Western Illinois University Agricultural Professor Joel Gruver has been chosen to receive the 2024 Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award from Practical Farmer of Iowa (PFI).
“Joel is committed to education and innovation. When a row crop farmer experimenting with cover crops asks, ‘Have we tried this?’ the answer is that Joel is currently doing so or is willing to start,” his nominator said.
This award is given annually by PFI to an individual or couple that has shown exemplary commitment to sustainable agriculture, generously shared their knowledge with others in the industry and been influential in efforts to foster vibrant communities, diverse farms and healthy food for the communities they serve.
Gruver was selected for his more than 17 years of activities in the industry: being a member of PFI since 2007, presenting at the PFI conference three times, hosting a group of PFI farmers at the WIU/Allison Farm in 2018 and regularly participating in the PFI email listserv (answering questions and sharing pictures and research results).
"Joel was selected because of his curiosity and generosity in sharing his research and information with others. His willingness to try new things and openly share his findings has a great impact on farmers' ability to increase the diversity and conservation-mindedness of Midwest agriculture,” PFI Executive Director Sally Worley said.
“I regularly discuss PFI as a success story in my classes and at farmer meetings. In my mind, PFI is the premier farmer organization supporting all dimensions of sustainable agriculture (profitability, community, environmental quality and on-farm research),” Gruver said.
For more information on WIU’s Ag program, visit wiu.edu/Ag.
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