Farm Indiana | June 2016

June 2016

Rural Living & Local Food

Urban Homestead Heather Kenley and Michael Ball build a sustainable food business in Noblesville

2Morrow’s Farm // Farmers Care Food Initiative // Tagalong Farms

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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.

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Liz Brownlee, Katherine Coplen, Katie Glick, David Hoppe, Cheryl Carter Jones, Jim Mayfield, Shawndra Miller, Jon Shoulders, Ryan Trares, Twinkle VanWinkle, Catherine Whittier COPY EDITOR Katharine Smith SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST Margo Wininger Advertising art director Amanda Waltz ADVERTISING DESIGN

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Contents June 2016

Tagalong Farms

5 Field Notes

38 From the Field

6 Tagalong Farms 12 2Morrow’s Farm 16 Seven Sons Family Farms 20 The Sustainable Life 24 Harvestland Farm 28 “Food First” film 32 Farmers Care initiative 34 Uplands PEAK Sanctuary

45 Continuing Education

Columns by growers

Tips and advice

6

46 Local Food

Chefs’ Night Off

ON THE COVER

Heather Kenley and Michael Ball of The Sustainable Life.

Photo by Josh Marshall

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Editor’s Note

Taking Nothing For Granted

F

For years, I’ve been editing stories about grant opportunities available to small farmers. And for years, I have returned home after days at the office to advise my husband of the multiple grants that I felt we should pursue.

For years, too, we did nothing about them.

It wasn’t a lack of desire that kept us from applying for these grants. Nor was it a lack of need. We’ve simply had too many things to do. In the time since we moved to the country, we’ve restored the house we now call home, and, by restore, I mean we made it habitable. Then we spent six months readying our former home to place on the market. There also were fences to construct, barns and outbuildings to build and restore, family events to attend and a menagerie of farm animals to acquire and raise. We had gardens to weed, equipment to maintain and jobs to keep. This, you can likely see, has left little time for a social life, few opportunities for vacations and zero occasions to sit down and write grant applications.

Besides … do you know how long it takes to write a grant application? My sister happens to have a good friend who serves as a professional grant writer. This friend tells me the average grant takes her approximately 80 hours to complete. And that’s coming from a professional.

Approximately three months ago — when I sat down to listen in on a grant workshop

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

at the Indiana Small Farm Conference in Danville — I was about as far from a professional grant writer as I could get. I had never applied for a grant and, therefore, had no idea what the process entailed. But what the speakers at that workshop had to say interested me greatly — there was money involved, after all — and the possibilities played on my naiveté. “I’m a writer,” I thought. “I can do this.”

So I got down to the business of writing. I attended more workshops. I listened in on webinars. I started researching. I developed partnerships. I called people. I emailed people. I asked questions. Then I asked more questions. All the while I wrote. And I rewrote. And then I revised a few times for good measure.

Several key people came to my rescue.

Jodee Ellett, Roy Ballard and Emily Toner, all with Purdue Extension, gave me support.

I reached out to Michael Morrow, whose 2Morrow’s Farm happens to be profiled in this issue and who I knew had written grant

applications before. Morrow took the time to read my work, to critique it and to offer ideas. In the end, he gave me so much help that I can honestly — and with much gratitude — say that if I’m awarded the grant it’s because of Michael Morrow.

As time passes, I consider myself more and more a farmer. Not necessarily because we’re doing a lot to make money from our farm just yet. We’re not planting row crops or raising hogs to be sold. But we are laying the groundwork to someday make our farm work for us as much as we work for it.

Being a farmer is not just about feeding livestock or sowing seeds. Being a farmer is about filling a need. For your world, your community, your neighbor and yourself.

And to fill that need, you have to answer to consumer demands, while minding profits, losses and everything in between. Being a farmer, I’m finding, likely means you’re also a good neighbor, a friend, a cultivator, an instructor, a mechanic, a boss, a salesperson and a marketing guru. And I’m sure there’s more.

Considering what I learned during the grantwriting process, the support that was proffered and the relationships that were sealed, you could say I won a major award this past month when I turned in my first completed grant application. Who’s to say whether the funding will actually come through, but I took another step toward understanding all it takes to be a sustainable farmer. And, for now, that’s good enough for me.

field notes

By Catherine Whittier

A Natural Approach Matthew and Kourtney Hopf, of Happy Clan Acres in Albion, use several natural methods to help ward off pests in their garden and chicken coop and to keep their livestock free from illness. To keep bugs away from their garden, Kourtney adds 10 drops of peppermint oil to a spray bottle full of water and sprays her plants with the mixture. Fresh mint leaves also can be boiled down, and the water can be reserved to create a spray for misting on plants. The mixture is said to keep away squash bugs, she explains, but it can also “be used on ants, beetles and fleas.”

The Hopfs also use garden herbs to freshen their chicken coop, and “chickens love to eat them,” says Kourtney. Because the Hopfs have free-range chickens, the birds also get a wide variety of grasses and insects in their diet.

The Hopfs use apple cider vinegar to boost the immune systems in their livestock, which prevents “a whole list of ailments,” says Kourtney. They add one cup of apple cider vinegar to 100 gallons of water, or 2½ teaspoons to a 5-gallon bucket. “We use this for our livestock (cows), especially in the winter when the weather is hard on their bodies,” she explains. “We have seen it get rid of a basic cough within our cows. You can tell that it helps their immune system just in the way they act.”

