Farm Indiana | December 2015 by Margo Wininger

DECEMBER 2015

Rural Living & Local Food

Get real

Christmas tree shopping? Head to one of several Hoosier farms featured inside. ALSO INSIDE

WILDMAN FARMS WESTERFIELD FARM SOUTH NEWTON HIGH SCHOOL FFA

Ed and Cathy Tower on their Bartholomew County farm

A monthly publication of AIM Media Indiana, Farm Indiana offers the local news and views of Indiana’s farming world, including features about local families and their farms, agriculture businesses, equipment and technological advances, educational outreach programs and more. Farm Indiana promotes and celebrates Indiana’s rich history and tradition in farming; serves as a conduit of information among growers, producers, farmers, retailers, farming organizations and local food consumers; educates readers about the nutritional, social and financial importance of local food support and consumption; and highlights Indiana local foods and agritourism.

PUBLISHER Chuck Wells EDITOR Sherri Lynn Dugger CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Rural Living & Local Food

Liz Brownlee, April E. Clark, Katherine Coplen, Katie Glick, Jen Janicijevic, Cheryl Carter Jones, Sharon Mangas, Jim Mayfield, Jeffrey Meitrodt, Jon Shoulders, Twinkle VanWinkle, Catherine Whittier, CJ Woodring COPY EDITOR Katharine Smith SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST Margo Wininger ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR Amanda Waltz ADVERTISING DESIGN

Emma Ault, Dondra Brown, Tonya Cassidy, John Cole, Ashley Curry, Julie Daiker, Cassie Doles, Josh Meyer, Desiree Poteete, Tina Ray, Robert Wilson PHOTOGRAPHER Josh Marshall IMAGE TECHNICIAN Matt Quebe

Comments, story ideas, events and suggestions should be sent to Sherri Lynn Dugger, The Republic, 333 Second St., Columbus, IN 47201, call (812) 379-5608 or email farmindiana@hne-media.com. To advertise, contact Mike Rossetti at (812) 379-5764 or mrossetti@hne-media.com. To subscribe to Farm Indiana, call (800) 435-5601. 12 issues (1 year) will be delivered to your home for $24. Back issues may also be purchased for $5 per issue.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Contents DECEMBER 2015

5 Field Notes

38 From the Field Columns by growers

6 Christmas Tree Farms 12 Marvin Finke 18 Wildman Farms 22 Westerfield Farm 26 South Newton

42 Local Food

Tips and advice

High School FFA

32 Christina McDougall 34 Farm Safety

B. Happy Peanut Butter, Chocolate for the Spirit

46 Continuing Education ON THE COVER

Ed and Cathy Tower on their Tower Family Christmas Tree Farm. Photo by Josh Marshall

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

EDITOR’S NOTE

Good Relations

ABOUT ONCE A MONTH, my husband and I hop in the car and drive a few miles south to Liberty Feed and Bean Meal in Shelbyville. There, we purchase 200-plus pounds of non-GMO chicken and goat feed. We also rarely leave without first engaging in an hour or so of good conversation. I often come away feeling guilty for interrupting the work of proprietors Nathan and Tim Shutt, but each is as responsible as the next for keeping the conversations going once we get started. We all seem to enjoy these talks, which further cement our consumer/ supplier relationship, and there’s plenty to discuss on these visits. We cover everything from religion, agriculture and world politics to the nuances of our daily lives in the country, sitting adjacent to some of Indiana’s smallest towns. I recently found myself in another conversation, this time specifically about Farm Indiana. The person I spoke to wasn’t from Indiana. He had no ties to agriculture, and so it wasn’t surprising, then, when he asked me about the purpose of our publication. He had good questions for me, and though I don’t think I did a very good job of explaining everything, I did try to make him understand one thing: Farm Indiana is about relationships. Relationships like the one between my husband and me and the guys at Liberty Feed. Though Farm Indiana is not all things to all readers, it does cover a lot of good ground. A farmer by definition (thanks, Merriam-Webster

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Dictionary) is someone who cultivates land or crops or raises animals such as livestock or fish. The dictionary says nothing about a farm needing to be a particular size. It says nothing about using certain inputs or implements (or not using them). It doesn’t even say anything about needing to make a certain amount of income (or any money at all) off the land. The definition is as simple as it can be: A farmer is someone who cultivates land or crops or raises animals. And sometimes a farmer does all three. We have urban farmers and hobby farmers and large-scale farmers and small farmers. There are organic farmers and conventional farmers and farmers who fall somewhere in the middle. Farm Indiana shares tales of all types of Hoosier farmers, large and small, who are finding new and better ways to feed our world. And through these tales, we tell stories about relationships … between customers and their food suppliers, between caretakers and the earth, between humans and animals, and between consumers and their food. In the end, these are stories about our ever-evolving relationships with ourselves — with what we choose to feed our bodies and how we choose to treat our world. I regularly receive emails and handwritten notes from readers who find inspiration and encouragement from the stories we tell. They glean hope from these pages, oftentimes in a world that feels as though it offers too little hope. I am proud of the work we do in Farm Indiana and, ultimately, of the work our Hoosier farmers do. As stewards of the land, farmers increasingly motivate us to learn and grow. And they provide me with an opportunity to share the good news.

FIELD NOTES

BY CATHERINE WHITTIER

A Custom Water Wagon

Doug Abney of Red Barn Meats in Bargersville has been working over the last four years to transform 45 of his farm acres into a highly efficient, rotational grazing facility. Utilizing a series of gates and farm lanes (“temporary electric fencing and approximately 5,000 lineal feet of buried waterlines”), Abney moves his Belted Galloway cattle from one long strip of land to the next, allowing them to graze the entire strip until the vegetation is used up but not depleted. This method allows the ground to rest and regrow as cattle are moved from strip to strip and affords Abney the opportunity “to raise more cattle on the same acreage,” he explains. Because the cattle are restricted to one area at a time, it becomes necessary to move a water source along with them. Abney came up with an idea that would not only allow him to move his water with his livestock, but would also keep other necessities on site in order to save time and energy. Abney built a mobile water wagon by modifying a used heavy-duty custom equipment trailer he found on Craigslist for $300. He added a “custom 300-gallon water tank, with 8-inch wide troughs on each side,” Abney explains. “When I tested the water wagon for the first time, the cows and calves were able to drink without any issues, but the bull’s head was too big to fit into the water trough, so I had to modify the design to ensure everyone could drink.” Abney then welded on a platform to mount two plastic toolboxes and a mineral feeder, equipped with an insecticide dispenser. The mineral feeder has a special cover that is lined with an absorbent material that allows the oily insecticide to rub off on the cows head and ears as they push their way under the lid to get to the minerals. “If minerals aren’t right there and readily available, they are easily forgotten,” says Abney. Tools, temporary electric fencing materials, insect control supplies and up to 12 bags of additional mineral can be stored in the tool boxes, which are mounted on top of the water wagon. When he designed his acreage for rotational grazing, Abney had “a field tile contractor trench in my waterlines so that the water would move by gravity for distribution to strategic locations throughout the farm,” which means that he never pulls more than 200 feet of hose to reach his water wagon. In case of emergencies, Abney also has a 3,000-gallon water storage tank fed by a solar pump, as well as three emergency cisterns in case the well can’t keep up with his livestock needs. “The water from the above-ground storage tank or emergency cisterns flows by gravity through the buried waterlines to several automatic waterers and to several distribution points across the farm,” he explains. “These distribution points are then connected to a garden hose when needed, to fill the water tank on my custom water wagon, which is equipped with a float valve to keep the water at a constant level, and readily available for my animals no matter where they are located on the farm.” Abney has spent approximately $1,000 modifying the trailer, which will save him much valuable time and energy. Red Barn Meats sells beef, pork, lamb, goat and eggs Doug Abney through its farm store. Information: (317) 409-6857 or redbarnmeatsllc@yahoo.com.

Rick McWhirt

Keeping the Kids Warm

The McWhirt family of Clinton County has been raising Boer goats since 2005 and showing them in 4-H since 2011. The goats usually give birth in December or January, says Rick McWhirt, “so our babies are 6 to 7 months old when we get to the fair.” The temperatures during those birthing months can vary greatly, and if the babies get too cold in the first weeks of life, it can prove fatal, he warns. McWhirt once used heat lamps in his birthing pens, but found that much of the heat was lost, so he came up with a better way to keep babies warm, which would also, in the long run, save money. McWhirt cuts an approximately 1½-inch hole in the top of a plastic 55-gallon drum using a wood bit or awl. He also cuts an approximately 8-by-12-inch hole in the side of the barrel, which will then serve as an entrance for the kid. The bottom of the barrel is also cut out so that waste is not trapped inside. The

drum is placed on top of pine shavings and straw. McWhirt then removes the clamp from an aluminum clamp light or brooder lamp, leaving just the hang hook. The lamp is then placed inside the barrel, and the cord and remaining clip or hook sticks up through the hole in the top. A 2-foot long piece of rebar slides through the hook, securing the light. McWhirt then runs the cord up and away, out of the birthing pen, so that goats don’t chew on the cord. The barrels are strapped to the corner of the pen with bungee cords so that they can’t be moved. Finally, rather than use a heat lamp bulb, which McWhirt figured costs approximately $1 per day to run, he uses a 75- to 100watt bulb in the clamp light, which creates the necessary warmth without the high cost. When outdoor temperatures go over 30 degrees, McWhirt turns the bulbs off. The kids stay warm inside the drums until they’re out of danger from the cold. McWhirt also suggests the use of a camera system in the barn, along with a baby monitor, when waiting for newborns to arrive. He explains that before the days of the camera, they found themselves running out to the barn every time they heard a noise in the baby monitor. The camera system saves the McWhirt family from repeatedly bundling up for false alarms on cold winter nights. McWhirt Family Produce is located in Frankfort. Information: (765) 659-0602. FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Pining

real thing? FOR THE

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

A visit to Indiana’s Christmas tree farms can help deck the halls // BY CJ WOODRING //

TOWER FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE FARM PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOSH MARSHALL

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

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hether pre-cut or chopped down by the family’s Paul Bunyan, there’s something primitive and fulfilling about dragging home a holiday tree. Nothing compares with the ritualistic comfort and fragrance a real tree brings to holiday family gatherings. In this part of the country, there are at least a half-dozen or so species from which to choose, among them Scotch and white pines, and Douglas, Fraser and Canaan firs. Here, we look at several farms to begin your search for the perfect tree. Nearly all sell both pre-cut and U-cut trees, and most offer complimentary shake, bale and drill services or a combination thereof.

Newfoundlands pull tree-laden sleds for customers on Dec. 6 at Dull’s Tree Farm.

Dull’s Tree Farm (BOONE COUNTY) 1765 Blubaugh Ave., Thorntown | (765) 325-2418 | dullstreefarm.com OWNERS: Tom and Kerry Dull OPENED: 1993 HOURS: Christmas season runs Nov. 27 through Dec. 20. Opening day and Saturday hours 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m.; weekdays 3 to 6 p.m. TREE SPECIES: Pre-cut lot: Fraser, West Coast Noble and concolor firs. Pre-cut or choose and cut site-grown trees: Scotch pine, white pine, Canaan fir. Trees from 4 to 12 feet; charged by the foot. Average 7-foot tree is $40 to $69, depending upon variety and shape. IF YOU GO: Mid-1800s Boone County farmstead overlooks 40 acres of trees in a mid-winter Currier & Ives photo replete with horse-drawn wagon rides. The wreath barn, a restored postand-beam corncrib, showcases handmade wreaths, garlands, mantel pieces, grave blankets

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

and mailbox decorations. A restored log cabin is now a gift shop, featuring ornaments, Nativities and gift items. The Stone Cabin Inn, an on-site bed and breakfast open January through midNovember, serves as hospitality center, with hot chocolate by the fireplace and s’mores outside by the fire pit. The Dulls also sell food: hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, cider and Stroopwafels, a Dutch-originated delight. Dec. 6 is Newfoundland Dog Pull Day, when South Central Newfoundland Club members take dogs to the farm to pull tree-laden sleds from the field to customers’ cars. Tips and donations benefit the South Central Newfoundland Rescue program (scnewfrescue.org). “It’s a win-win for everyone,” owner Tom Dull says. Dull’s is a member of the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association, National Christmas Tree Association and a Trees for Troops participant.

