It is all about honoring the past and preserving the future. The Hoosier Homestead Awards were presented at the Indiana State Fair on Wednesday. Over 75 farm families packed the Farm Bureau Building as Lt. Governor Becky Skillman and ISDA director Joe Kelsay presented special recognition to those farms that have been in the family for over 100 years. “Although agricultural practices have changed, each family’s commitment and stewardship of the family farm has not,” Lt. Governor Becky Skillman said. “Even during challenging times, including this drought, farmers prove they are of hardy stock. We celebrate their perseverance, and the impact they all have on our daily lives.” Kelsay told HAT it is important to celebrate the hard work it takes to keep a farm in the family today, “It takes a lot of sacrifice and a lot of hard work to keep an operation going in good years and challenging years like this one.” Kelsay remembered how special this award was when his farm was honored.
For example, the Dougherty farm in Davies County has spanned 8 generations dating back to 1837. And while the family no longer actively farms the land, they plan to keep the farm in the family and keep the land in production for many generations to come. Family members told Hoosier Ag Today it has been something passed down in their family, “Whatever you do, don’t sell this farm.” Kelsay says passing on our family farms to the next generation is vital, “It is so important to the future of Indiana agriculture that we keep these farms in the family.” Of the 75 Hoosier Homestead recipients, 46 received the Centennial Award for keeping their farm in their family for more than 100 years and 29 received the Sesquicentennial Award for more than 150 years. 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 at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products per year. The award was created to recognize the contribution these family farms have made to the economic, cultural, and social advancements of Indiana.
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AWARD WINNERS
County Award Name Date
Adams Charles D. Crosby 1861
Adams Roy E. & Beverly Ehrsam 1847
Adams Isch 1910
Adams Macke 1880
Allen Wyss 1910
Allen L.D.T. Yoder 1910
Bartholomew Suhre & O’Connor 1909
Carroll Samuel and Malinda Smith Stephen 1844
Cass Shaffer 1890
Clinton Frank C. Trees, Paul F. Trees, David W. Trees Farms Inc. 1912
Daviess Dougherty 1837
Dearborn Hiltz 1908
Dearborn Probst 1855
Decatur Walker 1835
Delaware James W. Russell 1912
Dubois Dall 1858
Dubois Tretter 1859
Elkhart Hire 1834
Fayette Squires 1861
Floyd Mayfield 1906
Franklin Placke 1853Franklin Leon Reister 1907
Fulton Overmyer 1854
Hancock Helms 1882
Harrison Everett and Annette Albin 1835
Henry Marlatt 1899
Henry Marlatt 1891
Howard Schafer 1910
Huntington Robert W Jones 1860
Jackson Eglen 1912
Jackson Gilbert 1848
Jasper John and Elizabeth Mather Hudson 1885
Jasper Pullin 1862
Jasper Tullis 1851
Jay Milligan 1911
Jennings Graham 1815
Jennings Daniel P. Hook 1905
Johnson Beulah Mae Holcomb Mardis 1906
Kosciusko Pyle 1837
LaPorte Dr. William H. & Matilda Fritz Cromey 1895
LaPorte Haack 1869
Marshall Kline 1859
Marshall Snyder 1911
Miami Geo. Wm. Kuntz 1901
Monroe Roy S. & Mary A. Waterford 1892
Monroe Larry J. Stanger 1837
Morgan Richard & Dolores Kemp 1854
Noble Kirk Gray 1888Noble Stout 1844
Pike John A. and Mary J. Sutton 1908
Porter French – Foley – Price 1875
Pulaski Busch 1887
Pulaski Day 1909
Pulaski Harriet E Krzyzanowski 1904
Pulaski Rawn/Bowers/Miller 1904
Randolph Austin/Anderson 1910
Randolph Georgi 1878
Rush Gordon 1838
Sullivan Chambers 1841
Sullivan Wilkey 1853
Tippecanoe Gladden/Skinner 1906
Tipton Campbell 1850
Tipton Idlewine 1911
Tipton Kirkpatrick – McKinney 1912
Union Abernathy – Pinkerton 1912
Warren Brier 1897
Warrick Edwards – Hemmer 1885
Warrick Roger Leo Titzer 1912
Wayne Hartman, Faucett, Matney 1912
Wells Bauermeister 1910
Wells Raber 1912
White Barnes 1848
White Philip Booher – Joseph Bader 1865
White Philip Booher 1912
Whitley Schuman 1854