Lastly, they use Diatomaceous Earth, a porous sedimentary deposit formed from the fossil remains of diatoms, to keep flies out of their barns and chicken coop. The Hopfs buy food-grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) in 50- to 100-pound bags and “spread it on our dirt barn floor when we clean out the stalls,” explains Kourtney.

The Hopfs also offer Diatomaceous Earth as “free choice (food) to our cows to be preventative with worms,” as well as “work it into their coats” as a temporary repellent for flies, she says. “Because we are very proactive with our animals, we have clean stalls and water; knock on wood, we have never had an issue with worms.”

Matthew and Kourtney Hopf’s seasonal farm products are available for sale at their farm: Happy Clan Acres, 1100 N. Road 200E, Albion; (260) 413-7964.

Growing Grains Most people wouldn’t think of raising rice in their gardens, but John Sherck, of Sherck’s Heirloom Vegetables, Plants and Seeds in Bristol, grew 50 pounds of rice in an 800-square-foot space last season. The secret is in the seed, he explains.

Sherck grows an upland rice variety called Duborskian, which is from Russia and can grow in dry soil that requires no more than an inch of rain per week. Sherck spent a great deal of time studying heritage grains and likes to encourage those he mentors to consider growing grains and dried beans, such as rice, quinoa, amaranth, wheat, barley, oats and peanuts, among others.

Quinoa is a grain that typically grows best in cool and more arid climates, but there have been varieties developed, such as Temuco or Red Head, that thrive in Indiana, according to Sherck. “The quinoa can yield up to five pounds of grain with 20 plants,” which are planted one foot apart.

Though beans and some grains are cheap to buy, Sherck believes growing your own is best because “fresh dry beans are incredible.”

For more information, visit sherckseeds.com or call (574) 848-4625.

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Ella Koch, 11, and Haley Koch, 13, run with kids born March 18. Opposite page: A lambar bucket feeds formula to seven kids.

Raising Kids 6

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To the Koch family, farming is a way of life

By Jim Mayfield Photography by Josh Marshall

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Lauren Koch, 17, milking goats.

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If there’s any doubt, the kids are all right at Tagalong Farms.

All of them. Whether they have two legs or four.

With a schedule crammed chock-full with jobs, school, sports, 4-H and a full-time farm specializing in French Alpine and LaMancha dairy goats, Jone Wheatley Koch, her husband, Louie, and daughters, Lauren, Haley and Ella, are constantly moving. Everybody pitches in.

“It’s an entire family operation,” Jone said recently in her farm kitchen, surrounded by milk cookers, show ribbons, pictures of past champions and a baby French Alpine kicking around in a small box of sawdust.

The 40-acre spread in Shelby County east of Fountaintown has been in Jone’s family for nearly a century, and it’s part of the Kochs’ mission to keep the legacy alive.

Originally a dairy farm, Jone’s parents, who are still actively involved in the farm, began raising Arabian horses and then bought dairy goats for her to show at the county fair. Since that time there have been national champion horses and more goats than the family can count.

The family joined the American Dairy Goat Association in 1980 and has never looked back.

It wasn’t long before Lauren, Haley and Ella picked up their mother’s passion for raising and showing goats, and they, too, have had their share of champions and show winners, learning the responsibil8

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

Clockwise: Ella feeds a newborn.

Ribbons the family has won.

Ben Wheatley pets Adventure, the family’s 6-year-old prizewinning buck. The barn that houses the goats and horses.

ity that comes from husbandry and building college funds with the income from show prizes, sales and breeding stock.

Some of the farm’s offspring have found their way to almost all points of the country from Maine to California.

This year, the farm produced plenty of future income potential by kidding over three dozen goats to join the existing menagerie of horses, chickens and rabbits.

The goats are milked twice daily, rendering about a dozen or more gallons of goat milk that is immediately pasteurized and fed back to the kids — the four-legged variety — or sourced to other operations for fledgling farm animals.

“Goat milk is very homogenized and very good for you,” Jone said.

That’s still a lot of goat milk, and in 2011, Tagalong Farms ventured into goat’s milk products that include lotions, creams and soaps along with essential oils.

“It started out as just making things for the family and then we started giving the products out as gifts, and now it has just taken off,” Jone said. “People just wanted more.”

The farm has recently transformed a former tack room into a new Barn Store, and Jone is now making regular rounds throughout the state to sell Tagalong Farms products at festivals and fairs.

As if there wasn’t enough to do, the farm has recently paired with Indianapolis Public Schools’ local Dream Academy chapter that engages high-risk kids to provide farm tours and offer a glimpse of life away from the big city.

Ella, who is rarely at a loss for words, making her a prime point of contact when the girls give the farm tours, said explaining farm operations to inner-city Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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A Black Sumatra hen named Monigoose

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

kids was as much a learning experience for her as for them.

“You never knew that sometimes there are kids that have never seen a goat,” she said.

Not only do the tours allow close interaction with sights and smells of a working farm, visitors are allowed to get up close and personal by holding the animals and even milking a goat, if they’re brave enough.

