The Indiana State Fair kicked off on Friday. The Indiana State Department of Agriculture will keep plenty busy during the fair and so will its director Don Lamb. Next Wednesday, August 14, ISDA and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch will award longstanding Indiana farming families with Hoosier Homestead Awards for 100, 150 or 200 years of ownership. Being a farmer himself, Lamb says this is a prestigious honor.
“I’ve done the math; I’m going to be 105 when my farm gets to that point. So, I’m trying to eat well, exercise. I’m trying to get there, but my kids are going to be in their 70s, you know? So, I’ve got this this perspective of thinking- Wow! Having a farm in the family for that long really is an honor, and it’s something somebody has worked hard to keep it that way.”
Open throughout the fair, The Indiana Grown Marketplace will offer fairgoers the opportunity to shop from over 400 products representing over 90 Hoosier businesses in one location in The Mercantile building.
“Our Indiana Grown team is really good,” says Lamb,” and they put together all sorts of products that are produced, packaged, and processed in Indiana. And you’ve got a wide variety of things from honey to meats and everything in between that are grown here in the state.”
When asked what his favorite part of the fair is, Lamb says, “Well, I immediately went to the Dairy Barn. I don’t know why exactly. It probably has something to do with ice cream and shakes, but the Dairy Barn is just a cool, iconic spot. When I think about the fairgrounds, I think about that Dairy Barn, and I think about getting that milkshake and appreciate the people at the American Dairy Association of Indiana and the Indiana dairy producers, and just all they do for agriculture in general, not just the dairy industry.”
The fair runs now through the 18th but is closed on Mondays.
