At the Indiana Statehouse, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Bruce Kettler presented 65 families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture.
“Indiana agriculture keeps our economy thriving, and each year we are reminded of how rich our history is by the long list of award recipients,” Crouch said. “Because we have such a thriving farming community, Indiana is at the top of the nation for production and these long-standing farms keep us moving forward.”
The Hoosier Homestead Award recipients from Marshall County were honored during the spring 2018 ceremony, they are the Motz Family Farm as a centennial farm from 1915 and the John Gibson Farm as a centennial and sesquicentennial farm from 1851.
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. Indiana farms may qualify for three honors: Centennial Award for 100 years of ownership, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years of ownership and the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.
Since the program’s inception in 1976, more than 5,000 families have received the Hoosier Homestead Award.
“For more than a century, these farming families have been providing Hoosiers and Americans with the food, fuel and fiber they need for their everyday lives,” Kettler said.
