(INDIANAPOLIS) – At the Indiana Statehouse, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler presented 55 families with a Hoosier Homestead Award, recognizing their commitment to Indiana agriculture.
To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years, and consist of 20 acres or more, or produce more than $1,000 in agricultural products per year.
“Agriculture is very much a family affair, with roughly 97 percent of farms family-owned and operated nationwide,” Crouch said. “For generations, these families have been foundational to the social and economic advancement of Indiana, and recognizing their legacy today was a tremendous honor.”
Families are eligible for three different distinctions of the Hoosier Homestead Award, based on the age of the farm. They can receive the Centennial Award for 100 years, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years or Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.
Since the program’s inception in 1976, more than 5,500 families have received the award.
“It takes hard work and perseverance to keep a family farm a continued success for so many years,” Kettler said. “This award is a testament to the resiliency of these farmers, as well as their longstanding commitment to Indiana, agriculture, and family.”
The following list includes the March 2019 Hoosier Homestead Award recipients:
- Adams County – Jacob & Mary Henschen, 1913, Centennial Award
- Allen County – Marshall Farm. 1855, Sesquicentennial Award
- Bartholomew County – Franke – Thompson Farm, 1898, Centennial Award
- Bartholomew County – Robert & Barbara Pruitt Fram, 1919, Centennial Award
- Carroll County – Childers Farm, 1919, Centennial Award
- Carroll County – Carnell – Brown – Stone Farm, 1836, Sesquicentennial Award
- Clark County – Martin Farm, 1907, Centennial Award
- Clark County – McKinley/Roberts/Hoke Farm, 1877, Centennial Award
- Clark County – Richard M. Myers, Sr. & Larry N. Myers Farm, 1848, Sesquicentennial Award
- Clinton County – Skiles/Oliver Farm, 1908, Centennial Award
- Clinton County – Rothenberger Farm, 1867, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Crawford County – Sharp – Stephenson – Mohr Farm, 1819, Bicentennial Award
- Decatur County – Fry Farm, 1916, Centennial Award
- Decatur County – S & G Seeds, LLC., 1918, Centennial Award
- DeKalb County – Widney – Carpenter Farm, 1836, Sesquicentennial Award
- Dubois County – Jochum Farm, 1912, Centennial Award
- Dubois County – Rauscher – Thieman Farm, 1838, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Dubois County – Winkenhofer – Thieman Farm, 1841, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Fayette County – Sykes Farm, 1845, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Harrison County – Eisenmenger Farm, 1869, Sesquicentennial Award
- Harrison County – Stoner – Watson – Yates Farm, 1859, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Howard County – Alice L. Maish & Myron E. Maish Farm, 1860, Sesquicentennial Award
- Howard County – Peters Farm, 1908, Centennial Award
- Huntington County – Felton Farm, 1917, Centennial Award
- Jasper County – Wortley Farm, 1911, Centennial Award
- LaGrange County – Foster – Oliver Farm, 1881, Centennial Award
- LaPorte County – Shurte Family Farm, 1854, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Madison County – Blake Farm, 1866, Sesquicentennial Award
- Miami County – Graham – Scott Farm, 1893, Centennial Award
- Miami County – Vincent – 1865, Sesquicentennial Award
- Montgomery County – Goff – Clark Farm, 1912, Centennial Award
- Newton County – William Frederick Stath, 1890, Centennial Award
- Noble County – Piper/McLallin Farm, 1869, Sesquicentennial Award
- Parke County – Thomas D. Thompson & Vera M. Lear Farm, 1886, Centennial Award
- Pulaski County – Leonard Farms Incorporated, 1868, Sesquicentennial Award
- Putnam County – Alcorn Farm, 1918, Centennial Award
- Ripley County – Merkel Farm, 1864, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Ripley County – Jager Farm, 1866, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Ripley County – Raab Farm, 1866, Sesquicentennial Award
- Rush County – Hodson Farm, 1913, Centennial Award
- Spencer County – Adolph Hurm Farm, 1869, Sesquicentennial Award
- Spencer County – Lloyd, Linegar & Richards Farm, 1909, Centennial Award
- Spencer County – Richard & Loyce Gries (Arnold) Farm, 1902, Centennial Award
- Spencer County – Lueken Farm, 1868, Sesquicentennial Award
- Spencer County – Lloyd Farm, 1848, Sesquicentennial Award
- Tippecanoe County – Kirkpatrick Farm, 1841, Sesquicentennial Award
- Tipton County – Newlon Farm, 1849, Centennial & Sesquicentennial Awards
- Vermillion County – Hughes Farm, 1834, Sesquicentennial Award
- Vermillion County – Redman Farm, 1914, Centennial Award
- Vigo County – Kessel Farm, 1901, Centennial Award
- Vigo County – Fred L. Wilson, Jr. Farm, 1817, Sesquicentennial & Bicentennial Award
- Wabash County – Dennis Keith Gilbert Farm, 1919, Centennial Award
- Warrick County – Lamar Farm, 1916, Centennial Award
- Wells County – Kreigh Farm, 1869, Sesquicentennial Award
- Wells County – White’s Tangelwood Farm, 1837, Sesquicentennial Award
Photos from the ceremony will be posted to ISDA’s Flickr page by Wednesday, March 20, 2019. For more information about the Hoosier Homestead Award program, click here or visit www.in.gov/isda/.
About ISDA
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) was established as a separate state agency by the Legislature in 2005. Administratively, ISDA reports to Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. Major responsibilities include advocacy for Indiana agriculture at the local, state and federal level, managing soil conservation programs, promoting economic development and agricultural innovation, serving as a regulatory ombudsman for agricultural businesses, and licensing grain firms throughout the state.