Goebel Farms

Sheets Christmas Tree Farms

4745 W. Booneville-New Harmony Road, Evansville (812) 963-3001 | goebelfarms.com

5679 N. County Road 200E, Osgood

(VANDERBURGH COUNTY)

OWNERS: Larry and Susan Goebel OPENED: 1995 HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday TREE SPECIES: Pre-cut: Fraser and field fir. Choose and cut: White pine, Scotch pine, Norway spruce, blue spruce, Virginia pine and Fraser fir. Trees from 2- to 4-foot table-toppers to more than 10 feet. Also sell pre-made or custom wreaths, white pine and Fraser fir roping, tree stands and more. Live trees available for planting include white pine, Norway and blue spruce, field and Canaan fir. Both pre-cut and choose and cut priced $5 to $12 per foot; balled $12 to $20. Complimentary trim, shake and bale. IF YOU GO: Founded by Milton and Laverne Goebel as a crop farm, Goebel’s added Christmas trees in 1995 and is now overseen by second- and third-generation family members. Enjoy free hot chocolate and a barn slide for the youngsters. “We have a friendly staff and try to please our customers in the best way we can, and everybody usually goes away happy,” says Susan Goebel. The farm is a member of the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association and will participate in Trees for Troops for the first time this year.

Hensler Nursery Inc. (STARKE COUNTY)

5715 N. Road 750 E, Hamlet (574) 867-4192 | henslernurseryindiana.com OWNER: Hensler Family OPENED: 1953 LOT HOURS: During Christmas Fest (Nov. 27 through Dec. 23) 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday SANTA AND MRS. CLAUS HOURS: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends only during Christmas Fest TREE SPECIES: Homegrown pre-cut and choose and cut: Scotch pine, white pine, Fraser fir and balled trees. Trees from 5 to 15 feet; prices $28 to $250. Hensler also offers wreaths, swags, kissing balls, hanging baskets, grave pillows and other freshly cut greenery items. IF YOU GO: Hensler Nursery has been serving northeast Indiana for more than 60 years from its 300-acre farm 12 miles west of Plymouth. Annual Christmas Fest features a parade led by area fire trucks and heralds the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus. Little ones can ride the rails on the Hensler Express and visit Reindeer Villa and Santa’s Workshop. The Christmas Barn offers decorations, gifts and treats that include maple syrup. Chow down in the Eats Barn for a variety of food and beverages sold by regional philanthropic groups and civic organizations. John Hensler, president of the family-run operation, notes the site offers plenty of photo ops and is pet friendly. “We just like people to come in and experience the friendly atmosphere here,” he says. Hensler Nursery is a member of the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association and a Trees for Troops participant.

(RIPLEY COUNTY)

(812) 689-4768 | sheetstreefarm.com OWNER: Kebe Sheets OPENED: Early 1960s HOURS: Nov. 27 through Dec. 20. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday following Thanksgiving; then noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday. TREE SPECIES: Choose and cut: Scotch pine, white pine, Canaan fir, Colorado spruce, Norway spruce. Pre-cut also available. Trees range from 5 to 15 feet. Prices from $35 to $150, depending upon type and size. Sheets also sells freshly made wreaths and swags and live, balled Colorado and Norway spruces and white pine. IF YOU GO: Owned by the Sheets family since 1854, the 380-acre farm has been awarded a Hoosier Homestead Farm Sesquicentennial Award and in 1968 supplied the White House Christmas tree. On weekends, customers access 35 acres of trees by tractor-pulled wagons, enjoy free hot chocolate and select from unique holiday decor items and tree stands in the gift shop. Snacks, soda and bottled water available for purchase; complimentary shaking, baling and drilling offered. Member of Indiana Christmas Tree Association and Trees for Troops participant.

Snowy Pines Christmas Tree Farm (PUTNAM COUNTY)

1375 N. U.S. 231, Greencastle | (765) 653-5304 OWNER: John Zeller OPENED: 1979 HOURS: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week TREE SPECIES: Pre-cut: Scotch pine, white pine and Fraser fir. Choose and cut: Scotch pine, white pine, Norway and blue spruce. Trees range from 3 to 8 feet. Prices about $5 per foot. IF YOU GO: Snowy Pines is a favorite of regional customers who make the annual trek from Indianapolis, Danville, Crawfordsville, Avon and Coal City to select a tree from the Greencastle nursery. Many are second-generation customers, says Lydia Zeller, who helps bake more than 1,000 sugar cookies for guests each year. “People we used to give a free cookie to are now bringing their kids in for a cookie,” she says, adding they also offer free hot chocolate. “We have a fire pit folks can sit around, and we just have a good time out here.”

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

St. Joe Christmas Tree Farm (ALLEN COUNTY)

9801 St. Joe Road, Fort Wayne (260) 486-4336 | stjoetreefarm.com OWNERS: Judy and Mike Reifenberg OPENED: 1999 HOURS: Open daily after Thanksgiving until sold out. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. TREE SPECIES: Pre-cut: White pine, Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Fraser fir and a limited supply of white fir (Concolor). Sizes range from 3-foot tabletops to more than 12-foot. Choose and cut, which sell out first: Scotch pine, white pine, Douglas fir and a limited supply of Fraser fir. Sizes from 5- to 12-foot, depending upon tree type. Average price of all 7-foot trees is $45 to $75, depending upon variety and shape. Complimentary shaking and baling. The Reifenbergs also sell pre-decorated and plain wreaths of Douglas and Fraser firs, ranging from 10 inches to 5 feet wide. There are swags, garlands, centerpieces, white pine roping, kissing balls, candy cane wreaths and crosses, ornaments, Fontanini Nativity sets, four brands of tree stands and tree preservatives. IF YOU GO: Hop on the farm’s “train” (weekends only) and ride through 23 acres of trees at this long-established operation one mile north of Interstate 469 and east of Interstate 69. Farm is northeast Indiana’s sole dealer of BlissLights, laser lights for indoor and outdoor use. “They can cover a 50-by-50-foot range and put light dots all over your house,” Judy Reifenberg says. Regional goodies include maple syrup made on site, South Bend Chocolates and caramels from Minnesota-based Annie B’s. Free hot chocolate and coffee weekends only. St. Joe Christmas Tree Farm is a member of the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association and a Trees for Troops participant. 10

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Ed Tower prepares the farm for tree season.

Tower Family Christmas Tree Farm (BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY)

4416 Lowell Road, Columbus | (812) 378-3505 | towerfamilychristmastrees.blogspot.com OWNERS: Ed and Cathy Tower OPENED: 1992 WINTER HOURS: Season opening Nov. 21. Weekday hours 1 p.m. until dark; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to dark. There are no lights in the fields. TREE SPECIES: Pre-cut: Fraser firs from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Choose and cut: white pine, Scotch pine, balsam fir, Norway spruce. Sizes from 5 feet to more than 12 feet; prices from $20 to $120. The farm also carries wreaths and swags.

IF YOU GO: The family operation opens this year the weekend before Thanksgiving. It takes seven to eight years to grow trees, which have to be trimmed back to about a foot’s growth each year “so you don’t get a Charlie Brown tree,” says owner Ed Tower. “Last year was one of the best for tree farm sales, statewide, and we ran out of pre-cuts. So if you’re looking for a Fraser, come out early.” Tower is a member of the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association.

Dull’s Tree Farm prepares Trees for Troops.

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// TREES FOR TROOPS //

For most of us, evergreen trees are an essential symbol of the Christmas season. They speak of hearth, home and the security of family and friends. But for those men and women serving in the military, some holidays are just another day. And Christmas trees are nonessentials. To support the efforts of our country’s Armed Forces, Trees for Troops, a program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, was established in 2005. The initiative partners the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation with FedEx as the charitable branch of the National Christmas Tree Association, shipping live trees to U.S. troops and their families. The Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association, a subsidiary of the NCTA, participates in the program, which last year delivered more than 18,000 trees, a majority of them to military families based at installations across the U.S. About two dozen Hoosier tree farms participate in the annual event, which kicks off Nov. 17 this year. Thorntown-based Dull’s Tree Farm has participated in the program since Indiana joined in 2006. The farm’s spacious grounds serve as the annual

pickup site for all trees donated by Indiana growers. Owner Tom Dull said trees this year will be shipped to a naval base, Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and to the USO Center in Afghanistan. “This is our 10th year of participation. It’s just a great opportunity for tree growers to say ‘thank you’ to military personnel for what they do, and for being gone from their families and homes at such a significant time of the year,” says Dull, current president elect for the National Christmas Tree Association. “FedEx makes this possible, because they donate all shipping for the trees.” Still, he notes, costs — estimated from $5 to $7 per tree — are involved for program management and coordination. “So donations are always welcome,” he says. The One Thousand Tree Campaign will run through November, enabling participants to donate a Christmas tree online, and Trees for Troops weekend will be held Dec. 4 to 6. During those days, consumers can purchase a tree from select retail lots across the country to be delivered to a deserving military family. Visit treesfortroops.org for details.

For more information, contact Amber Fischvogt (812) 376-7772 or afischvogt@heritagefundbc.org

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Marvin Finke looks out over his property. Opposite page: Finke on his ATV.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Working the Land

At 87 years old, Marvin Finke still does what he loves most BY SHARON MANGAS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH MARSHALL

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Finke with his wife, Pauline. Below: Silos on the property.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