And it’s all very gratifying to the Kochs.

“The satisfaction of seeing the smiles on those kids’ faces when they walk out is unbelievable,” Jone said.

“Yeah, they can’t wait to come back,” Ella added.

In addition to IPS, the family is cultivating relationships with Girl Scouts, senior citizens organizations and other civic groups to promote the farm with its two-hour, hands-on tour that costs $5 per visitor, and Jone said interest in the farm visits is growing.

“There’s only one other dairy farm in the area that gives tours, so we get calls all the time,” she said. “We’ve just started this, but I think this will also take off.”

The Kochs are a picture of a modern Hoosier farming family. Jone splits her time at the farm with her job at Franciscan St. Francis Health’s cardiac department, Louie manages to get things done when he’s not on duty with the Shelby

County Sheriff’s Department, and the girls somehow manage to keep all the balls in the air.

Like most entrepreneurial farmers these days, they’ve come up with creative ways to generate additional revenue streams from their farm, but it is not and never has been about the money.

It’s about a way of life, the family and a farm that’s been there for nearly 100 years.

“We never sleep,” Jone laughs.

But don’t worry, the kids are all right.

All of them.

For more information, visit shoptagalongfarms.com.

On left, Haley and Ella Koch with Ben and Joan Wheatley. At right, Jone, Louie and Lauren Koch.

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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MARKET FUTURES

Anna and Michael Morrow work toward creating a self-sustaining egg farm

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Katelyn attempts to pick up a chicken.

T

By Jim Mayfield Photography by Josh Marshall

he names of those who first helped Michael and Anna Morrow get their pasture-raised chicken farm off the ground are permanently etched onto the interior walls of the baby chicken coop.

There’s Speedy, Willow and Stinky, to name just a few. All are egg layers extraordinaire.

Beneath the names and huddling under heat lamps are just a chick or two over 200 of the Morrows’ brood for 2016, cross-bred between Rhode Island Whites, Rhode Island Reds and Cinnamon Queens for maximum laying ef-

ficiency. The troops arrived at the couple’s 2Morrow’s Farm on April 1.

Depending on the weather, the chicks soon will be able to join the rest of the flock shuttling from pasture to pasture on the Morrows’ 100-acre Shelby County farm that first belonged to Anna’s great-grandfather.

The farm has served as home to multiple families and various operations, from dairy to row crops. Now the fourth generation — while establishing a strong foothold on the fifth with 4-year-old Katelyn and 4-monthold Vincent — Anna and Michael are all about practicing sustainable agriculture and returning to family roots.

“I’ve always wanted to come back to the farm,” Anna said. “My mom spent a lot of time here growing up. I spent a lot of time here. It feels really good.”

A Purdue University graduate with a master’s degree in agronomy, Anna aptly compliments Michael, who is a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and is pursuing an advanced degree in environmental sustainability.

The couple moved to the family farm five years ago, and after traveling “100 percent of the time” as a financial consultant, Michael decided to leave the business world and dive headlong into farming about 18 months ago.

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Approximately 200 chicks under heat lamps. Right: Morrow shows John Nieman how to check the chicks for plugged vents.

“The margins are there, and it’s just about being proficient in planting, harvesting and getting eggs to the market.”

— Michael Morrow

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

Though both have day jobs — Anna is a Purdue Extension educator for Franklin County and Michael serves as market manager for Hoosier Harvest Market based in Greenfield — the couple’s primary focus centers on the 120 egg producers they hope will one day become a self-sustaining egg farm.

The farm’s pasture-roaming birds currently produce between 40 dozen and 50 dozen eggs weekly, which is a pretty good start, Michael said. “We sell out every week, and we’re getting pretty proficient at it.”

The birds will roam a temporarily fenced, two-acre plot for a week or two, re-

tiring at some point each day to the mobile laying coop where the eggs are collected twice daily, washed, inspected and then prepped for market.

Ultimately, the farm hopes to hold 1,500 or so birds that could produce nearly a half-million eggs annually.

“Our plan was always to have something grazing and then have the chickens come along behind,” Michael said.

While the farm also produces some lamb for local markets, pasture-raised poultry and eggs became the direction toward the future.

“The margins are there, and it’s just about being proficient in planting, har-

vesting and getting eggs to the market,” Michael said.

Efficiency is key, and 2Morrow’s Farm is on a mission to bring full-time farming back to the fore. “We need to figure out how farming can be a profession again and be sustainable,” Michael said.

The Morrows repurpose and recycle most of the equipment and structures on the farm, ranging from a hydraulic hog trailer Michael uses to move the hens around the pasture to some of the old outbuildings that have stood for nearly a century.

“I’m happiest about the fact that we repurpose as much as we can,” he said.

Anna, Katelyn, 4, Michael and Vincent, 4 months.

They also source as much as they can for their farm from local suppliers, which serves to buttress local agriculture economy.

The Morrows are eager to share their vision for farming’s future and have encouraged neighbors John and Debbie Nieman to take a crack at the egg market as well.

“I’ve farmed corn and beans with my grandfather for years,” John said of Nieman Family Farm’s 400-acre operation that additionally grows hay. “I saw (the Morrows) having some success with the eggs and decided to jump in with it. We’re really enjoying it.”

