Local Farms Recognized by ISDA

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) recently announced the latest recipients of the Hoosier Homestead Award, which recognizes farms that have been owned and maintained by the same family for 100 years or more.

In Senate District 23, nine locally owned farms were honored at the Statehouse:

• The Bryant farm in Parke County received a Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Bymaster farm in Montgomery County received a Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Crooks farm in Parke County received Centennial and Sesquicentennial awards;
• The George B. Clawson farm in Warren County received a Centennial Award;
• The Hartman farm in Parke County received a Bicentennial Award;
• The Hunter farm in Warren County received a Centennial Award;
• The Larry Joe and Debra Ann Carter farm in Montgomery County received a Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Spitznagel farm in Montgomery County received a Centennial Award; and
• The Turpin farm in Boone County received a Centennial Award.

It’s amazing to see so many farms in our community being recognized, especially when you consider the natural disasters, economic downfalls, wars and other events that have occurred within that time frame. I congratulate these families on their accomplishments and wish them all the best in the future.

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. The award distinctions are Centennial, Sesquicentennial and Bicentennial – for 100, 150 and 200 years respectively.

To learn more about the program or to apply for a Hoosier Homestead award, visit https://www.in.gov/isda/programs-and-initiatives/hoosier-homestead/.

– Sen. Phil Boots represents Montgomery, Fountain, Parke, Vermillion and Warren counties and a portion of Boone County. He is one of the shareholders of The Paper of Montgomery County.