MARVIN FINKE, Hope area farmer and former Bartholomew County commissioner, has lived a busy and fulfilling life. Now 87, he’s still doing what he does best: working the land. Picturesque NicKatie Farms (named for grandchildren Nick and Katie) sits off County Road 600N, just a few miles from Hope. The original farmhouse, built in 1902 — home to Finke and his wife, Pauline — rests on a hill, offering pastoral views of the surrounding fields from windows and porches. The farm has been in the family for 92 years. The original 160 acres and farmhouse were a wedding gift to Finke’s parents from his maternal grandfather. “Over time, my dad added 60 more acres, and I added 80,” he says. “Today, we have 300 acres at the site of the original farm, but we farm 1,200 to 1,500 acres; some of it’s owned, and some is rented,” he says. “Most of the acreage is within three miles of the original farm.” Finke and his son-in-law, Jon Stoner, grow corn and soybeans, and tend 50 to 60 head of Angus cattle. “For years we had 200 head of dairy cattle,” says Finke, “but when my son, John Finke, got ill about 10 years ago and had to give up active farming, we got out of dairy cattle.” On a typical day, Finke is up by 6 a.m. After breakfast and perusing the newspaper, he’s off to see how he can help Jon. “At my

age, I pick and choose the jobs I do,” he says. “But I’ll work eight to 10 hours at a stretch if it’s a sit-down job like planting or combining or mowing. I don’t work every day anymore, but during planting and harvest time, I keep pretty busy. I have the best of both worlds. … Let’s put it this way, if you enjoy it, it’s not work. It’s fun.” Farming’s changed a lot during Finke’s lifetime. He remembers pre-tractor days, when fields were plowed with horses and mules. “One of my first jobs, when I was about 5, was driving a hay-rake pulled by horses,” he says. “The horses knew exactly where to go and what to do, so it was a pretty safe job for a little guy.” Eventually, horses and mules gave way to mechanization. “We traded off half our horse power for our first tractor. That was 80 years ago.” He marvels at today’s crop yields, which are beyond anything his father or grandfather could have imagined. “I have a farmer friend on Marr Road who has a hundred acres of corn,” says Finke. “He can harvest that all in one day; that’s 20,000 bushels. In the old days, that would’ve taken all winter.” Finke was a child during the Great Depression and a young teen during World War II; those were tough times for farm families. “The Depression was terrible,” says Finke. “I don’t know how families made it through that time. No one had money. The saving grace was folks grew about 90 percent of what they ate. Most had a milk cow, chickens and livestock, so about everyone had something to eat. You got one pair of shoes a year back then, and some kids started school barefoot. It was hard times, but everybody was in the same boat.” During World War II, with many farm-

ers off to war, POWs from Camp Atterbury were trucked in to help at area farms. “The POWs were sent to local farms in groups of 10,” says Finke. I believe they got a little pay for it and were glad to get a break from the prison camp. They’d work at one farm for a few hours, shocking wheat or doing other field work, and then move on to other farms. I remember one prisoner, a boy not much older than me, who was from Vienna, Austria. He spoke good English and had been going to college back home. He sat on a bridge with me and my uncle and told us his story.” He credits his parents, Albert and Esther Finke, with instilling solid values, like a sense of responsibility and a dedication to hard work. “My parents were very influential in my life,” he says. “I give them all the credit. You have to accept responsibility when you grow up on a farm.” But his parents also understood the value of play, and as long as his chores were done first, Finke was free to pursue his love of sports. He played varsity

The Finke family’s front yard.

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FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Finke with his son, John.

basketball at Columbus High School. In his senior year, 1946, the Bull Dogs had a stellar season, winning 21 of 26 games. He is still good friends with his surviving teammates, including locals Bob “Bird” Welmer and Bill Herron. Family means everything to Finke. “I wouldn’t be where I am in life without the support of my family,” he says. “You can’t do anything by yourself. It’s not the ‘I’ that gets things done, it’s the ‘we.’” His adult children, John Finke, Susan Finke Scott and Cyndy Finke Shupe, have great respect for their dad. Shupe, program director for surgical technology at Baker College in Cadillac, Michigan, has fond memories of growing up on the farm. “Dad gave me the gift of a strong work ethic,” she says. “My brother, sister and I were all expected to be active participants and to contribute to the farm. It was not an option, but an unspoken expectation. I would not be successful in my chosen field without this work ethic. I’ve told Dad many times, ‘Thank you for this gift,’ but I can never say it enough.” Finke, a born problem-solver, has always looked for ways to “work smarter,” another les-

son learned from his father. Son John recalls building a dairy barn with his dad in the 1970s. “Dad’s mind works in amazing ways,” he says. “He had everything pictured in his mind for the barn, and though he was dealing with multiple levels of concrete, he built and set the forms without double-checking the blueprints. We poured 300 yards of concrete, moved to the site by wheelbarrow, and the completed levels were not even off half an inch.” Daughter Susan Finke Scott, assistant principal at Columbus North High School, appreciates her dad’s counsel. “I still like to listen to my dad because his advice is based on good sense, positive intention and outcomes with a focus on improvement,” she explains. “Some of my best memories of Dad are his service to others and his focus on improving his skills and those of his family.” Those were skills applied to his long career in Republican politics, too. “I worked in politics for 40 years,” says Finke, “and loved every minute of it.” He started out as a precinct committeeman in the late 1950s,

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FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

was elected three times to the Bartholomew County Council and served three terms as a Bartholomew County commissioner. Like other endeavors he tackled, Finke gave his all during the years he served the public. He’s proud of the many improvements to roads and bridges that happened on his watch. He also oversaw the planning and financing of the new jail on Second Street. “Being commissioner was a part-time position,” says Finke, “but I spent most every weekday doing work for the county. I’d often drive county roads in the evenings, to check on the condition of road and bridge projects. I thought it was important to be well-informed.” Finke’s political career came to an end in 1992, the last time he ran for commissioner, when his support for expanding the county landfill at its (then) current location in Petersville led to his defeat. “That’s what beat me,” he says. “No question on that. I only got about 12 votes from the folks in the Clay Township precinct, but I’d vote the same way today, because I thought, economically, it was the right thing

to do. I voted what I thought was best and took the consequences.” He still follows politics at all levels of government but is disheartened at how partisan it’s become today. “I’m a Republican, but I worked just as well with the Democrats as I did with my own party. I never had problems getting things done because I worked with both sides.” Despite a life filled with blessings, Finke has experienced his share of sorrow, too. When his first wife of 43 years, Helen, died suddenly in 1995, he felt lost. “That was a hard time for me,” he says. “I couldn’t imagine myself ever marrying again.” But life had other plans. Finke, who knew Pauline from St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Columbus, sat beside her at a service one Sunday. “We got to talking,” says Pauline, smiling, “and Marvin invited me out to the farm to play cards with his friends, and, well, it just went from there.” They married in 1997. The farm played cupid again when Pauline’s daughter, Deena, a veterinarian, moved back to Columbus and lived with Marvin

and Pauline while she got re-established. Deena soon met Jon Stoner, who had worked on Finke’s farm since high school, and the two fell in love and married. The Stoners added Nick, 12, and Katie, 10, to the family. Finke admits it’s not always easy to blend two families in a second marriage, but he credits grandchildren Nick and Katie with bringing everyone together. “We all love

them and enjoy their company,” he says. As he walks the farm, Finke ponders his legacy. “I’d like people to remember me as an honest and positive person,” he says. “I believe you can change any negative into a positive by looking at the broad picture. Negativism can destroy your life and the people around you. Look at the good side. I really mean that.”

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A Zebu bull (left) and a miniature Scottish Highlander (below) at Wildman Farms.

A Country

Refuge Life on the farm provides peace, quiet and an opportunity for family time for David Wildman By Jim Mayfield Photography by Josh Marshall 18

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

David Wildman. Inset top: A Bronze turkey. Bottom: Breakfast at Wildman Farms.

ROSCOE WOULD PREFER WARMER weather, so a cold early autumn drizzle already has him a bit itchy, and a stranger approaching the pasture fence doesn’t seem to help his mood. The miniature Zebu bull — think tiny Brahman, complete with horns — whose ancestral roots claw back to the tropical climes of India, backs away a few paces, stares intently and then lifts his left front leg. He’s not trying to keep his hoof out of the mud. Miniature Zebus are not among the sights one sees regularly on a small Hoosier farm tour. Roscoe is unique, as is his pasture mate, Scarlet, a wooly Scottish Highlander, also of the miniature variety. “In a nutshell, the animals that come to live here are usually something out of the ordinary, something unique,” said David Wildman, owner of Wildman Farms in south-central Hancock County. Happily showing off his spread and nearly 90-year-old farmhouse, Wildman is somewhat unique in his own right, graciously opening gates and eagerly pointing out members of his menagerie that includes potbellied pigs, chickens, two breeds of goats, sheep and horses. The less-than-ideal weather doesn’t seem to distract him. Wearing slacks, office shoes and a houndstooth blazer instead of muck boots and Carhartts, Wildman is just back from his day job as CPA/controller for an Indianapolis-based,

nonprofit community mental health center. Each day he makes the commute away from the hobby farm that is his refuge to work in the big city. Though growing up on Indianapolis’ east side, Wildman was anything but a city kid. He and his sister kept chickens and rabbits in their backyard, and he spent most of his free time with the pigs, dairy cows, sheep and

poultry on his grandparents’ farm not too far out of town. “My grandparents were just my idols,” Wildman said. “I was going back and forth constantly.” After earning an accounting degree from the Kelley School of Business at IUPUI, Wildman narrowly escaped a teaching career, married and bought a house not far from where

he grew up. But it wasn’t long before he was looking over his shoulder to find a home that gave him a sense of place and peace. A place like his grandparents’ farm. In 1997, he and his wife purchased what is now the 10-acre Wildman Farms south of Greenfield; however, though Wildman came to realize “how happy and content I was,” farm life wasn’t for everyone, and the young family split. Wildman now shares custody of his 16-year-old son, Benjamin, who lives in Brown County during the week with his mother, and there is an acceptance of the situation that makes it clear Wildman Farms — though by definition a hobby farm — is more than just something to do. It’s more who Wildman is. FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

There’s no cable TV, and Wildman is OK if the roads snow-in during the winter. “This is my refuge,” he said. At first blush, an operation like Wildman Farms might hint at something less than it actually is: more a play area for people who can afford it than a bona fide ag operation. The fact is that farming and husbandry on Wildman’s scale are not all that unusual in Indiana, and the rest of the country for that matter. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2012 Census of Agriculture, nearly 7,000 of the state’s approximately 59,000 farms are operations between one and nine acres. And nearly half of all Hoosier farms report annual sales values that do not exceed $2,500. There are more Indiana farms selling less than $2,500 worth of stuff yearly than any other demographic reported, according to the USDA. Additionally, the state’s farmers are split almost evenly between those who farm as their primary occupation and those, like Wildman, who have a day job and farm or raise livestock on the side, the census reports.

A Shetland sheep. Inset: The Wildman home.

Wildman Farms sells eggs from the chicken house and shows goats as they mature, but that’s about the extent of the farm’s cash flow. “I just want to earn enough off the animals so that it breaks even,” Wildman said. “I don’t have to live off that income.” His professional life pays the bulk of the bills, along with the incidental farm sales and income from a pony ride side business Benjamin manages, but the farm helps at the office, too, Wildman said.

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Benjamin Wildman with his Haflinger horse, Trigger.

“Many times I can process stuff from work out here that I can’t do there because I’m too busy,” he explains. “I’ll get answers to things I couldn’t think about on Friday because I just couldn’t think about it anymore.” Weekends also bring family time at Wildman Farms. Benjamin shows up just about every weekend, and both father and son look forward to their time in the country. “It’s very satisfying,” Benjamin said. “We’re always doing stuff together, and I really look forward to the weekend.” Benjamin grew attached to the goats as a child, and working with them has been something he continues to enjoy. It gives him a chance to unplug and recharge his batteries, he said. “I really don’t mind being disconnected,” he said. But, of course, he is a high school sophomore. “As long as I can get reconnected at some point.” Benjamin understands his dad’s desire to live the way he does. It’s a part of both of them, and though the junior Wildman has plans to

work in computers and software, he can still see a place for the country in his future. As for the elder Wildman, he takes it all in stride. It is, after all, what it is. “It’s a lifestyle a lot of people don’t identify with,” he said. “Some people at work get it; most don’t. Some people think you’re a little bit goofy.” His laugh indicates that it’s OK for some people to think that. When Benjamin graduates and moves on to college, Wildman says, he’ll most likely downsize a bit. Thin the herd and cut back on the workload. But chances are, things won’t stay lean forever. He’d like for others to see, feel and understand a way of life that keeps him anchored to a place he feels is important. A place that is perhaps a bit simpler than others. A refuge. Wildman’s smile gives up the fact that he’s already been crunching the numbers. “I’ll probably size back up to accommodate the grandchildren,” he said. FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

The Westerfield barn built in 1835 with chandeliers for events.

n r a B arty P Westerfield Farm celebrates a year of growth and community BY APRIL E. CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH MARSHALL

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Grant Garthwaite with their chickens. Right: The Garthwaite family home.

