UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three clubs in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences got a recent boost from a new gift from Pivot Bio, a company specializing in products that optimize crop production through specific nitrogen delivery.
The gift, part of the company’s visit to the University Park campus on Sept. 26 — the same day as the University’s Homecoming football game against the University of Wisconsin-Madison — will support the Agribusiness Management, Agronomy and Dairy Science clubs.
The visit was part of the company’s Year of One Million Thanks Buddy Seat Tour, during which it is visiting states nationwide to celebrate and thank farmers.
Troy Ott, Peter and Ann Tombros Dean of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was on hand alongside club members to accept the gift.
“Student success through hands-on learning and involvement is a core tenet of the College of Agricultural Sciences,” he said. “We’re thankful for Pivot Bio’s support, which will help fuel the academic and professional journeys of our students.”
Travis Frey, chief technology officer at Pivot Bio and an alumnus of both Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that both universities have deep roots in agriculture, so it was fitting to bring the Year of One Million Thanks Tour to Saturday’s game.
“These universities helped shape how I think about science and its potential to expand what’s possible for farmers,” he said. “But the real measure of innovation is what happens when it reaches the farm. Working directly with farmers is how we keep pushing the science toward what the ag industry needs next.”
Included at each stop of the tour is a tractor that company officials said represents the resilience and spirit of American agriculture. Pivot Bio, headquartered in Berkeley, California, found the tractor through 69-year-old farmer Tom Boedeker of Boedeker Brothers Farm, a fourth-generation family operation near Elsberry, Missouri, whose roots date back to 1936. The Grati-Tractor is a real working tractor owned by Boedeker Brothers Farms; Tom Boedeker serves as an honorary farm ambassador as part of the tour.
The Agribusiness Management Club is a student-run organization devoted to professional and educational development specific to businesses in the food and agriculture industry, while the Agronomy Club is open to students who are interested in agronomy, plant science, crop science, animal science and agribusiness management.
The Dairy Science Club is open to students from all colleges who are interested in the dairy industry and places a major emphasis on promotional, educational and service events.
Support for student organizations advances the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the Commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
Source: www.psu.edu
