Purdue Extension has honored two Indiana women for their dedication and service to agriculture with the Women in Agriculture's top awards for leadership and achievement.
The awards were presented last Wednesday as part of the lieutenant governor's Celebration of Agriculture program during the Indiana State Fair.
The Leadership Award, for a woman in an agri-business or policymaking position, was given to Lisa Chaudion of Monroe County, executive director of the Indiana FFA Foundation.
The Achievement Award, which recognizes women who are directly involved in a home farming operation, was presented to Sheryl Seib of Seib Farms in Posey County.
"We need to spotlight women who are committed to the success of Indiana agriculture," said Danica Kirkpatrick, engagement program manager for Purdue University's College of Agriculture and co-chair of the Women in Agriculture awards committee. "We look for hard-working women who are dedicated to their communities and the industry. These recipients are very deserving of this recognition."
Chaudion began her work as a direct sales manager for Mycogen, a seed company of Dow AgroSciences. She then became the Indiana Department of Ed-ucation's agriculture education specialist and Indiana Young Farmers' Assn. executive director for many years before starting in her current position in 2011. She also was the first female to serve as president of the Indiana FFA.
Under Chaudion's leadership, the Indiana FFA has gained numerous charitable contributions, including $50,000 from Farm Credit Mid-America and $25,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. for the Indiana FFA Leadership Center in Trafalgar. Her focus on fundraising for the center will provide leadership training to FFA members and opportunities for learning in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Chaudion is vice president of the Indiana Rural Safety and Health Council and a member of the Indiana Young Farmers Assn., Indiana Assn. of Agricultural Educators, National Assn. of Agricultural Educators, National Assn. of Supervisors of Agricultural Education and Indiana Farm Bureau.
Seib has been involved in many roles in Seib Farms for over 30 years. She often has been solely responsible for coordinating and carrying out events such as hosting local, state and national leaders and visitors in over-seas trade missions.
As a preschool teacher and owner of Kinder Schule Academic Preschool for 27 years, Seib incorporated agriculture lessons and instilled in students an appreciation for agriculture in their community. She has served as an agriculture in the classroom volunteer for Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. since 1989, and the organization elected her as an agriculture cultural exchange ambassador to Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in 1992.
In 1993, Seib became Posey County Farm Bureau's women's leader, holding the position for five years and returning to it from 2004 to 2009. She also became the first female president of the county Farm Bureau in 2009 and served until 2014.
Beginning in 2001, Seib served as a liaison to farm women in Ukraine at the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She helped to organize a farmers' co-op and establish a government office for it, providing farmers greater access to government leaders and the law-making process there.