Westerfield Farm 8100 N. Road 500E, Shelbyville, (317) 850-2692 OWNERS:

Grant and Amy Garthwaite

»Rustic wedding/event venue (May to October) and farmers market with fresh eggs and seasonal organic produce

THE HISTORICAL 175-YEAR-OLD HOME that sits on the Westerfield Farm property in rural Shelby County is a house that love built. In 1840, German immigrant Peter Yarling constructed the home — and others, using the same plan found elsewhere in Shelby and Rush counties — passing it down through generations. “It was a wedding present when a Yarling daughter married a Westerfield boy,” said Grant Garthwaite, proprietor of Westerfield Farm with his wife, Amy. “It’s built on a foundation from black walnut trees. They just cut them off and laid them down, level. Everything is hand-cut.” With vintage woodwork, 12-foot ceilings, an attic converted into bedrooms and the original 8-foot, handcrafted wood front door,

the rustic farmhouse is now home to the Garthwaite family of eight. Grant, Amy and their six kids — Olivia (11), Noah (9), Mia (7), Anna (4), Sarah (2) and Julia (1) — have lived on the quaint, three-acre farm between Morristown and Shelbyville since November 2014. “We wanted a little bit of property with a nice barn where we could sell produce, and it kind of just popped up,” Amy said. “When I saw it come up on MIBOR, I contacted our Realtor and we knew just by looking at it that it would go fast. Their Realtor said you have to come now, and you have to come serious.” Amy was eight months pregnant with the couple’s youngest. She took one look at the farmhouse, garden space, apple and walnut trees, and large red barn built in 1835 — the second oldest in Shelby County — and was

hooked. A firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department, Grant was on shift that day at Station 26. She sent him photos of the farm. The rest is Garthwaite family history. “He said you have to put an offer on it now,” Amy said. “The way it worked out with the house, and the time we had before we found the house to collect ourselves as a family — God orchestrated every step it.” OFF AND RUNNING Once the family moved in, the Garthwaites began renovating with a focus on the historic barn as the backdrop to a developing farmers market. Grant built a large chicken coop for farm-fresh eggs, starting with 12 chickens and later expanding to 48. He plans to have 100 hens by next spring. A pergola FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Clockwise: A sign that is used during events and farmers markets held in the barn. The original ceiling in the Westerfield barn. Grant and Amy Garthwaite.

and garden shed with repurposed wood from a friend’s old deck were built. Grant also cleaned out the red barn, including the large loft once filled with hay and first-floor rooms used to store grain and corn for cows, to uncover a hidden gem of a space. “It was a hot mess,” he said. “Where the pergola was, there was a huge mound of junk. We put in the gravel drive around the barn and added windows. There were just holes with plywood.” As the 2,000-square-foot barn began to take shape, an idea was born. Along with a farmers market to sells eggs, garden produce and baked and canned goods, the barn could transform into a rustic wedding and event venue for rental May through October. “Honestly, we didn’t come out here with that idea,” Amy said. “Our idea was produce, to sell produce out of there. But I said, ‘You know what, Grant? This could be a really cool wedding barn.’ We bought antiques to decorate and added bride and groom dressing rooms. We’ve had one open

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FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

house and reception in there. If that’s all we do, it’s no big deal. We’re unique because we offer a blank slate for anything, and we make it affordable. But what we really enjoy is the produce and the bakery part of it. That would be our heart.” HOMEGROWN PROVISIONS Over their first summer and fall on the farm, the Garthwaites sold eggs and seasonal organic produce, including organically grown tomatoes, green beans, butternut squash, peppers, zucchini, kale, pumpkins, strawberries and apples. With many perennials on the property planted by a previous owner who loved to garden, the farm also offers stem-cut flowers ranging from sunflowers and irises to hydrangeas and tulips when they’re in season. “There’s a lot of unique ones, a lot of knockout roses around, and butterflies everywhere where the flowers bloom.” Amy said. “They’re really beautiful.” Margie Clark, a Westerfield Farm neighbor whose family grows corn and beans for a

living, is a local customer who enjoys the new option for easily accessible, farm-fresh items. “I like it because it’s at their own location and you know what they’re growing and how they’re growing it,” she said. “It’s been a win-win situation for us. It’s a family business, and you’re welcome to go out into their garden and look around. I love that they have flowers and looking forward to them having sweet corn next year.” Clark said the Garthwaites’ friendly, down-home approach to organic farming is refreshing. “I don’t think they’ve met a stranger,” she said. “They listen to what people say. Each time we get together, they are so enthusiastic about the farm. I invite anybody to give them a try. We can all try to help them make it work.” GROWING FRIENDSHIPS With a focus on their faith, the Garthwaites have built the family farm with love and patience from their 13-year marriage and a

house full of children. Amy says she most enjoys the beauty of the farm’s sunsets and sunrises, and watching the surrounding crops grow and farmers harvest. Grant doesn’t see himself ever leaving the quiet country setting of Westerfield Farm. “I’ll never move back to the city,” he said. “Stepping outside to hear the leaves rustling and the chickens clucking and talking to each other are now some of my favorite sounds.” This year, the couple adapted to their new lifestyle by becoming prominent fixtures at community events around Morristown, including the Wednesday produce stand in front of Dodd’s Hall and a pre-Halloween party at the park. In October, Westerfield Farm hosted a free farm day with hay rides and a pumpkin giveaway to help promote business and treat the community’s kids to fun. “The little kids love to just run around the farm and to check out the chickens,” Grant said. “They get to kind of own it without owning it, to experience it.”

In the colder months, Westerfield Farm will provide fresh eggs by the dozen and special-order products such as jars of pickles and spicy pickled okra and baked goods, including pumpkin and banana nut breads, cinnamon coffee and frosted lemon cakes, and chocolate chip and sugar cookies. For the holidays, Amy will be busy building Christmas cookie and fudge trays. AND MAKING NEW FRIENDS “Our heart is in building relationships, getting to know people, and helping the people of Morristown,” she said. “We aren’t just here to make a profit; that’s a means to an end.” They also want to help Westerfield Farm make a lasting name for itself. “When we first moved here, we were trying to figure out what to name it,” Amy said. “I was looking through old photos and saw a sign like the new one we painted for the front of the barn. Then I thought, ‘This place already has a name. It’s right there in the pictures.’ Westerfield Farm.”

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In the Classroom Local FFA chapters

Students prepare to fly their drone.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Technology Driven

South Newton High School’s FFA benefits from high-tech creations and community support By Catherine Whittier Photography by Josh Marshall

IN NOVEMBER 2014, when South Newton High School FFA advisers and agriculture teachers Darrell Allen and Drake Babcock were asked to dream big for their agriculture department, they never would have guessed that dream would include the provision of a brand new tractor equipped with GPS technology or drones complete with software to analyze plant conditions. Jim Stradling, a northwest Indiana area vocational director for the Indiana Association of Career and Technical Education Districts, contacted South Newton’s principal, Charles Huckstep, with information regarding Indiana’s Innovative Career and Technical Education (CTE) Grant. The grant offered to match three times whatever money the school might be able to come up with locally in its quest to fund innovative education.

Clockwise: Logan Glassburn, 17, shows aerial photography photos taken earlier in the school year. Alex Vitous, 17, drives the new tractor with GPS technology that South Newton High School purchased with a grant. The new Case International Harvester tractor. Students help FFA adviser and teacher Drake Babcock (left) retrieve one of two drones used by the students.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

Clockwise: Babcock (in red) watches as students fly a drone. An FFA classroom. The drone in the air. Sign-up sheets posted on a classroom door.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

When Huckstep asked his agriculture teachers what they needed to take their program to the highest level of innovation, the teachers started small. They imagined they might be able to fit an existing John Deere Gator with GPS technology, so that students could get a feel for what the newest tractors are doing. When Huckstep told his teachers to dream a little bigger, they considered getting a brand new tractor. Then Huckstep mentioned a drone. His teachers dreamed bigger still. When Huckstep presented a request for funds to the Newton County Council, he

never expected to receive the full amount. “He (Huckstep) must have made a pretty good presentation,” Allen says. “He asked for $100,000, and they said, ‘We’ll do $115,000.’” Add to that amount the $345,000 match from the CTE grant, and the county ended up with close to $450,000. The money was to be divided evenly between the North and South Newton schools. North purchased a John Deere tractor and South purchased a Case International Harvester. South Newton also purchased several drones. Tools like The Pacesetter, a top-of-the-line

agricultural drone purchased by the school, can help FFA members create maps of local fields. “In the past, we would have to go out there and walk that field, up and down the rows. … It’s hot, and it takes a long time,” Allen explains. The drone, he says, can do the same job in a matter of minutes. The school owns 10 acres that members of the FFA farm. “The students will use the tractor and drones to work and manage the farm,” Allen adds. Babcock teaches a class on the drone and GPS technologies. “We are currently

piloting that class with 14 students that we kind of hand-picked, based on their experiences,” he explains. Students are learning the agronomic benefits that can come through the use of such technologies. The GPS and drones, he says, “help with tillage practices, planning practices.” These technologies also help when disaster strikes. The seed, fertilizer and chemicals used on the school’s farm are typically donated by local businesses and alumni, “so everything that comes off of there is profit for us,” says Babcock, but this year —

thanks to an especially wet spring — saw a different outcome. Fields were devastated by the heavy rains. “We thought it was going to be bad, but once we flew the drones over it and got some maps of the fields (we saw it was) a lot worse than we expected,” explains Logan Glassburn, a senior who serves as chapter vice president and District 1 secretary. Along with using the tools to size up potential problems in the field, students also will be learning how to build and repair advanced technology through South Newton’s

pre-engineering program. “The farmer is an end user — they use the technology — but they don’t know how it works or why it works. They just depend on it to work,” Allen explains. “So we’re trying to do both — train how to fix it, how it works, and then how to use it.” South Newton offers a well-rounded curriculum for agriculture students. “We have students that excel in soils judging, crops judging, entomology. So they know all of those parts of agronomy, as well as the technology,” says Allen. “To use that technology,

From left, Darrell Allen with Drake Babcock and his FFA class.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

you’ve got to know basic agronomy first. I think students have a firm grasp that they’ve got to know all these other basics as well — including the mechanics in the shop — like welding.” This year brought an exciting opportunity to South Newton agriculture students. They were invited to help Purdue University students build an autonomous robot that will serve as a planter in the AgBOT Challenge, which will take place in Rockville in May. “We are going to build a planter, and it has to plant 12 corn rows in a half-mile field,” explains Alex Vitous, a senior and FFA member. “The unique thing about this is that it’s a collegiate competition, so Purdue University is competing against other universities, but they have asked our chapter, and some of the students in our drone class, to help build the planter,” explains Glassburn.

South Newton FFA President Daniel Shedrow catches a tilapia fish used in the school’s aquaponics program.

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“We have students that excel in soils judging, crops judging, entomology. So they know all of those parts of agronomy, as well as the technology. To use that technology, you’ve got to know basic agronomy first.” — DARRELL ALLEN

While the recent addition of highly innovative technologies is bound to have a huge impact on South Newton’s ag program in the future, Allen and Babcock say the program’s success can be found in its history. “We have a very long history of having a good, solid chapter,” says Allen. “The school was created in the ’60s, and because of that, there’s a lot of support in the community. It’s farmers who care about what these kids are doing

and support it, not just with some money now and then where we need it, but they will lend a hand and drop what they’re doing to come out and work with these kids in the test plot.” FFA members are also always ready to give back to their community. “When somebody in the community wants something done, it’s always been my feeling that one of their first phone calls is to one of us to say ‘Hey, have you got some kids that can do this?’” says Allen. “FFA has been the ‘go-to’ club. Our kids are called to serve a meal, cook a meal, clean up something, do whatever.” Allen and Babcock believe these calls to serve are another indication of the community’s support, confidence and trust in the club, and also speak highly about the character and work ethic of the South Newton FFA members. “We work to build character and leadership a little piece at a time, all along the way, and by the time they graduate and get out, they look back and appreciate that,” Allen explains. “What we strive for, every day, is to make kids, to build kids, to mold kids to be community leaders back here in Newton County,” Babcock adds.