It’s all about diversifying and generat-

ing as many revenue streams from the farm as possible to hedge against a bad year — a part of the Morrows’ larger goal of returning to the days when a small farming operation could sustain a family and a future.

For the Morrows, service as an extension educator and sustainable policy advocate is just a form of sharing what they love to do. Hoosier agriculture and farming have been good to both of them, and they say they want to return the favor.

“I guess giving back is part of who I am,” Michael said.

For more information, visit facebook. com/2morrowsfarm.

4329 North Highway 31, Seymour, IN 47274 812-522-5199 Monday thru Friday 8am to 5pm Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Grass Roots Seven Sons Family Farms solves a ‘convenience conundrum’

By David Hoppe

Photography submitted by Blaine Hitzfield

Blake (first son) and Kim Hitzfield and daughters, Evalyn and Adalaid; Brice (third son) and Katie Hitzfield; Brandt Hitzfield (seventh son); Brock Hitzfield (fourth son); Lee and Beth Hitzfield (founders); Brooks Hitzfield (fifth son); Bruce Hitzfield (sixth son); Blaine (second son) and Charis Hitzfield and sons, Bryton and Tyton.

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

L

Located southwest of Fort Wayne near Roanoke, Seven Sons Family Farms looks, at first blush, like a lot of other well-kept farms, with a handsome white farmhouse anchoring a compound of boxy, utilitarian outbuildings.

But take the time to browse through the freezers humming in the miniature log cabin that serves as Seven Sons’ roadside farm store, or notice the pair of Mercedes vans parked nearby, and you begin to see that something special is happening here. Seven Sons is not only producing a remarkable line of natural pasturefed beef, free-range pork and poultry, this family business is figuring out how to successfully connect with hungry customers from as far away as Indianapolis and Chicago.

Seven Sons combines a highly principled approach to farming with technological know-how to effectively grow their market and solve what second son Blaine Hitzfield calls “the convenience conundrum.”

Our story really begins in the early 1980s, when Seven Sons’ patriarch, Lee Hitzfield and his wife, Beth, used their life savings to acquire a farrow-to-finish, confined hog operation, along with 1,000 acres of row crops.

Although Hitzfield had grown up around farming in northeast Indiana, it had never been his livelihood. He and his father had run a successful excavation business for a combined total of 40-some years. “He basically walked into relationships that were established with the previous farmer,” explains Blaine, head of Seven Sons’ marketing and distribution operation. “All we knew was how to take hogs to the sale barn or pickup station.”

The Hitzfields soon discovered that their initial investment in the confined hog operation wasn’t enough. They had sunk even more money into upgrading the farm’s infrastructure, when Beth was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis.

“That was when they started looking at what was causing these autoimmune conditions and started learning more about nutrition,” says Blaine.

Lee met a local soil agronomist named Ray Smith who provided him with a holistic understanding of the life of the

soil, as well as the plants it supports, and how these elements can affect humans.

“He was able to help my mom with her health, through diet recommendations,” says Blaine. “That really caught my parents’ attention. They started looking into food production and nutrient density and decided what they were doing as conventional farmers was contributing to a problem. They made a complete 180-degree philosophy change and started creating perennial pastures, and getting the animals out of confinement and out on those pastures.”

This change in philosophy did not come easily. It meant selling off all the

hogs, which took a year. Then there was the work of transitioning row crops into perennial pasture stock. Finally, another infrastructure build-out was required, involving new fencing and water lines.

“It was really tough to maintain the cash flow and leases on all that acreage,” notes Blaine. The farm shrank by almost half, from 1,000 acres to 550.

But the biggest challenge the Hitzfields faced was the learning curve involved in adopting a new approach to farming. “It almost took us under,” says Blaine.

The Hitzfields found themselves on what seemed a lonely road at first. Blaine says Purdue’s Ag School, traditionally Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

17

the state’s leading authority on farming, had little to offer by way of counsel at that time. And the neighbors, invested as they were in conventional practices, were skeptical, to say the least. “I heard a farmer say that we raise cattle, we raise chickens, we raise hogs, and we raise lots of suspicions with all the neighbors,” Blaine recalls.

The Hitzfields continued to solicit advice from Ray Smith, and then they were able to connect with Joel Salatin, the author of several books and one of the country’s leading proponents of humane livestock farming.

“He was a big inspiration,” says Blaine.

“A lot of our production models are based on ideas and concepts he pioneered.” The Hitzfields began meeting Salatin through small farm conferences. A relationship developed, and Blaine visited Salatin’s 550-acre farm in Virginia.

The family also became involved with the Grass Fed Exchange Conference, an annual two-day seminar featuring farm tours. Closer to home, Seven Sons networked with LaGrange’s Greg Gunthorp, a leading proponent of healthy livestock farming in Indiana.

Now Seven Sons has reached the point where other farmers are coming to it for advice. “Through the help of a lot of other 18

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

farmers and people who have gone before us, we have gotten through our learning curve to where we are pretty active in sharing information with folks wanting to make transitions.”

That hasn’t kept some of the neighbors from scratching their heads when they see what Seven Sons is doing.

“Our row-crop farm neighbors see us rolling out these mobile chicken houses and gathering eggs by hand, and they think it’s crazy,” says Blaine. “They think it’s old-fashioned. But in our minds we think we’re utilizing some of the newest technologies in farming.”

