Deery, Negele: Local farms honored with Hoosier Homestead Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local farms honored with Hoosier Homestead Award

STATEHOUSE (March 28, 2023) – Area legislators are recognizing the latest local recipients of the Hoosier Homestead Award, which recognizes farms owned and maintained by the same family for 100 years or more.

Represented by State Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) and State Rep. Sharon Negele (R-Attica), four locally owned farms were honored at the Statehouse:

• The Adams farm in Warren County received a Centennial Award;
• The Akers farm in Warren County received a Centennial and Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Fleming farm in Warren County received a Centennial Award; and
• The Gray farm in Fountain County received a Centennial and Sesquicentennial Award.

The Hoosier Homestead Award Program honors families who have made significant contributions to Indiana agriculture. Instituted in 1976, the program recognizes the impact these family farms have made on the economic, cultural and social advancements of Indiana. In the past 47 years, more than 5,800 farms have received the honor.

"I still find much truth in Thomas Jefferson's statement that cultivators of the earth make the most valuable citizens," Deery said. "As more and more family farms change hands and the percentage of Americans in farming declines, I can think of few families as worthy of our encouragement and celebration. Congratulations, and thank you for your contributions to our state."

"Farming is not just a business in Indiana, but a way of life," Negele said. "For over a century, these family farms have provided food and jobs for their communities and state. Congratulations to these hardworking Hoosiers."

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 www.in.gov/isda/2337.htm. Photos of the event can be found here.

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State Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette) represents Senate District 23,
which includes Fountain, Parke, Vermillion and Warren counties,
and portions of Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.

State Rep. Sharon Negele (R-Attica) represents House District 13,
which includes Benton and Warren counties, and portions of Fountain,
Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Tippecanoe and White counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.