FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elizabeth Vos, Press Secretary
Elizabeth.Vos@iga.in.gov
317-232-9539
STATEHOUSE (Aug. 12, 2020) – State Sen. Erin Houchin (R-Salem) recently announced the latest recipients of the Hoosier Homestead Award, which recognizes farms owned and maintained by the same family for 100 consecutive years or more.
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 40 years, more than 5,800 farms have received the honor.
Eight locally owned farms were recently honored:
• The Beckort farm in Harrison County received a Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Felker farm in Harrison County received a Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Goepfrich farm in Dubois County received a Centennial and Sesquicentennial Award;
• The Himsel farms in Dubois County both received Centennial and Sesquicentennial Awards;
• The William O. Martin farm in Washington County received a Sesquicentennial Award;
• The McIntosh farm in Crawford County received a Centennial Award; and
• The Alfred and Ruth Thomas farm in Perry County received a Centennial and Sesquicentennial Award.
“Agriculture has played and continues to play an incredibly important role in our Indiana economy and history,” Houchin said. “I am thankful for thriving and historic Southern Indiana farms and the hard-working men and women who have maintained them over the years. Hoosier Homestead recipients should be proud of the work they and their families have done to benefit Hoosiers across our great state.”
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. Once made available, photos of the event can be found here.
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State Sen. Erin Houchin represents Senate District 47, which includes all of Crawford, Harrison, Orange, Perry and Washington counties as well as eastern Dubois County.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo of Houchin.