Seven Sons uses portable electric fencing to move cattle from pasture to pasture three times a day. This fencing enables them to move their chickens strategically as well. “Electric fencing has revolutionized how you move animals on the land,” says Blaine. “We’re setting up portable fencing every day and adjusting our paddock sizes based on weather conditions, based on animal needs, based on what the forage growth is.”

Technology not only affects what Seven Sons does on the land. It has also helped to define an innovative approach to marketing its products.

In the beginning, the Hitzfields tried to

market their products in all the conventional ways: They set up shop at farmers markets and tried to break in with restaurateurs and local grocery stores.

The work ate up time and energy, yet the payoff was unpredictable. “On a good day, we were seeing $500 to $600 in sales at most,” says Blaine of farmers markets. “On bad days, $100 to $200, which hardly paid for your time.”

Seven Sons opened its first farm stand 10 years ago, selling fresh eggs by the side of the road.

The clientele was small at first, around 10 customers a week. But when the Hitzfields moved their stand into a 10-by12-foot garden shed, with a cooler filled with their frozen, locally processed meats, those 10 customers turned into hundreds.

The farmers markets may not have been tremendously profitable, but they provided Seven Sons with a certain visibility, which helped spur word-of-mouth communication about their products, which, it turned out, people were looking to buy.

“We knew we were producing a niche product, a better product,” Blaine says.

“We just didn’t know there’d be quite the

customer base that would appreciate it.”

The Hitzfields turned to pasture-raised livestock for the sake of their personal health. Soon they were finding that plenty of other people had the same interests and concerns about food and were, in fact, searching for wholesome products and for farmers they could get to know and trust.

Now the challenge for Seven Sons was to find a way to tell its story and share its products in a more effective way.

In 2004, the Hitzfields developed their website, SevenSons.net. Soon it was attracting links to local directories. As avid readers of Allan Nation’s Grass Farming newsletter, the Hitzfields knew that research showed 80 percent of consumers looking for pasture-based products went first to the Internet to identify sources. Before long they were attracting customers willing to make the three-hour drive to their farm stand from as far away as Chicago.

The Seven Sons team realized it had arrived at the threshold of a new business model. The Internet was revealing a large customer base for its products, but distribution remained a problem. “At the end of the day, customers want the product,” says Blaine. “They’d love to buy it from the farmer; there’s just that big convenience barrier.

“We recognized two things: One, we could use the Internet for visibility. It didn’t matter where we were located. The

ders to fill a truck. So we’d spend a day goInternet would be our best friend in terms ing out, making three or four drops, and of visibility. move anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 “The store made us accessible to people in product. The economics of that blew in Fort Wayne. But the Internet was everything else out of the water.” bringing us customers from Chicago and The grueling setup, take down and Indianapolis. These customers asked if hauling back of unbought goods from Seven Sons could take orders online or farmers markets became via email. That is how the a thing of the past. “The Seven Sons buying club Seven Sons Family Farms beauty of the buying club was conceived.”

15718 Aboite Road, Roanoke, (877) 997-9449, SevenSons.net model is that it’s pre-sold.

Unlike a subscriptionBefore anything goes on based model like a the truck, the transaction’s CSA, where customers been made online. It’s not speculative.” may receive weekly shares of whatever At first they used a cargo trailer with produce is in season and available, the five freezers to make the rounds. Then Seven Sons buying club is a la carte. they rented Ryder trucks Fridays through Customers go to the website and can Sundays. Those Mercedes-Benz refrigerchoose what they want from a variety of ated Sprinter vans (18 to 22 mpg) repoptions, paying online. resent the latest buying club upgrade.

“With the buying club,” says Blaine, “we The number of pickup locations has found we could take orders for a six-week expanded to include several sites in Ohio delivery cycle and gather up enough or-

and Michigan, as well as a large constellation of sites in northwest Indiana and Chicagoland.

On the website, Seven Sons makes its philosophy and protocols clear: “We strive to produce nutrient-dense foods in a way that heals the land,” they say, which means: grass-fed, no hormones or steroids, drugs, antibiotics (except in health emergencies) or animal byproducts; pasture-raised, seasonally accommodated and MSG, nitrite/nitrate, soy, dairy and grain-free; non-homogenized, non-pasteurized, with processing temperatures never exceeding 103 degrees; certified USDA organic.

Shoppers can choose among a wide array of flash frozen meats, including sockeye salmon, fished sustainably by a Seven Sons partner in Alaska. There are also packaged vegetables on offer, as

well as condiments, sauces, honey and maple syrup from artisanal Midwestern purveyors like Indiana’s Local Folks, and Hidden Pond Farm and Bourbon Barrel Foods in Kentucky.

“People want to get as close as they can to the people producing their food,” says Blaine. “We talk to farmers all the time, and they fret about whether they’re selling for too much or not enough. What does the customer want?

They want a relationship with you. And they have to have convenience.”

By going to where their customers are through the buying club locations, Seven Sons is able to make and nourish the kinds of farmer-customer relationships knowledgeable consumers crave on a year-round basis. As Blaine says: “We’ve really solved the convenience conundrum.”

