Local Family Farms Earn Hoosier Homestead Awards For 100+ Years

By Mike Perleberg Indiana State Rep. Randy Frye (left), Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann (right) and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney (behind Ellspermann) pose with the Archer family of Switzerland County as they accept their Hoosier Homestead Award at the Indiana State Fair. Photo provided. (Indianapolis, Ind.) - A number of southeast Indiana farms have received the Hoosier Homestead Award. The awards recognizing the farms’ longevity were given out this past Friday at the Indiana State Fair by Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney. Sixty-seven families were awarded. “For nearly 40 years, the Hoosier Homestead program has provided a wonderful opportunity for our state to recognize the rich heritage of farming in Indiana and how Hoosier family farms have been passed down from generation to generation,” said Ellspermann. “It is even more fitting that we are celebrating the Year of the Farmer at the Indiana State Fair as a way to honor and thank Hoosier farmers for being an integral part of our state’s legacy and future.” From Dearborn County, three farms received a Hoosier Homestead award. They are Zinser Farms established in 1846 and the Vernon and Betty Jo Huber Farm founded in 1864 were each bestowed with the Hoosier Homestead sesquicentennial award for at least 150 years in business. The Andwan-Hountz farm which started in 1915 earned the centennial award. RELATED: Ripley Co. Farm Has Been Going Since Lincoln Was President Ripley County family farms getting the homestead award include the Newhart, Miller, and Rohls farms. The Newhart Farm has been in operation since 1901. Miller Farms have bene going strong since 1890. The Rohls family has been farming for generations since 1864. In Switzerland County, the Archer family farm is recognized with the sesquicentennial award for 150 years in business. It was established in 1865. Two Franklin County farms appeared. The Bob and Kim Schrank Farm has been operating since 1913. The Koester Family farm was founded in 1865. The work of a farmer is truly a thankless job, but for many, no thank you is necessary. A strong commitment to family and state is what keeps these men and women going year after year, and being able to serve them at the Statehouse as they serve us statewide, is one of the many honors of my role as your representative,” State Rep. Randy Frye (R-Greensburg) said in announcing the awards for farms in his district.