News

Indiana farmer goes back to school to improve business

A southeastern Indiana farmer says he has decided to go back to school at 59 years old because of how much the agriculture and banking industry has changed over the years.

Bill Whitman and his wife have more than 200 acres of forage and own a sanctuary for horses recovering from abuse, disease, and injuries.

“We started looking at what’s it going to take to build a foundation under this and it requires a lot of knowledge that for me was outdated,” he says. “But we started looking and it looked to me like business courses would be the proper way to start.”

Whitman is working toward a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Indiana Wesleyan University.

He tells Brownfield he was nervous to go back to school.

“Stepping back into that was a challenge. For example, you can’t just write an essay- you have to put it in APA format,” he says. “‘But we need the knowledge if we’re going to contribute to this society.”

Whitman says he is already using what he learned in class on the ranch.

Advice he has to other adults considering going back to school is to not be afraid and be willing to share your experience with others.

Audio: Bill Whitman