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Christina McDougall

homegrown

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Christina McDougall champions local food throughout the Hoosier state BY JON SHOULDERS

SINCE CHILDHOOD, Christina McDougall has experienced a special connection with food. Throughout her early years she spent quality time with her grandparents at a family farm in Knox County, regularly tending tomato and herb plants. While attending Franklin Central High School, she spearheaded a successful campaign that resulted in the expansion of fresh produce options in the school’s cafeteria. During her high school and college years at Indiana University she helped manage three Schlotzsky’s delis on the south side of Indianapolis, and during her freshman year of college she worked as an assistant pastry chef. Originally from the near east side of Indianapolis, McDougall has continued to cultivate her unique association with food — specifically fresh, locally grown food — to this day, and in 2014 she became the founding director of the Hoosier Farmers Market Association (HFMA), which is a network of Indiana farmers, government agencies, vendors and farmers market managers. “My family always had a respect for fresh produce, home canned goods and things of that nature,” she says. “I have my own garden now with tomatoes, squash, strawberries and over 25 varieties of herbs. In the last three years I’ve also become a food preservationist so I dry and freeze a lot 32

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

of what I grow and get from farmers.” After finishing her bachelor’s degree in secondary education in 2003, McDougall taught social studies at the high school level for several years until realizing her passion for food and interest in addressing the growing problem of food access in central Indiana could serve as the basis for a unique and fulfilling career. She promptly enrolled in a master of public affairs degree program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, hoping to establish systematic methods of connecting farmers with residents in urban and rural areas of Indiana with minimal or no shopping locations that stock fresh, local food. “I was asking myself how I can help on a larger scale in terms of civic engagement and lifelong learning, and I knew the time was right to pursue a master’s and do something within food systems, food policy and civic engagement,” McDougall recalls. “This was back in 2008 and 2009 when the landscape just wasn’t there yet in terms of urban agriculture in the central Indiana area. There weren’t many, if at all, local food purveyors, and I knew something had to be done. When my adviser asked me what kind of job this could eventually translate into, I said, ‘Well, it hasn’t been invented yet.’”

McDougall wasted no time after completing her master’s degree in 2011 and began implementing several initiatives to improve food access in Indy and throughout the state. Between 2011 and 2013, she served as the founding president of Growing Places Indy, a nonprofit organization that specializes in urban agriculture projects around Indianapolis, including a slow food garden at White River State Park and a 2,200-square-foot micro farm in Indy’s Cottage Home district. McDougall became the founding director of the HFMA last year and says the primary objectives of its leaders and members are to enhance local food access and promote food that is grown in Indiana, adding that the state currently relies on imports for approximately 90 percent of its food supply. Since launching the HFMA in October

2014, McDougall and her fellow representatives have worked to increase the number of Indiana groceries, farmers markets and farm stands that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal aid program for which low- and noincome individuals and families can apply and receive an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card to purchase tax-free food, plants and seeds at participating locations. “Our first line of engaging with families that are living in lowincome situations is making sure they know not only that SNAP is available, but how they use the SNAP card at a farmers market, because the process works in reverse from how it does in a grocery store,” she says. “You go to the farmers market manager tent first, and you swipe and you get your SNAP currency for that particular market.” PHOTOS BY JOSH MARSHALL

Barb Wilder, Broad Ripple Farmers Market manager, and McDougall during the Hoosier Farmers Market’s SNAP plant Incentive.

Cara Dafforn, owner of U-Relish Farm and HFMA board member, says the biggest challenge the HFMA faces is expanding awareness on a statewide level. “Finding capacity in small rural communities for market expansion is tough,” she says. “There’s a different set of cultures with Indianapolis and a place like Vigo County for example, so you have to find the best way to create awareness.” To further encourage SNAP membership, the volunteer-based Indy Hunger Network began an incentive program for SNAP recipients called Fresh Bucks, through which participants can receive double the amount of their allotted SNAP dollars for up to a maximum of $20 at participating locations for Indiana-grown fruits, vegetables and certain specialty crops. “The Fresh Bucks program has been really successful just in terms of our SNAP numbers,” McDougall says. “We increased 300 percent in total SNAP redemption in the state of Indiana from 2013 to 2014.” In September of this year, McDougall secured grant money through the Pollination Project, a worldwide funding platform, to help fund central Indiana gleaning projects, which involve redirecting surplus produce from farms and farmers markets to nearby food pantries and other emergency food providers. “The reality is that a lot of food gets literally dumped on the street after farmers markets,” Dafforn says. “It’s depressing to finish up at a market and see cantaloupe on the street. We’re talking tons of typically wasted food, and we have to find constructive ways to move it to places like Second Helpings or the Wheeler Mission in Indianapolis.” McDougall says the stories she hears regularly from farmers market customers, and the relationships she has nurtured with farmers, vendors and market customers alike, have given her hope for improved food access and improved health for Indiana residents. “One gentleman who’s a SNAP customer comes to one of the Saturday markets every month in Marion County and spends all of his SNAP dollars on free-range and pastured meat,” she says. “He always says he’s feeding multiple families with that food that he gets, and he has family and friends that live in the same neighborhood that are on SNAP, and they’re pooling their resources to maximize their intake of fresh, local food. That’s such a testament to what’s happening, and that people want to know where their food comes from and that it’s handled in a responsible manner. Those are the stories that I love hearing.” PHOTOS SUBMITTED

To find out more about the Hoosier Farmers Market Association, visit hoosierfarmersmarkets.org. For additional information on SNAP eligibility in the state of Indiana and the Fresh Bucks incentive program for SNAP customers, visit in.gov/fssa/dfr/3095.htm and freshbucksindy.com. For information on the Indy Hunger Network’s mission and current projects, visit indyhunger.org.

Left: McDougall with Melanie Peters during the first Glean Team pantry harvest in Cottage Home Community Garden, 2013. Right: McDougall stands next to an 8-foot okra palm in Indiana State University’s community garden.

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

PART 1 Standing on four feet of corn, Jack Buttenhoff, 17, breaks up chunks in a grain bin in Montrose, Minn. Buttenhoff was wearing a gas mask to protect him from breathing in mold spores.

The first in a four-part series on some of the nation’s deadliest workplaces: our farms By Jeffrey Meitrodt STAR TRIBUNE (MINNEAPOLIS) (TNS)

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

MINNEAPOLIS — Richard Rosetter stood inside his 28-foot grain bin and smashed a shovel into the thick layer of ice that covered his corn. He was in a foul mood. His wife and a neighbor were pestering him, upset that he was working by himself, with no spotter to rescue him if he got trapped. He had been doing this for 50 years, Rosetter reminded them that cold day in February 2014. Just before 3 p.m. he realized his mistake. As the corn turned to quicksand beneath Rosetter’s feet, he pulled out his cellphone to call for help. But the walls of the bin were too thick. The phone didn’t work. It took rescuers six hours to find his body at the bottom of the bin. “I think it was totally preventable,” said Gene Stengel, a local farm bureau leader who was hired to haul Rosetter’s corn that day. “I tear myself up. What could I have done differently?”

(RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS)

Tragic Harvest At nearly all workplaces in America today, regulators, insurers and workers themselves demand safeguards to make it less likely for a careless mistake to become a tragedy. Coal mines, factories and construction sites are safer as a result. Not the family farm. Minnesota and other Midwestern states allow small farmers to rely on their own judgment and experience to decide what’s safe and what isn’t. State and federal budget cuts have slashed farm training and safety programs, even as farm machines have become more powerful and more dangerous. Deaths are on the rise. More than 210 workrelated deaths occurred on Minnesota farms from 2003 to 2013 — an increase of more than 30 percent when compared with a decade earlier. A Star Tribune review of those fatal cases shows that at least two-thirds involved practices that violate federal workplace rules. Unlike at most work sites, state and federal

regulators rarely visit farms after a fatality. There is usually no penalty for running a dangerous farm and little financial incentive to improve safety. Steps to address safety problems at the federal level have stalled, most recently in 2014 when Congress forced the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to curtail a campaign to reduce grain bin deaths. Farming remains one of the most dangerous occupations in America, with fatality rates above other high-risk industries such as mining and construction. Altogether, nearly 5,000 people have died in farm accidents since 2003. Some states on the West Coast and elsewhere are doing more to make farms safe, either through training or inspections that help farmers eliminate hazards and adopt less risky practices. But that effort has not taken hold in the agricultural heartland of the Midwest, where Minnesota and other big farm states produce the bulk of the nation’s corn, oats,

Farmers face constant danger Hazards are everywhere on a farm. Among the leading causes of death: Getting crushed in a tractor rollover, mangled by running equipment or suffocated in a grain bin.

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Tractor 1. Rollovers Older tractors, especially those with narrow front wheels, are prone to rollovers. Safeguards such as crush-proof cabs and roll bars protect operators. 2. Extra riders Children and young adults have died while riding as passengers on tractors built for a single operator. The extra weight can affect vehicle stability.

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1. Grain bridges A crusty layer of grain can hide a hollow cavity beneath. Farmers should not stand on a grain bridge. 2. Grain walls Grain walls form on the side and can come loose in an avalanche, burying workers in seconds. Farmers should wear a harness and lifeline connected to an anchor point. 3. Flowing grain When a bin is unloaded, the grain flows downward, creating a “funnel” effect that draws material to the bottom. Farmers without proper safety gear can get trapped even if the grain is not over their heads.

Skid-steer loader 1. Shortcuts Many accidents happen when farm workers get out of the cab while the machine is running or perform maintenance without properly securing the arms. 2. Disabled features The machines come with many safeguards to prevent accidents, but some farmers disable safety features to make the equipment easier to use or maintain.

Sources: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Penn State College of Agriculture, Purdue University

soybeans and other crops. Even as work-related deaths on U.S. farms have declined overall in the past decade, that’s not the case in Minnesota and other Midwestern states — where half of all U.S. farm deaths occur. The number of farm deaths has risen by double-digit numbers over the past decade in Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and North Dakota, according to the most recent federal data. Farm fatalities now account for a quarter of all workplace deaths in Minnesota. “It worries the heck out of me,” said Dave Baker, an assistant dean at the University of Missouri who has been involved in farm safety for 45 years. “Farm safety is not a national priority anymore. We need to have a serious conversation, at the state and federal level, about where we go from here.” Minnesota’s rise in farm deaths is an “indictment” of the state’s lax approach to farm safety, said former state Agriculture Commissioner Jim Nichols.