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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A Team Effort Michael Ball and Heather Kenley pursue a sustainable life in Noblesville Michael Ball and Heather Kenley. Above, an overhead shot of their backyard.

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

By Catherine Whittier | Photography by Josh Marshall

M

Michael Ball plucks a stem of arugula inside a hoop house that runs alongside the urban homestead he shares with his partner, Heather Kenley, and her 8-year-old son, Liam. Additional greenhouses, raised beds and various planters fit like puzzle pieces on the small lot in downtown Noblesville that serves as home to The Sustainable Life, a business that grew out of Ball’s passion to eat well, his study of permaculture and ancestral health, and his overarching belief that people are overly dependent on outside systems for daily essentials like food.

The Sustainable Life is all about creating a sustainable “local food economy,” says Ball, who believes a sustainable food economy is critical for the stability of any community. Ball and Kenley set out to do this in two ways. First, they grow — and collaborate with others who grow — nutrient-dense food, which they offer to city residents through their online market, the Noblesville Real Food Market. There, customers can purchase a combination of seasonal vegetables and flowers, meat and poultry, which are delivered weekly, through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. Second, Ball provides a consultation and design service to help others build permaculture systems of food production that optimize growing spaces and resources.

The greens, tomatoes and cucumbers taken from Ball and Kenley’s urban homestead are added to the vegetables and flowers they grow about a mile away at The Forest Garden, located on seven acres of leased land, where Ball designed and installed a fruit and berry orchard. The wooded portions of that land serve as foraging ground for hogs, ducks, quail and chickens, which Ball and Kenley raise for custom orders. The couple’s farm offerings are supplemented by products raised by partnering farmers.

The idea for The Sustainable Life came about in part because Ball developed a sensitivity to commercially processed meat back in 2006.

After doing research and changing his diet to include only grass-fed beef and pastured pork, Ball soon began purchasing these products for his friends when he drove to a Kokomo farm to shop for himself.

From left: Ball picking radishes. Ducklings.

Inside a hoop house. Inset, another view of the backyard.

A house painter by trade, Ball began to learn about permaculture and propagate perennial plants in his free time. “The design principles of permaculture can be applied to any kind of business, lifestyle or choice. It’s not just perennial plants like some people think; it’s a design science, and I just apply that to everything in life,” he explains.

Simultaneously, Ball became frustrated by what he saw in the luxury homes he was painting. “People spend all this money on security and risk management, but their pantries are bare,” he says.

“They have huge basements with all kinds of storage, but no food at all.”

One of his clients encouraged him to pursue his passion by growing food for people. Ball decided this might be a way to “add real true value to people’s lives.”

Highly sensitive to heavy metals and fungicides, Ball uses organic products to treat disease or pests on his plants.

He says he also relies on row covers and

insect netting to help drive off pests.

“Tomatoes and cucumbers are grown inside of a hoop house that’s very sealed off from cucumber beetles, which are a big problem,” he explains, though some beetles do manage to get in on occasion.

He uses compost mostly derived from leaves and occasionally supplements with a well-known organic fertilizer derived from chicken and turkey manure.

Approximately 30 customers receive CSA deliveries in Noblesville during spring and summer. Each customer receives, at a minimum, a bag of seasonal vegetables weekly, but can visit the online market to choose add-ons.

Kenley also has launched a flower CSA this year. Customers can order from her separate online store, Farmstead Flora, or they can order through the Noblesville Real Food Market, as an add-on to their CSA. Ball also offers a consultation and design service, having completed several private projects to help clients best use Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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The Forest Garden, a seven-acre fruit and berry orchard.

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

munity garden, says James Rennard, cotheir food production space. In these founder and president of Live The Way. jobs, Ball considers air flow and drainLive The Way has since been permitage, creating swales and ditches, and even ted by the city of Noblesville to lease considering the placement of animal padparcels of land at no cost to install the docks so that animal waste can be used to SW Quad Food Forest its highest good — to for the benefit of the feed the soil.

“I’ve had people want community, Rennard Ball is currently me to come out and talk says. Ball designed the designing a one-acre about things they can do site for the food forest, urban food forest in on their property. That’s which will feature partnership with Live always enlightening for them, and I enjoy that.” native trees, grasses The Way, a small, and plants, as well as nonprofit organization —Michael Ball a large community based in Noblesville garden space with edible trees, shrubs, that works to promote the development perennials and annuals. of sustainable agricultural practices, both Ball’s goal through his consultation locally and abroad. and design business is to increase local Ball first worked with Live The Way food production. “It’s not a lot of my four years ago when he designed a com-

income, but I usually get a decent project every year,” he says. “I’ve had people want me to come out and talk about things they can do on their property.

That’s always enlightening for them, and I enjoy that.”

Ball says that bringing new customers into the fold is probably the most difficult part of his business, as it requires educating people and building relationships. He relies on Kenley for help. “I’m kind of the artist and all over the place, and she is kind of the grounding factor in everything,” he explains. “She’s very practical, and she makes sure I email people back and all of that. If it weren’t for her work, I wouldn’t be in business.”

Kenley manages the couple’s social media accounts and customer service,

Top row, from left: Lettuce varieties. Ball in a hoop garden.

Raised beds in the side yard.

