 

“I try to be an advocate for agriculture,” she said. “It’s easy to point a finger at agriculture about what it’s doing and how it’s doing it, but only time will tell how wonderful agriculture really is.”

The Brocksmiths farm some 1,500 acres in southwestern Indiana. Their two daughters helped as they were growing up, but today Victoria is a student at Butler University and Cassandra is a student at DePauw University.

The family farm, P.E. Brocksmith & Son, Inc., annually hosts two leadership groups where participants learn about agriculture and agribusiness. The farm also has hosted no-till field days, tours and soil-judging contests.

Brocksmith is a member of the Knox County Ag Day Committee and is involved with organizing educational activities for more than 400 fifth-graders from 10 schools. “We bring together fifth-graders on Ag Day and feed 2,000 of them for 50 cents each to show them the portion of the cost of the meal that goes to farmers,” she said.

“I live, eat and breathe agriculture. It’s humbling, in all honesty, to be recognized like this. Agriculture is a family in the broadest sense of the word. What we do is take care of each other,” said Brocksmith. “When I see the kids I deal with grow so much in two years, it makes me proud.”