Graphic: Mark Boswell, Star Tribune/TNS

“These are scary numbers,” said Nichols, a Lincoln County farmer who ran the state agriculture department from 1983 to 1991. “What a terrible thing to pass on to the next generation. We’ve got to start thinking differently.” Farmers are supposed to follow the same kind of safety rules that apply on other work sites. But Congress has routinely exempted farms from federal oversight if they do not employ at least 11 workers. Most fatal accidents happen at these smaller operations, not mega-farms or giant dairies, and receive little scrutiny. In Minnesota, state regulators have investigated just six of 210 farm deaths in recent years, records show. That’s a typical rate in the Midwest. By comparison, state and federal regulators typically review about 90 percent of construction fatalities across the United States. Roughly half the accidents in Minnesota occurred when a farmer was working alone. In FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

many of those cases, farmers were not found for hours, delaying the arrival of medical attention and possibly turning treatable injuries into fatal ones. One of the most common mistakes involved malfunctioning equipment. In 25 accidents, farmworkers died while they were trying to fix a broken belt or make other repairs without taking proper precautions, often while the equipment was still running. In September 2013, Craig Wanous of Hutchinson, Minnesota, was trying to clear corn stalks out of a clogged chopper, a harvesting machine that cuts corn with three rotating discs packed with blades. Wanous had borrowed the machine from Alan Juncewski, a lifelong friend, who came out with his uncle David to help Wanous clean up after a storm knocked down some corn, snarling his father’s electric fence. But the chopper kept getting jammed. Alan Juncewski told investigators that he usually turns the machine off in that situation, but he said Wanous didn’t want to take the extra time. Alan and his uncle became increasingly agitated as they watched Wanous work. “Craig, it’s gonna get your coat,” David Juncewski said, according to the police report. “Get away from them knives.” David Juncewski said he looked away and “boom, it was done.” Wanous’ unzipped jacket got pulled into the machine and the blades sliced him open. His last words: “Davy, it got me.” Like other big farm states, Minnesota used to have a highly visible safety program. Farm kids went to training camps across the state to learn about safety and health. In 2001, 12,000 children attended in 63 counties. Adults could get similar training, and 500 to 1,000 farmers showed up each year, recalled John Shutske, who oversaw farm safety in Minnesota for nearly 20 years. That training started to disappear after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Federal funds for the program were diverted to other areas, Shutske said. Another hit followed in 2003, when state and local officials cut $7 million from the University of Minnesota Extension program budget. That forced the closure of dozens of county offices that used to provide training and promote researchbased safety practices. 36

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

(RENEE JONES SCHNEIDER/MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE/TNS)

Shelley Fenton cries as her husband, Al Fenton, tearfully tells the story about his 2-year-old son Benny’s death while riding with him on a skid loader on a farm in New Richland, Minn.

Today, tractor training is available to high school students in just two of the state’s 87 counties. Extension offers no safety programs for adults. Shutske’s position has been vacant since 2008, when he quit to become an administrator at the University of Wisconsin. The job of overseeing farm safety also has been eliminated in many other big farm states. “I think it is absolutely ludicrous that we have states like Minnesota that don’t have a farm safety specialist, or someone who focuses on rural health and safety issues,” said Purdue University professor Bill Field, who promotes farm safety in Indiana. As states moved away from farm safety, federal officials created 10 regional safety centers. The sites have received more than $200 million from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) since 1990 to find ways to prevent farm accidents and improve the health of agricultural workers. But federal reviews have faulted the centers for failing to adequately monitor farm accidents and for providing insufficient assistance to farmers. President Barack Obama has repeatedly proposed eliminating the centers, but Congress has restored the funding in each of the past five years. The 4-year-old center in Minnesota is working on seven research projects, including one on the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant

While Fenton worked, Benny stood on the floor of the skid loader, between his father’s legs. Fenton was finishing up the job when he hit a bump. Benny fell forward with his head outside the open cab. The descending bucket crushed his skull. The nature of farm work can sometimes make “Why wasn’t it me? Why did I cut his life safety a secondary concern. The priority is to short?” said Fenton, his eyes wet with tears. get the job done. It was the second loss for Fenton’s family. In 2013, Al Fenton brought his 2-year-old His stepson Dylan son to work at a New died three years Richland hog farm earlier when a grain because his wife had “I think it is absolutely truck smashed into pneumonia and there ludicrous that we have his ATV while the was no one else to states like Minnesota that 13-year-old was colwatch the boy. don’t have a farm safety lecting the mail. Fenton was supFenton said he posed to be off, but his specialist, or someone learned how to operboss, Paul Koziolek, who focuses on rural ate a skid loader at the kept calling. It had health and safety issues.” age of 10, by sitting snowed, and Koziolek — BILL FIELD, in the lap of an adult wanted Fenton to use PURDUE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR and watching how a skid loader to plow a the controls worked. path for the feed truck He said he never took a class to prove he could that was coming. operate the machine properly. Koziolek said he never warned Fenton “They don’t teach farm safety in the against riding with his son, even though carryschools anymore,” said Fenton, 40. “I work ing passengers is a flagrant hazard. at QC (a farm supply store) now and you “If Benny was with him, I should have said, can’t operate a forklift unless you’re certi‘Oh, forget it. Don’t do it.’ But I always had a fied. There are just too many assumptions in tough time doing that,” Koziolek said. “Befarming. It’s like, you grew up on a farm, so cause when you get the young kids involved in they think you know everything.” agriculture, to me, it’s something special.” infections among swine veterinarians. None of the projects involve crop production, which accounted for three-quarters of Minnesota farm deaths in the past decade.

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Employees load calves onto a truck at Riverview Farms in Morris, Minn. When Alfredo Cabrera-Martinez crashed an ATV into a tree and was killed in 2010, the mega dairy farm changed its practices to include a priority on safety. Now workers wear yellow vests and have helmets available for use on all ATVs.

One of the most dangerous places to work on a farm is a grain bin. Throughout the Midwest, fire departments get calls for help whenever a farmer gets trapped after going inside a bin to break up clumps of moldy corn or soybeans. At least 17 farmworkers in Minnesota have died since 2004 while working inside the bins, records show. In 2010, the Chicago office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration noticed that such accidents were at record levels. The agency stepped up enforcement, starting with a warning letter to 13,000 grain bin operators, including 180 sites in Minnesota. Regulators also tripled the number of inspections and began issuing unusually large penalties for violators, including a $555,000 fine in the deaths of two teenage workers in Illinois. Agency officials say the campaign helped reduce the number of grain bin entrapments from a record of 59 in 2010 to 21 in 2012. But Congress accused the agency of exceeding its authority by targeting some farms that were too small to qualify for enforcement. U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minnesota, was among the critics, calling the agency’s efforts “misguided.” Kline declined repeated requests for an interview for this series. In early 2014, after the uproar led to a congressional hearing, the safety agency backpedaled, declaring that small farms

would not be subject to enforcement. In 2014, grain entrapments climbed to 38, the highest level since 2010, according to researchers at Purdue University. When inspectors intervene on a farm, the impact can be dramatic. At Riverview Farms in western Minnesota, visitors can’t help but notice the bright yellow safety vests. Almost all of the 750 employees wear them. It’s the most visible change, but probably not the Morris company’s most important safety improvement, since Alfredo Cabrera-Martinez crashed his ATV into a tree and fractured his skull while working on Riverview’s manure crew in 2011. The accident is one of the handful of fatalities that drew a visit from the occupational safety and health division of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. After discovering that Cabrera-Martinez never received training on how to operate an ATV and never received a helmet, the state fined Riverview a total of $30,400 for safety violations. The action galvanized the company, which is Minnesota’s largest dairy operation with more than 30,000 cows and 9,000 acres of farmland. Managers began stopping any worker caught doing something unsafe and explaining what they should do differently. Helmets were placed on every ATV, and workers were encouraged to wear them. The farm provided safety glasses to employees who are exposed to flying manure. Training became mandatory for all employees using ATVs, and a skid-steer course is in the works. Since safety became a major part of the company’s culture, Riverview’s injury rate has dropped by more than 50 percent, said Kevin Wulf, a human resources manager with Riverview. “Nobody was born knowing what safe is,” Wulf said. “We have to be taught.”

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FROM THE FIELD

Don’t Forget to Add the Local

BY CHERYL CARTER JONES

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

IN THE CARTER HOUSEHOLD, the holiday season has long been steeped in many traditions surrounding food, all made with the finest ingredients, and naturally, all from scratch. My mother taught me never to skimp on ingredients. There is one other common denominator in our food — as much of it as possible is always locally grown. In our case, that most often also means it is homegrown. In many ways I took my childhood for granted because, of course, I did not know anything else. I was fortunate to have a mother who painstakingly tended to a very large garden all summer long, spent end-

less hours canning and freezing the bounty, and stocked the root cellar with as much as it would hold. We had a freezer so enormous that we called the building it resided in “the freezer building.” The holiday season’s onset is always marked by the baking of cookies for my parents’ church — an annual cookie walk held at First Methodist Church. We contribute decorated sugar cookies, Mexican wedding cakes, various bar cookies and Christmas “mice” treats each year. Currently, many of the ingredients to make these cookies are not farm fresh, although in years past, eggs, milk and butter came straight

from our farm. Farm fresh eggs are not hard to locate, and they do make a difference. Someone once told me that a relative would not eat her eggs because the yolks were so orange. Those are exactly the ones that you want — that orange signifies food value. The flavor of freshly churned butter cannot be beat. If you are lucky enough to know a local dairy farmer, see if they will sell you some cream and make churning butter a family experience. I am anxious for dairy animals on my farm so I can once again churn my own butter. We have always had access to fresh nuts. My family loves hickory nuts, but walnuts are also very good and nutritious. I have both hickory and walnut trees on the property where I currently live. My new farm includes a nut grove of pecans, hickories, hicans (cross between a pecan and hickory), almonds and hazelnuts, and a walnut grove, which includes butternuts, Carpathian walnuts, white walnuts and black walnuts. But it will still be another year or two before any of the trees start to produce. Some may not even bear in my lifetime, so I will be at the mercy of other local farmers. I have access to all kinds of berries on my farm. We freeze some and also make jams, jellies and preserves. Next year, I am determined to add chutneys and juices to the list. We use the berries and other farm fruits in every way we can — in cookies, salads and desserts and for specialty sauces.

Cheryl Carter Jones is an Indiana farmer and the president of the Local Growers’ Guild, a cooperative of farmers, retailers and community members dedicated to strengthening the local food economy in central and southern Indiana through education, direct support and market connections. For more information on the guild, visit localgrowers.org.

Next our attention turns to the menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will have turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas. Because our family is small, we sometimes have duck, pheasant or chicken instead of turkey. There are many sources these days for locally grown meat, such as Bush’s Market in Columbus, Nightfall Farm in Crothersville, Fleming Family Farm in Columbus, Tyner Pond Farm in Greenfield and Maple Valley Farm in Bloomington. The list goes on. Check both indianagrown.org and

localgrowers.org for locally grown food sources. No holiday menu is complete for our family without Brussels sprouts. This has become one of my specialties. Sometimes, I merely steam them and add a little butter. Other times I will cut them in half and simmer them in a skillet with a little butter and some nuts. If you do not have a source, check the previously suggested websites. Green beans with ham, onions and new potatoes simmered for hours are also family favorites. Using the

green beans we have canned are as good as if they were straight from the garden. We have our own onions and potatoes as well. Onions can be diced and frozen, taking out only as much as you need from the freezer bag at a time and then resealing it. Many farmers also will have potatoes available for sale well into the winter months. Husk Foods (huskfoods. com) offers a selection of locally grown vegetables that are frozen and ready for use year-round. Carrots and pickled beets often make their way to our table, although we eat a more modest amount of them. Adding a little local maple syrup or honey to the carrots yields delectable flavor. Cranberry salad (diced cranberries, apples, oranges, carrots, nuts and celery with only enough Jell-O to allow it to hold together) is another holiday essential for us. While our cranberries will not be homegrown this year, they will be in another year or two. Our main course is rounded out with homemade yeast rolls (my mother’s specialty), noodles and typically either a vegetable plate or a mixed greens salad. Mixed greens are available from numerous farms, including Full Hand Farm in Noblesville and Growing Places in Indy. After all that food, we take a break

“Award Winning”

before dessert. Thanksgiving includes a traditional pumpkin pie with pumpkins coming from Bush’s Market or Nienaber’s Farm Market. My family looks forward to hickory nut pie every Christmas. It is made like pecan pie, but the nuts have a wonderful buttery flavor, and we savor each bite. And I highly recommend Bush’s lard when making pie crusts. Local food oftentimes is better for you, has a longer shelf life and supports our local economy. More so, it is steeped in family traditions, or it has the potential to be, that will lead to a lifetime of memories for your family. Using local food parallels making the annual trip to the woods to cut down the family Christmas tree or taking a trip to the pumpkin patch. Local food, I have decided, is not only more nutritious, but also good for the soul. This is the season for reflection and giving thanks. I am grateful for my upbringing, for the walks with Dad as a child to check on the crops and the talks that occurred along the way. While he may not realize it, those special times we shared brought me back to the farm. While he may question my farming practices or shake his head routinely regarding my vision, following in his footsteps of farming is my ultimate way to honor him.