Bottom row, from left: Kenley pulling weeds. Arctic kiwis.

Strawberries.

and when she isn’t working at the farm, she is home-schooling Liam or studying holistic nutrition online at the Nutritional Therapy Association. She is also self-employed as a caregiver. “It takes a flexible schedule to do what we do,” says Ball, who also continues to do residential painting and construction projects, when he isn’t busy with farm and design work.

“It’s a team effort for sure.”

For more information, visit thesustainablelife.us.

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Cindy Garver working in an Aspire hoop house.

a chance

To Grow A health-focused company uses farming as part of its integrated care

By Ryan Trares | photography by josh marshall

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Dark green clusters of kale dot the ground in the small roadside field where the season of winter crops is winding down at Harvestland Farm in Anderson. Now, preparations have to be made to prepare for the summer bounty of watermelon, cantaloupe and other produce.

Workers on their hands and knees move from plant to plant, harvesting the leafy bunches that are ready to eat. The work is tedious, but none of the employees complains. Each considers this work an opportunity.

At Harvestland Farm, greenhouses and fields full of tomatoes, peppers and

greens aren’t the only thing nurtured, cultivated and grown. The farm is a program of Aspire Indiana, a health care company that deals with not only primary care, but also behavioral health and the social determinants of health, such as housing and employment.

Workers on the farm learn job skills, helping raise fresh local food that is sold in a farm market and at restaurants and stores throughout the area.

“Working in the dirt is therapeutic,” said Mike Keevin, manager of strategic initiatives for Aspire Indiana.

“Our philosophy at the beginning was

Wesley Martin and Cindy Garver walk between hoop houses.

Above, Martin uses a stirrup hoe. Right, Mike Keevin

how could we take people out of their environment and get them out doing something, sidetracking them from what’s really bothering them.”

Spring is about transition at the farm.

Workers prep and till the soil in the greenhouses, fix drip waterlines and complete other small chores to ensure the summer growing season’s success.

Tomato seedlings are already sprouting, while other greenhouses are being prepared for future plantings of lettuce, peppers and more. By summer, a show garden that can be seen from the road will feature watermelon, cantaloupe,

head lettuce and other easily recognizable crops to bring in customers.

This work will continue throughout the year.

“Once we get rolling, it will be a cycle of hand-weeding, harvesting, reseeding and rotating crops,” Keevin says.

Running a farm seems like a strange role for a health care company. But for Aspire Indiana officials, it makes perfect sense.

Aspire Indiana focuses on integrated health care. In addition to primary care, patients can be treated for addiction and behavioral health problems. Special services are available for adolescent patients,

as well as those who are deaf or suffer from HIV or AIDS. Part of the organization’s mission in treating people is to look beyond just having them see a doctor, Keevin explains.

“One of the things Aspire believes in is treating the whole person,” he says. “We believe employment is a part of health care, as is housing and traditional therapy and clinical things you’d think of.”

The organization has about 500 employees currently, ranging throughout all of central Indiana. Among Aspire Indiana’s social employment enterprises are vending services and a cleaning company. Though

many are minimum-wage positions, Aspire Indiana officials believe that these jobs help people improve their lives.

“If we can get somebody a legitimate job, where you have money to be able to afford an apartment, and you maybe have a little bit to get some food and see a movie on Friday night, now your life situation changes,” Keevin says. “You have a reason to get up; you have a job.”

The Harvestland program was started in 2007. Initially, organizers rented land in an Anderson park to create a small community garden. As the program grew, they found an available small plot Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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A display of starters at the Aspire Indiana Harvestland Farm storefront.

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of land east of Anderson that fit their needs even better. The land also includes an apartment complex Aspire Indiana uses, as well as a clinical treatment co-op.

“We slowly started growing more and added greenhouses to expand what we were doing,” Keevin says. “At the beginning, it was really focused on a community garden and (community-supported agriculture).”

Over time, the farm grew enough fruits and vegetables to sell at farmers markets throughout the area. Organizers also expanded the CSA program to include more customers. But they are moving away from that model, focusing more on the farm store.

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“The CSA was a great model to get started, but we don’t need the capital upfront anymore,” Keevin says. “To try and help the maximum amount of people, we’re shifting more toward commercial growing.”

With more people selling at farmers markets, Harvestland Farm was seeing its profits stretched even more. It had to compete against a growing produce market, racing from market to market to continue to support the farm.

“We were going in so many different directions for a little bit here and there,” Keevin says. “A few years ago, when there were just a few people selling produce, it was a great strategy. Now, markets have

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Farm officials have been contacting grocery stores and other large-scale operations, to which they can provide produce. Harvestland recently signed a contract to provide 1,000 pounds of tomatoes each week this summer.

Where the farm had grown a wide variety of fruits and vegetables — more than 40 items, including kohlrabi and bok choy — the focus now is to narrow scope and increase volume, says Janet Cunningham, social enterprises assistant manager for Aspire Indiana.

“We want to narrow it down so what we

do grow can be really good,” she explains.

Right now, the farm employs five people. As it grows, it can hire more, Keevin says. The offerings rotate through the year, with winter crops such as kale, spinach, celery, arugula and radishes giving way to tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, cantaloupe and head lettuce.

