Regional Leaders Convene for Kankakee Iroquois Ag Summit to Advance Value-Added Agriculture Strategy
Francisville, IN —January 30
Regional elected officials, economic development leaders, and agricultural stakeholders gathered on January 30 at the Meadow Springs Event Center for the Regional Ag Summit hosted by the Kankakee Iroquois Regional Ag Accelerator. The breakfast summit focused on strengthening the region’s agricultural economy through value-added processing, strategic site development, and coordinated policy alignment.
Sara DeYoung, Executive Director of Jasper County Economic Development and a local farmer, opened the program by emphasizing the collaborative nature of the initiative.
“The strength of the Ag Accelerator lies in what we can do together as partnering counties,” DeYoung said. “For too long, agricultural opportunity has left rural regions because we haven’t captured the value beyond production. This strategy is about ensuring that more of the value created here stays here.”
DeYoung noted that traditional economic development models often overlook rural realities. She highlighted current efforts to align infrastructure, policy, and site development around agriculture-based businesses and stressed the importance of building a regional economy that plays to local strengths rather than competing under urban-centered frameworks.
Christy Wright, President and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana, delivered keynote remarks outlining AgriNovus’s work to grow Indiana’s agbioscience economy. Wright spoke about positioning Indiana as a global leader in food and agriculture innovation, emphasizing the state’s differentiated strengths in agbioscience research, entrepreneurship, and commercialization.
State Representative Kendell Culp, who represents House District 16 and is the only full-time farmer serving in the Indiana House of Representatives, provided a legislative update. Culp discussed findings from his land use study, agricultural legislation introduced during the 2026 session, and broader economic development policy considerations impacting rural communities.
Attendees also heard from representatives of Purdue University’s Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute (FEMI), who shared information about technical assistance, product development, food safety guidance, and commercialization services available to food entrepreneurs and processors across the state.
Regional partners Connie Neininger and Lee Lewellen provided updates on the Ag Accelerator’s current initiatives, including the development of regional agricultural asset maps and targeted ag site development strategies. These efforts aim to identify infrastructure-ready sites, map regional strengths, and create a clearer pathway for agricultural processing and value-added investment.
The Kankakee Iroquois Regional Ag Accelerator represents a collaborative effort among rural counties to leverage shared agricultural assets, strengthen regional supply chains, and support long-term economic growth rooted in agriculture.
For more information about the Kankakee Iroquois Regional Ag Accelerator and upcoming initiatives, please contact Sara DeYoung with Jasper County Economic Development at [email protected].
Presentations from the Event