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FROM THE FIELD THE VIEW AT NIGHTFALL

BY LIZ BROWNLEE

Picturing Chores

“When you say you’re going to do chores, well, what do you mean?” I hear this question regularly, and I like it because the person is thinking carefully about farms and food. I describe to whoever asks what we do each morning and evening, but I always wish I had pictures to illustrate. This month, I’ll give you a peek into chore time here at Nightfall Farm.

Check the Brooder The brooder is the first stop in the morning. This is where chicks and poults (baby turkeys) live until they are big enough and have grown enough feathers to stay warm and dry on pasture. At chore time, we spread out new bedding if the pine shavings are dirty, fill waterers and feeders, and adjust the temperature in the brooder. When chicks and poults first arrive, we keep it toasty (95 degrees or so), but we wean them off the heat lamps so they’re adjusted to air temperature by the time they go onto pasture.

Build Fence A major task here at Nightfall Farm is building fence. We use movable electric fences to create paddocks (grazing areas) for our animals. We build paddocks that last somewhere between 12 to 24 hours (for the lambs) and five to six days (for the turkeys).

Building fence is labor intensive, but it’s key to rotational grazing. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s important. Building fence gives the animals fresh pasture and plenty of room to socialize and forage. It builds soil health because rotating animals leave behind manure in the pasture, fertilizing it, as they go. Chores usually involve building fence for one group of animals or opening a group into new, fresh pasture. The picture below shows the turkeys exploring the new paddock we’ve just opened up for them: brown, grazed and trampled pasture on the left (where their shelters are) and tall, lush pasture on the right.

Provide Food and Shelter Our lambs are 100 percent grass-fed, so their food comes completely from the pasture. Providing for them is straightforward: build fence, open them onto the fresh grass and move their shade shelter and water into the new paddock. They get right to work grazing. The rest of our animals eat a combination of food from the pasture and grain. The chickens and turkeys hunt for crickets and grasshoppers (and other insects), and they eat seeds and clover. The pigs dig up roots, worms and grubs. They also eat the stems of bulky plants. We also feed the pigs, chickens and turkeys GMO-free grain.

Chores always involve moving shelters. We move chicken tractors, pig shelters and the lamb shelter twice a day every day, and the turkey shelters are moved every two days. Like building fence, this is labor-intensive but critical to providing fresh food and clean space for our animals.

Observe the Animals

Another important part of chores is simply observing our animals. We take note of their behavior and health. Here’s a picture of lambs, up close and personal. We took this picture while spending some time in their paddock. One lamb is resting and chewing its cud (food that has returned from its stomach to be chewed again); the other is grazing. These are signs of healthy lambs. Nate is best at observation, but I’m getting better. There’s always more work to do on the farm, but it’s also critical to ignore the to-do list for a few minutes. Doing chores is a perfect time to slow down: See what the animals are doing, watch the sunrise or notice the geese calling overhead, and appreciate the work and beauty of chore time.

After years of gaining experience on other farms, Nate and Liz Brownlee moved back to Indiana to start their own family farm, which they named Nightfall Farm. Here, they will share stories of the many trials, tribulations, successes and failures in running a family business. For more on Nightfall Farm, visit nightfallfarm.com. 40

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

I sit in my grandmother’s house during the holidays and look around at the various things she has collected over the years. Each trinket and treasure has a story behind it, some now dating back further than her memory allows. The binding on her cookbooks is falling apart, and the torn and folded pages are so stained you can barely read them. But Grandma teaches me how to make family recipes without the book. I simply pay attention to hear her BY KATIE GLICK stories of the past. While I can’t remember everything she tells me, I listen with delight, imagining the moments from decades ago that I can now only see on TV. This year, instead of watching what life was like then, I am going to live it through her too soon, and economic and environmental and other relatives so the next generation can tragedies that leave some people no choice but enjoy these memories, too. I’m hoping the time to abandon their homes. I read a story about spent together brings Oceania islands that may be more of us closer as we engulfed by rising sea levels Katie Glick grew up celebrate where we came caused by warmer temperaon her family farm from and the journey of tures. These families have lived in Martinsville and our family. on the islands for thousands of now lives with her I’m challenging myself years, and the next generation husband on their to learn from the old, may be forced to leave their family farm near Columbus. She is a worn hands and minds homelands. I can’t imagine the graduate of Purdue that worked so hard to struggle, worry and heartache University and has worked in Indiana politics. get me to a place where these people feel. She now works in the agriculture industry. She I don’t have to worry While we get so involved shares her personal, work, travel and farm life about leaving my homein the hustle and bustle of the stories on her blog, Fancy in the Country. land or family. It’s a land season, shouldn’t we also be that has fed our family enjoying the family time we for generations, where we can gather around a have at home? Some may describe their family table of homemade cooked meals to make more time as uncomfortable and boring, but at least memories. I’m challenging you to do the same we have a safe place to go, with good, abundant this holiday season. food and hands that are able to prepare it.

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NOT EVERY DAY you get to see old, worn, wrinkled hands preparing the meal that you will enjoy at the family dinner table. They are the hands that have prepared food for generations during countless holidays, birthdays, celebrations of all kinds and sometimes just a Saturday lunch. For me, they are the hands that I hope will teach me a thing or two about the food we gather around and the journey that got us there. The holidays are upon us, and for most of us that means lots of family time. While the season can be exhausting and the family gatherings can sometimes feel forced, what would life be without them? The favorite homemade meals and the memories created at holidays, and even throughout the year with family, shouldn’t be forced but a part of celebrating our lives. I’ve been reading a lot lately about wars that separate families, diseases that take loved ones

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LOCAL FOOD

BY JEN JANICIJEVIC

FEW QUESTIONS can divide a house as quickly as, “So how do you take your PB&J?” There are smooth operators and crunchy lovers. The proposition of grape jelly to a strawberry jam purist is just as risky as offering a whole-grained, flax-seeded sandwich to someone who grew up on Wonder Bread, and surely, somewhere, there is a toddler having a meltdown because somebody forgot to cut the crusts off. The Weed family of B. Happy Peanut Butter in Zionsville knows that the struggle is real, and they’ve simplified the process to two steps: What kind of peanut butter do you want? Whatever kind you can get your hands on.

How are you going to eat it? With a spoon. In 2013, Jon Weed came to the conclusion that conventional peanut butter wasn’t cutting the mustard for his family of five. Inspired to seek flavors and textures that would bring snack time to another level, Weed spent several months combing his local grocery stores to find peanuts with a rich, honeyroasted taste. Experiments with texture led him to develop what would become B. Happy’s signature flavor, Keep Smunchy — a satisfying combination of smooth and crunchy that’s served as a solid foundation for his lineup of mix-ins. From left: The Weed family — Jon, Julia, 14, Sawyer, 10, Kathy and Jackson, 16.

With Weed’s wife, Kathy, and the pair’s three children (Jackson, Julia and Sawyer) all pitching in to make peanut butter, friends and family were reaping the benefits of their newfound hobby. “We didn’t have some grand vision of a business,” says Weed. “I just thought it would be a fun way to get the kids involved.” The Weed family had kicked around the thought of selling their peanut butter locally, but when family friend Inga Smith of Inga’s Popcorn offered her kitchen for production, the idea stuck. “It was really one of those serendipitous moments,” Weed recalls of the morning it all came together. “She was opening up a store here in Zionsville, and I told her about how we’d thought about selling our peanut butter at the farmers market.” An easy agreement was reached to allow the family access to the shop a few nights a week, a deal that kept the family’s commitment casual and fun. Soon, B. Happy Peanut Butter made its debut at the Zionsville Farmers Market, and it didn’t take long for the products to catch the

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attention of local retailers. Old Northside provisionary Goose The Market owners took notice and began to carry the peanut butter in their store. With an expanded line that now featured flavors like Dream Big — a white chocolate peanut butter with pretzels, customers were snapping up jars as fast as they could be delivered. Word-of-mouth has made every bit of difference to B. Happy’s growth. “Everybody who follows what Goose is doing started contacting us,” Weed explains. “We’ve literally spent zero money on marketing.” A brisk two years later and B. Happy is now sold online and in over 40 stores in the Midwest. The Weed family ushers in approximately 1,000 pounds of honey-roasted peanuts every three weeks and counts nine varieties in its lineup of peanut butters. B. Happy’s newest flavor is called Count Your Blessings, the company’s signature smunchy peanut butter mixed with chocolate and dried cherries. Through all of B. Happy’s success, Weed has remained committed to keeping the business about family, with an authenticity that has served as inspiration for his children. While Jackson and Julia excel at sales, youngest Sawyer has shown an aptitude for the business side of peanut butter. “Once a quarter, I sit down and put together the numbers,” explains Weed, who balances the business while working full time as a financial adviser. “I try to teach them about different business aspects, like gross margins and inventory.” For those who are tiptoeing around the thought of starting their own food business, Weed offers words of encouragement. “Farmers markets are so underrated as an incubator for people like us who have an idea, but maybe don’t want to commit too far,” he says. For more information, visit bhappypeanutbutter.com, or check out the range of flavors available at Inga’s Popcorn at 140 S. Main St., Zionsville.

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LOCAL FOOD

What products do you offer?

I make truffles, bark, bars, caramels, toffee and brittles. Additionally I make some baked goods such as brownies and cookies, cakes, but the baked items are always very gourmet and not what you would typically find. For instance, I make a triple chocolate espresso brownie with cacao nibs.

Q &A

BY TWINKLE VANWINKLE

They say chocolate is the cure for what ails you, and what once ailed Julie Bolejack — a fast-paced corporate job and a big dose of daily stress — is now no longer, thanks to the popularity of her homemade truffles, barks, bars and brittles. An award-winning artisan chocolatier and founder of the Indianapolis-based company Chocolate for the Spirit, Bolejack shares how her love of chocolate has changed her outlook on work, life and food.

Chocolate for the Spirit Julie Bolejack Master Chocolatier President and CEO (317) 518-8842 chocolateforthespirit.com

FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

What made you decide to take a love for chocolate from casual candy bar eater to master chocolatier?

After 30 years of corporate life, my life was a bucket of stress. I was on a much-needed retreat in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. Ever feel like the world has turned against you and no matter how hard you work or what you do, it’s never enough? Well, that’s the way I felt. The break from the everyday stressful life and the beautiful surroundings at the two-day workshop with playwright Julie Cameron allowed me to leave a changed person. This is where a vision of Chocolate for the Spirit was revealed to me. After I returned home, I questioned my life and future. How many times have we heard “find your passion,” “do what you love,” “serve others”? In asking myself these questions, the concept of Chocolate for the Spirit evolved. I am passionate about food, love chocolate and want to share my creations with others for their enjoyment.

What was the hardest part about making such a drastic switch midlife?

