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Conner Prairie has announced a 12-year partnership with Indianapolis-based Corteva Agriscience to highlight agricultural innovation at the outdoor history museum in Hamilton County.
Corteva will be the presenting partner of the Food, Farm and Energy Experience, which will be part of a 260-acre expansion on the west side of the White River in Carmel. Financial terms of Conner Prairie’s deal with Corteva were not disclosed, but a Conner Prairie spokesperson described it as being a “multimillion-dollar partnership.”
“This partnership honors Indiana’s agricultural roots while planting seeds for a more sustainable future,” Conner Prairie CEO Norman Burns said in written remarks. “Together with Corteva, we are creating a space where guests can engage in the future of agriculture and the ways our lives intersect with this rich heritage every day.”
As part of the partnership, Corteva will sponsor seasonal attractions at Conner Prairie, such as the corn maze and sunflower field, and offer interactive learning opportunities and outdoor experiences for visitors of all ages from 2025 through 2036.
There will also be a Corteva-sponsored agriculture exhibit from 2026 to 2028 inside Conner Prairie’s new $33 million Museum Experience Center that will feature interactive storytelling and digital activations.
Corteva will be involved in shaping the future Food, Farm and Energy Experience at Conner Prairie’s future Conservation Campus across the White River in Carmel.
Conner Prairie developed a master plan in 2018 to study the long-term future of its 1,046 acres of land in Carmel and Fishers and the 3.3 miles of the White River that run between it.
The Food, Farm and Energy Experience will include a 70-room eco-lodge and cabins, multiple buildings and exhibits, a restaurant, a historic farm and a modern farm, a solar field, trails, woodlands, prairie, wetlands, a pedestrian bridge and parking.
The Land, Water & Energy Innovation District will be south of the Food, Farm & Energy Experience. It will feature the White River Education & Ecology Center, an innovation center with 55,000 square feet of office space, a farm-to-table restaurant, commercial buildings and a trail.
Planning is underway for the Conservation Campus, and construction will take place over multiple years.
“Conner Prairie is an Indiana treasure, and we’re so proud to help support their mission and growth while giving visitors new and unique experiences,” Corteva Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer Audrey Grimm. “It’s important that everyone understand where their food comes from and the vital role agriculture innovation plays in sustainably feeding our world.”
Corteva made Indianapolis its global headquarters in early 2022. It has more than 20,000 employees worldwide, including about 1,500 on its Zionsville Road campus, about 15 miles northwest of downtown. The campus features 14 buildings, 42 greenhouses and dozens of labs where workers produce new products to help farmers increase yield and control insects, fungus and weeds.
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