Jerry Goshert Feted with Uncle Elmer
Jerry Goshert's nomination for the Uncle Elmer Award seemingly came out of left field, he said. Surprise, honor and humility were three things he expressed as The Farmer's Exchange editor described the moment he was notified of the commemoration.
"I didn't see it coming. I really didn't see that coming. I've known this award because I've interviewed so many of the past recipients. My first reaction was 'Wow. Me?'" he said.
The Uncle Elmer Award was established in honor of the late Elmer Lehman, who was an agriculture teacher, writer and promoter, to recognize those within the community who has a significant impact on local agriculture, according to Elkhart Ag Society Board President Jean Williams. Goshert, of Wakarusa, will be presented with the award on Aug. 21 at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds during the annual meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m.
The Uncle Elmer Award is equivalent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, said Goshert. He described the men and women who have received this award as "the giants of Elkhart County agriculture."
"It's an honor. It's still sinking in for me. I look at the list of people who have received this award ahead of me, and it's a 'who's who' list of Elkhart County agriculture," Goshert said as he rattled off some recipient names. "These are all people who played a major role in Elkhart County agriculture, so I am very humbled to think that I'm a part of this group."
Goshert characterizes Uncle Elmer award winners as people who work to educate the public and are active in promoting the agricultural industry.
"Elmer Lehman, the award's namesake, was an educator and Elkhart County historian. So, he set the mold," Goshert said.
Many previous recipients of the award were agriculture educators, fair board members or volunteers in the agricultural community. Others developed ways to promote the industry across the county.
"They all did something innovative, or they worked to educate people. A lot of them were concerned about the community. They wanted agriculture to prosper. And, so, that's how I feel today. I want the local agriculture industry to shine," Goshert said. "Agriculture is the most noble of professions."
Qualities Williams looks for in Uncle Elmer Award candidates include: someone who promotes agriculture, is service-oriented and has made or is making a difference in the agricultural community. Goshert, she said, neatly fits the bill.
"He's a huge supporter of agriculture not only in Elkhart County, but in all of northern Indiana," she said. "You can tell he's really passionate about agriculture and loves to promote it. He goes above and beyond his job."
Williams also characterizes Goshert as "a very community-oriented person" who "has done a lot to promote agriculture and the ag society."
One such promotion is a current project he is working on: the development of an agricultural scholarship. His work to develop the new 4-H fund was a key factor in his nomination for the award.
"He's really taken the bull by the horns on that," Williams said.
The scholarship is being created in honor of a community member who has given decades of service to Elkhart County agriculture. The project is a surprise still in progress and Goshert is working to increase support without tipping off the honoree.
"I think the community owes something to that person. Not in a monetary fashion, but we owe that person some debt of gratitude," Goshert said.
He describes the honoree as a "natural giver" who "delights in helping people." And the person's service to the community is a sacrifice, Goshert said.
"I really thought that was just the right thing to do," he said when explaining why he started the 4-H scholarship committee.
This is not the first time Goshert has become involved in recognizing an agricultural leader, event or program. He was also the chair of the Indiana Dairy Trail, a part of the progression of the Indiana Torch in 2016. The torch was passed to a dairy farm in northern Indiana, which was the starting point for a six-farm trail in honor of the dairy industry.
In his work as an editor, Goshert says his goal is to educate and tell the farmer's story.
One such story was that of the dairy representation at the Indiana State Fair in its auction and, now, its recognition ceremony. In 2017, Goshert wrote an article encompassing the controversy surrounding the state representation of the dairy industry at the Indiana State Fair; Elkhart County 4-H educators said there was none. State fair board members said the dairy steer filled the role.
Goshert went to work, interviewing people on both sides of the line: Elkhart County educators and competitors, and everyone who was involved in the earlier Indiana Sale of Champions and, more recently, the Grand Drive.
He then interviewed the 2017 grand champion dairy steer exhibitor, asking her if she knew that she was representing the dairy industry. Her answer: No. In fact, the judges told her she was showing a beef animal.
These interviews, coupled with the comparison of Michigan's four representatives of the dairy industry—the grand champion showman, heifer, cow and a horn of cheese—and the release of the Indiana Dairy Strategy earlier that year, created a story that illustrated the need for a dairy representation at the Indiana State Fair.
The next year was the first year for the Indiana State Fair's Supreme Drive, which celebrates not only dairy animals, but also all breeding animals. Goshert later heard that it was because of his story that this state event was established.
"The 4-H dairy exhibitors can now share in the wealth. Before the grand champion Holstein exhibitor might earn $150 as a premium for showing the grand champion Holstein. Now that they're included in this celebration of champions, they earn thousands," he said.
On a more local level, there have been multiple instances when Goshert was the only journalist covering a particular story or event. But he was quick to say the credit for this is not his alone.
"The paper's had a huge impact. And I'm one piece of that. But I'm proud of that," he said, naming the Yeater family, the owners of the Exchange, and Paul Hershberger, a former Exchange editor, as fellow agriculture advocates.
The Tippecanoe Valley High School graduate grew up on a diversified farm in Mentone, and showed beef and hogs at the Kosciusko County 4-H Fair and competed in speaking contests. After 10 years in 4-H, he went on to study communications and journalism at Grace College. He graduated in 1987 and then returned for an extra semester to get an enhanced degree in speech and journalism education. Goshert then worked as a substitute teacher until he landed a job as a speech, English and journalism teacher at North Putnam High School in Roachdale, Ind. He worked there for five years.
