Last Friday at the Indiana State Fair, Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney and ISDA Deputy Director Melissa Rekeweg presented 72 families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture.
"Our state's legacy has been shaped by our farming families, who continue to pass down their traditions and values from one generation to the next," said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as Indiana's secretary of agriculture and rural development. "I would like to congratulate each and every family on receiving this prestigious award."
To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years, and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. The award distinctions recognized are Centennial (100 years), Sesquicentennial (150 years) and Bicentennial (200 years).
"There's a certain reverence when it comes to generational farming in Indiana—it's a way of life," said McKinney. "These families produce the food, fuel and fiber we need to go about our daily lives, and it's important to recognize those that have been carrying on this noble and vital tradition."
The families honored today join more than 5,000 Hoosier Homestead farms. Administered by ISDA and currently in its 41st year, semiannual recognition ceremonies are held in the spring at the Indiana Statehouse and in August at the Indiana State Fair.
Below is a list (county, name and homestead date) of the Hoosier Homestead Award recipients from northern Indiana who were honored during the August ceremony: Allen, Berning, 1827; Allen, Berning, 1827; Allen, Fuhrmann, 1917; Allen, Lilly, 1917 Allen, Grotrian, 1917; Allen, Springer, 1867; Allen, Stahlhut, 1905; Cass, Donna Davidson Buchanan Christiansen, 1840; Cass, Donna Davidson Buchanan Christiansen, 1840; Cass, Gremelspacher, 1864; Cass, Gremelspacher, 1864; Cass, Chambers/Laird, 1857; Cass, Chambers/Laird. 1857; Cass, Sandra Davidson Buchanan Shaw, 1840; Cass, Sandra Davidson Buchanan Shaw, 1840; DeKalb, Jeffrey D. and Tina A. Johnson, 1902; DeKalb, Kummer—Weicht LLC, 1917; Kosciusko, Carl and Edythe Sands, 1917; LaPorte, Hostetler —Stutzman, 1884; Miami, Houlihan—Mitchell, 1916; Noble, Piper/McLallin, 1869; Pulaski, Louis Tieman, 1900; Pulaski, Glen —Ray —Den Farm, 1879; Pulaski, Needham House Farms, 1887; and Starke, Will, 1915.