Nearly 50 Years at Purdue Leads to HoF Induction for Lemenager

Ahead of last weekend’s Grand Drive at the Indiana State Fair, three leaders in Indiana’s livestock industry were inducted into the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association Hall of Fame. Dr. Ron Lemenager, a fourth-generation beef producer and longtime Purdue faculty member known for his commitment to family and advancing the beef cattle industry, was one of them.

“I guess I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to be a teacher, if you’re going to be an Extension educator, that you need to have some experience,” says Lemenager. “I live, breathe, just like our producers do, with weather and poor-quality hay and all the things, disease and disease prevention. And so, I think it makes me a little bit better as an Extension specialist for the state of Indiana, but also as a teacher in my beef production class, which is a senior capstone class.”

Lemenager was surrounded by family and friends as he received the honor. Many of his students, who called him “Dr. Ron”, were in the Corteva Coliseum as well, making it a very memorable moment.

“I’m very humbled by the opportunity to receive this award. We kind of build on the shoulders of giants. If you look through the past award winners, I mean, these are giants in our industry, whether it be beef, swine, sheep, horses, dairy, and I’m just very, very proud to be a part of that.”

Lemenager has been teaching at Purdue since 1977. He says when folks ask him when he’s going to retire, his simple answer is, “I don’t know.”

“I like what I do. I think I’m halfway good at it. I don’t know what else to do besides go out and mess with my cows.”

Stanley Poe from Franklin and Keith Lambright from Shipshewana joined Lemenager in being inducted into the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association Hall of Fame.