No surprise that the hardest part of realizing one’s dream is taking action and making it happen. My experience is that perseverance is required as few roads run straight. They have curves, cliffs, bumps and hazards. So with lots of effort and support from an awesome husband, Dale Bolejack, Chocolate for the Spirit was realized in 2009.

Do you consider yourself a slow food artisan?

I am not wedded to labels. For instance: organic. It says nothing about quality and often is misleading. Many chocolatiers are using the term organic, sometimes even in their name and marketing, yet if you look at their labeling, often it isn’t organic at all. And if so, the only ingredient (that is) organic is the base chocolate. The rest of the ingredients are not. To me slow food is a difficult model for my business because my main ingredient is chocolate/cacao, none of which can be grown locally. I work with an exotic ingredient that comes from the tropics. However, I am local, a true artisan chocolatier. There is no big manufacturing plant; most products are of my hand, and absolutely all my creations are made under my direct supervision. I use fresh, local ingredients if and when I can.

Where do you source your chocolate?

Most of the chocolate I use is from cacao grown in Central and South America and from growers who produce Grand Cru. Beans are then shipped to Switzerland for processing by masters who know how to bring out the best flavor notes from each type of bean. I also am sourcing from cacao grown on the north shore of Hawaii.

Are your ingredients readily available?

Increased demand for cacao has driven up prices; cacao trees take five years to produce and only produce from years five to 30. Special hybrids have been developed that produce quicker, higher yields and are

resistant to diseases, but are totally lacking in beautiful flavor and fragrance notes. If the manufacturer is going to add artificial flavorings, they don’t really care if it is high quality. We call chocolates like this “one note.” They are flat and lacking, but it sells. Many growers have torn out their premium trees and replaced them with these hybrids. So, in a way Chocolate for the Spirit is an educator and a preservationist. If we don’t respect and demand high quality cacao, we could lose it all.

What’s behind the philosophy of what you serve and prepare?

My goal is to work with some of the world’s best and rarest chocolates, sustainably sourced from premium growers of cacao, where the delicate flavors and fragrances are preserved throughout the entire production process. There are over 400 flavor and fragrance aromas found in cacao, many of which are not experienced because of poor processing and addition of flavorings and artificial ingredients. I make a line of connoisseur bars where the chocolate by itself is a star. The chocolate takes your palate on an exciting flavor and taste journey with myriad notes from start to finish. I also use locally purchased butter, cream, honey, herbs and fruits for truffles. I also grow my own lavender, thyme, mint, lemon balm and roses used for truffles. I shop at farmers markets. I like to explore, so I pick up seasonal items and find ways to incorporate them into my creations.

What’s something you’d like local farmers to know, especially concerning customer needs and product availability?

Frankly, I am a bit worried about local farmers’ ability to continue having a direct relationship with customers because of the mega groceries we’ve seen pop up recently. I encourage farmers to do more marketing, newsletters and such. Have customers visit their farms and hold pitch-ins/demonstrations to establish more direct-to-customer relationships. I am not sure that showing up at the farmers market alone is going to be enough. They may need to work harder to maintain those customers. For more information, visit chocolateforthespirit.com. PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Sweet Loaf BY TWINKLE VANWINKLE

I’ve never been a fan of fruitcake, a dish that is historically associated with the winter holidays and more often than not met with disappointment. Still, I love giving baked goods as gifts. To take this doomed dessert and turn it into something spectacular is the ultimate quest. Challenge accepted. Butternut squash is versatile enough to enjoy year-round. Not only does it make some darn good holiday decor but works wonders to spice up your weekly menu. It can be used in delicate soups, cooked and cubed for salads, and roasted, toasted and pureed for baking. Butternut squash is the perfect ingredient for a fruitcake upgrade. It’s easy to bake butternut squash. Just cut in half from stem to end, scrape out the seeds and place face down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 400 F for 45 minutes. After the squash halves cool for 10 to 15 minutes, scoop out the good, gooey pulp from the inside and blend in a food processor. Let cool completely to add to recipes or roast enough squashes to freeze and use throughout winter. The pulp is also great for tossing in smoothies and as an oil substitute in baking recipes. When mixed with flour, molasses, oats and candied cranberries, the squash’s subtle character comes through. Its rich, buttery flavor is far from the hard, brick-shaped sad trombone of fruitcakes past.

Twinkle VanWinkle is an Indianapolis-based food writer and experienced chef with Southern roots. She has more than 23 years of professional cooking under her apron strings and loves to share her unique perspective on food, foodways and culture with others. Needless to say, her family is very well-fed. PHOTO BY TWINKLE VANWINKLE

RECIPE

Butternut Squash and Candied Cranberry Bread Makes 2 large loaves or 10 mini loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup ground flax 1 cup oats 1 cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon nutmeg 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups cooked, pureed butternut squash 1 cup molasses 4 eggs 2/3 cup olive oil ½ cup buttermilk ½ cup whole milk plus ½ cup Zest and juice of 1 lemon Zest of one orange

Candied Cranberries 2 cups sugar 1 cup water 2 cups fresh cranberries 2 tablespoons lemon zest ½ cup pumpkin seeds ½ cup roughly chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds)

»Preheat the oven to 350 F. »Prepare baking pans by generously buttering them. Dust lightly with flour and add a lining of parchment to the bottoms if desired. »Whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, flax, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. »In another large bowl, whisk together liquid: pureed squash, molasses, eggs, olive oil, milks and lemon juice. Set aside. »Mix oats and second ½ cup of milk in a small bowl and let sit. »While oats are soaking, make the candied cranberries. »Place sugar, water and cranberries in a heavybottomed saucepan and cook on medium for 20 minutes, letting the contents come to a slow boil. Turn down to low and let cook for 15 minutes. »Remove from heat and strain cranberries, refrigerating liquid (which is now a terrific cranberry simple syrup) for other recipes or cocktails. »Let cranberries cool. »Return to bread making and begin to blend the wet ingredients into the dry ones, just until everything has come together. Be careful not to overmix. Save the extra stirring for adding in final ingredients. »Gently fold in half of the cranberries, nuts and pumpkin seeds. Save the other half for topping the loaves. Divide the batter evenly into prepared pans and top with leftover pumpkin seeds, nuts and candied cranberries. »Bake on the center rack of the oven for the most even baking experience, turning each loaf at least once during baking time. »If you decide to do smaller loaves, bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Large loaves will take 45 to 55 minutes. Test with a toothpick or cake tester about 5 minutes before timer goes off for doneness. Tester should come out clean when the loaves are done. »Once done, set pans on a cooling rack and allow to cool in pans for about 5 to 7 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges and flip out onto cooling rack. Eat warm or let cool to store. Will stay fresh for two to three days at room temperature, but for longer storage, refrigerate up to two weeks or freeze in an airtight container up to three months. FARM INDIANA // DECEMBER 2015

CONTINUING EDUCATION DEC. 1 Code Red

Ongoing Educational Opportunities BY KATHERINE COPLEN

Many Extension offices are holding events for private applicators to keep their licenses active this month. Pick the location closest to you and renew your credits while tucking into a hot cup of something tasty (many Private Applicator Recertification Program events offer refreshments). Find even more PARP events at ag.purdue.edu/extension/ppp.

This day-long event is highlighted by a Code Red training event, which covers emergency response preparation for family farms or commercial operations. Event includes a crop diversification and business planning workshop, presentations on cover crops, soil fertility, weed control and more. Time: 9 a.m. Location: Bartholomew County Fairgrounds Family Arts Building, 720 W. Road 200S, Columbus. Information: (812) 379-1665

Putnam County PARP explores adjuvants and spray droplets, USU corn split nitrogen decision tools, driftwatch crop registry and SWCD and NRCS updates. Private applicators can keep their licenses current by attending and completing the course. Time: 1 p.m. Location: Putnam County Fairgrounds, 191 N. U.S. 231, Greencastle. Information: (765) 635-8411

Delaware County Field Crops Program

DEC. 3 Agronomic Crop Diseases and Control

This PARP-credit course features an agriculture outlook, plus conversations about cover crops, herbicide carryover, herbicide classification and resistance management, field crop fungicides and cover crops. Private applicators can keep their licenses current by attending and completing the course. Time: 8:30 a.m. Location: Heartland Hall, Delaware County Fairgrounds, Muncie. Information: (765) 747-7732

Farm Indiana highlights classes from the Purdue Extension calendar every month, but there are many more to be found online. Log on to extension.purdue.edu for more information.

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Miami County PARP program offers an update on agronomic crop diseases and control, 2015 weed control issues, herbicide carryover, herbicide resistant weeds update and pollinator protection. Private applicators can keep their licenses current by attending and completing the course. Time: 6 p.m. Location: Community Building, Miami County Fairgrounds, 1029 W. Road 200N, Peru. Information: (765) 472-1921

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2015 Sheep and Goat Health and Production webinar

DEC. 7 Using Financial Data to Drive Decisions webinar

DEC. 8 Decatur farmers meeting

DEC. 10 Dekalb Nutrient Management This PARP program features lectures on manure management and application, soil nutrients and private applicator record-keeping. Time: 7 p.m. Location: Stoy Farms, 6517 S. Road 400W, Ashley. Information: (260) 925-2562.

Three main topics will be covered: utilizing herd performance programs to increase productivity; causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of sheep/ goat abortions; and the veterinary feed directive’s impact on small ruminants. Many counties are offering remote video host screening sites. Log on to extension.purdue.edu for information on your county’s screening site. Time: 7 p.m. Location: online or in various remote sites. Information: extension.purdue.edu

This financial health webinar covers topics related to decision making and includes instruction on risk capacity, capital improvement plans and individual enterprise analysis. Case farms will be used to demonstrate. Webinar is free. To register, go to go.osu.edu/farmwebsurvey. Time: 11:30 a.m. Location: online. Information: ag.purdueedu/aganswers

This event covers topics including herbicide traits in soybeans, cover crops and soil fertility, weed control update and private applicator record keeping. Private applicators can keep their licenses current by attending and completing the course. Time: 9:30 a.m. Location: Decatur County Community Schools Administration Building, 2020 N. Montgomery Road, Greensburg. Information: (812) 663-8388

DEC. 4 Madison Crop Production Clinic

DEC. 7-10 North Central Weed Science Society annual meeting

DEC. 9-10 Midwest Invasive Plant Network Symposium

This four-day annual meeting brings together members who are part of educational and commercial enterprises for several sessions of paper presentations and student contests. Time: varies. Location: Hyatt Regency Indianapolis Hotel, 1 S. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis. Information: ncwss.org

The Midwest Invasive Plant Network will host a two-day symposium on invasive plants during the North Central Weed Science Society Annual Meeting; the conferences are held jointly with one another. This part of the annual meeting will cover invasive plants in natural and urban areas, prairie restoration, bush honeysuckle control, invasive issues in forests, and the use of technology. Time: varies. Location: Hyatt Regency Indianapolis Hotel, 1 S. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis. Information: (812) 678-5049

This four-hour workshop includes coverage of topics like making profit from corn crop, soybean management, regulatory update, climate and crop outlook, and more. Organizers request attendees register in advance in order to prepare the correct amount of lunch for everyone. Time: 8 a.m. Location: Madison County Fairgrounds, 512 E. Fourth St., Alexandria. Information: (765) 641-9517

DEC. 11 Agriculture Land Program This event covers conservation easements, farm taxes and transition planning, with help from Oak Heritage Conservancy and Purdue Ag Economics. It’s geared toward landowners, farmers, CPAs and attorneys, and is $30 per person not receiving professional credits and $80 for those receiving credits. It includes four hours of continuing education credit for Hoosier CPAs and attorneys. Time: 8:30 a.m. Location: Johnson County Extension Office; 484 N. Morton St., Franklin. Information: (317) 736-3724

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