In 1995, he moved back to the Michiana region and began working as the associate editor of The Farmer's Exchange. He became the editor in 2001 and has been with the company ever since.
Goshert has been married to his wife, Reba, for 18 years and has three daughters, Brooklyn, 16, Carissa, 15, and Danae, 14.
"Marrying her (Reba) was the best decision I've ever made. The second-best decision I've ever made was adopting our children and the third-best decision was working at The Farmer's Exchange," he said.
When it comes to making an impact on agriculture, Goshert says his goal is to simply shine a light on the industry. The avid baseball fan compared his impact to hitting a ball out of the park. The homerun is not the goal; he only hopes to make good contact.
Loucks Crew Farm Family of the Year
by Jerry Goshert
With their dual selection as the Farm Family of the Year and 2023 Centennial Farm Award, the Lynn Loucks family of Elkhart will have the distinction of being the only farm family to be honored twice during Elkhart County Agricultural Society's annual meeting, which is next Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Goshen.
For Lynn, one of the awards was expected and the other was a complete surprise.
A few years ago, Lynn had informed the Ag Society that his farm had reached the 100-year milestone for family ownership.
So, it wasn't a surprise when Loucks received a phone call this summer from Kate Rink, one of the Ag Society board members. The surprise came when Rink shared that the Loucks family had been chosen for two awards, not one.
"I was totally floored when Kate called," Loucks said. "I consider that (Farm Family of the Year award) to be quite an honor. That's rather humbling."
Lynn's wife, Carol, who works off the farm as a nurse and office manager, was equally honored by news of their selection as Farm Family of the Year.
"Both of us grew up on a farm, so farming is just part of us," she said. "So, to get that (award), it just really was an honor."
Previous recipients include the likes of Bert Cook, who received the very first award back in 1958. Cook was a neighbor to the Loucks family, and one of his sons, Dale, helped Lynn acquire registered Holstein cattle shortly after Lynn graduated from Manchester College in 1976. Dale went on to serve as Ag Society president from 1992-95.
As Loucks recalled the list of previous Farm Family award recipients, he was able to say something about virtually every family. The Elkhart County farming community is tight-knit.
"I pretty much knew just about everybody in there," Loucks said of the list. "It's humbling and an honor to be looked at in that regard."
Lynn and Carol live on an 80-acre farm that was purchased by his grandfather, Chester Blosser, on the last day of 1919. At that time, S.R. 19 was identified as County Road 5 on the county highway maps. That was during a time when homeowners graded the gravel road in front of their respective property.
The original house and farm buildings were located in the middle of the farm. Lynn's grandfather moved them further east. According to family history, Blosser used dynamite to clear trees from a section of the farm. The timber was used to construct the barn.
"That would have been fun to see," Lynn said with a burst of laughter.
Early on, the farm had dairy cattle, chickens, hogs and crops—typical for that era. Lynn's parents were married in the farmhouse. His father, Lamar, raised purebred Hampshire hogs and sold breeding stock. Lamar was also an Ag Society honoree, receiving the "Uncle Elmer" award in 1996.
After graduating from Manchester College, Lynn began milking cows and worked at a local factory. At one time, he had over 45 cows but soon realized he needed to update the aging facilities or exit.
"I wanted to expand the hog herd, so that's the way we went," he said. "We sold the cows in 1987."
The Loucks family continued to raise Hampshires and added Durocs and Spots to the mix. In 1991, Lynn purchased 10 bred cows and started a beef herd.
Children soon came along, and the Louckses found themselves taking livestock to the 4-H fair. All four—Matthew, Garrett, Stephanie and Austin—showed cattle in the beef club. Matthew and Garrett continue to have a passion for agriculture and want to keep the farm going. If so, they would be the fourth generation to farm the land.
Lynn and Carol have three grandchildren, courtesy of Matthew and his wife Jessie. Their grandchildren's names are Liam, Jax and Rys.
Matthew and Garrett own two businesses, Michiana Diesel Power and SL Precision Ag. They are both active in the NTPA truck pulling circuit.
The beef cattle were sold a couple years ago, but, in a twist of irony, the beef and hogs are making a comeback.
Garrett, who is engaged to be married, has a passion for hogs, so Lynn and Garrett together purchased a couple gilts with the intention of breeding them. The first attempt didn't work out, so they sold that animal and purchased two more gilts, a Hampshire and a Duroc. They also bought a heifer last year.
"We're back," he said. "We're not going to have very many. We're just going to have show animals."
Carol graduated from nursing school and worked many years as a surgical nurse. She worked in the open-heart surgery program at a hospital in South Bend and helped start the same program at Elkhart General Hospital in 1996. She currently works full-time at the Elkhart Clinic, managing 10 different areas.
That would be enough for the average person, but for many years the Elkhart County native also helped out on the farm—doing whatever is needed.
"I love farming," she said. "I love my family and it's just a great place to raise children."
Lynn and Carol enjoy watching their children pursue their dreams and sitting trackside as two of them compete in truck pulls. Lynn is also active in Elkhart County Farm Bureau, including 20 years as county vice president and the past five years as county president. For the past 20 years, he has also served on the county drainage board, including the last six years as chairman.
Lynn may be in the twilight of his farming career, but the two awards his family will receive next week mean that they have achieved a place among the farming greats of Elkhart County. The next generation, Matthew and Garrett, appear interested in carrying on the farming tradition, and there's every reason to believe hogs and beef cattle will have a place at the Loucks farm for some time to come.