Hoosier Farm Families Honored for ‘Legacy, Responsibility’ of Generational Farm Ownership

Over 100 families were honored Wednesday at the State Fair for their longstanding commitment to agriculture at the Hoosier Homestead Award Ceremony by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years.

“It means a legacy, and it also means responsibility to keep the legacy going,” says J.W. Holmes. He received the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of continuous ownership of his family’s farm in Tippecanoe County.

“We try to manage the place for the next generation. That’s how we think of it. We don’t really think of it as the current generation’s as much as the next, and making sure that it’s in a place where it can continue moving forward.”

J.W. is the 7^th generation on the family farm. He gave Hoosier Ag Today some of the history.

“The farm itself started in 1824. My great-great-great-great-granddad came after buying land in Virginia and settled in Tippecanoe County about five years before it was Tippecanoe County. He was still dealing with the natives after the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was a land surveyor. So, he surveyed a lot of the land that people see around Tippecanoe County. He was the first one to do a lot of that.”

J.W. told me he really wished that more of his family was still alive to see this fete. They would certainly be proud.

See the full list of Hoosier Homestead Award winners below. Congratulations to all!