Five Local Family Farms Honored with Historic Hoosier Homestead Awards

To receive the award, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres.

INDIANAPOLIS - At the Indiana State Fair this week, Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith and Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Don Lamb presented 135 farming families with a Hoosier Homestead 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.

If less than 20 acres, the farm must 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.

Locally, five farming families were honored: 

• Orschell, Franklin County, 1923, Centennial
• Scheele, Franklin County, 1876, Centennial and Sesquicentennial 
• Chandler, Ripley County, 1913, Centennial
• Peetz, Ripley County, 1876, Sesquicentennial
• Welch, Ripley County, 1897, Centennial

“Indiana’s heritage is built on agriculture,” said Lt. Governor Beckwith, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “It’s an honor to celebrate these farming families and the generations of hard work that got them here.”

Since the program's inception in 1976, over 6,400 families have received the Hoosier Homestead Award. Often, a Hoosier Homestead farm is easily recognized as most recipients proudly display their awarded sign on their property.

“Each of our Hoosier Homestead farms carries the same legacy, built by one generation for the next,” said Don Lamb, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “My own farm still has a while to go before it’s eligible for this award, so I know firsthand the commitment and dedication it reflects. Congratulations and thank you to each Hoosier Homestead recipient for your dedication to Indiana agriculture.”