The farm store is open seven days a week, offering Harvestland’s own produce as well as meat, dairy, eggs, honey and other items from Indiana producers.

“We have enough items in the store that you could buy everything you wanted for supper in one place,” Cunningham says.

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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At First Glance

A new Indianapolis-focused food documentary premieres this month

A

By Shawndra Miller

After going several rounds with serious digestive illness, Hannah Lindgren of Indianapolis understands the role of diet on a, shall we say, gut level.

That’s part of the reason the 25-year-old founder of Deliberate Media, a videography company based in Noblesville, possible — ideally sourced from as close conceived “Food First.” The documentary, released this June, to home as possible. “He was just saying spotlights Indianapolis’ thriving local food scene. everything I didn’t know,” she says, “and Lindgren started the project two years ago after a volunteer everything I wanted to know.” gig led her into the path of a local food champion, chef WenLater Fowler introduced her to Audell Fowler. drey Barron, who was working on openCharged with photographing “stone soup suppers” at Nickel ing Ezra’s Enlightened Café in Broad Plate Arts in Noblesville, she heard Fowler’s presentation at Ripple. Barron, a one of the events. Something about his certified raw food holistic approach to food brought her chef, envisioned film idea into focus.

“I became a foodie along this journey, an eatery with a “I’d already been thinking about doand I’m not ashamed to say that. Not menu centered ing some sort of food-related documena foodie like, ‘oh, all these different on nourishing, tary,” she says. “I originally thought of flavor profiles,’ but just in terms of delicious, plantit being almost like a bio thing … about (noticing) what I put into my body. I based food, most myself and my own journey, because of which would appreciate food and think about it in a once I graduated from college I had an be sourced diepiphany that all of my food choices wholly different way than I used to.” rectly from local were my own now.” She had spent the —Hannah Lindgren farmers. previous three or four years eliminatInspired by the ing foods that irritated her digestive development of such a café, Lindgren tract and getting her diet on track. decided to use Ezra’s as her jumping off But the project took a different direction as she listened to point to tell the story of Indianapolis’ Fowler’s food message. He advocates eating mindfully and local food web. From there, “we just choosing products that are as close to their natural state as

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Hannah Lindgren

followed the bread crumb trail,” she says. The network continued to expand beyond Fowler and Barron. Lindgren and her team began to film people active on various fronts of the food movement, such as hunger relief, social/economic justice, farming and health education.

Submerging herself in that world turned out to be rewarding on many levels. “I became a foodie along this journey, and I’m not ashamed to say that,” she says. “Not a foodie like, ‘oh, all these different flavor profiles,’ but just in terms of (noticing) what I put into my body. I appreciate food and think about it in a wholly different way than I used to.”

Beyond the appreciation of food itself, the filming allowed her to rub elbows with people passionate about their work and to go behind the scenes on farms and in restaurant kitchens. “It was such a treat to continuously experience that over two years,” she says. “I got to go where I wouldn’t otherwise, and it was really fun.”

Film Stills

The local food trend, already sprawling when she began filming, seemed to explode over the past two years, and documenting it proved ambitious. In the end, Lindgren had to winnow her profile subjects to keep the final product to a manageable viewing time. (It clocks in at about 70 minutes.)

“At some point we had all these little stories going on,” she says, “and we had to focus on this one and that one to be the umbrella representative of this topic.” The final documentary highlights food access and distribution, economics and education, and, of course, farming.

The completed film is a crash course

Ezra’s Enlightened Café in Broad Ripple

on Indy’s local food scene. Each of six screenings this summer will be followed by a community conversation in partnership with hosts like Eskenazi Health and Nickel Plate Arts. The goal is to expand awareness of the different aspects of the movement, in light of all that the film could not realistically cover.

Lindgren expects viewers to learn something surprising, regardless of where they fit in the local food scene.

She hopes they come away with the motivation to take action, whether that’s trying more local restaurants or getting involved with youth initiatives or something else entirely.

Audrey Barron, Owner, Ezra’s Enlightened Cafe, Indianapolis

Kate Franzman, Growing Places Indy

Laura and Tyler Henderson, Growing Places Indy

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Production Stills / Behind the scenes

Casey Ferguson, left, Hannah Lindgren, Jackie Jones

Sky Farm at Eskenazi Health

means isolated. Other cities face parallel Ultimately, she would like to see challenges and a similar groundswell Indiana keep more of its food dollars of support for “going local.” She plans in-state. Of some $16 billion spent each to enter the documentary into regional year on food statewide, $14.5 billion film festivals starting this fall. goes toward out-of-state products, acAt a sneak peek in March, an enthucording to a report prepared by Indy siastic audience Food Council. watched snippets of “Food First,” she the pre-production hopes, will help film. Clips showed grow the movement teacher Ronak beyond its current Shah preparing fledgling proporfood with his sevtions. enth-grade science “The one thing class and GrowIndiana has going ing Places Indy’s for it is, we are a Tyler Henderson crazy ag state, and harvesting microwe do have a lot of —Audrey barron greens. In a filmed great products made interview, Maria here,” Lindgren says.

Smietana, market “They just go out master of Farm of state, and then to Fork Market at Normandy Farms, we buy from elsewhere, which makes no called local food “a cycle that creates sense. We need to realize that we have community and helps reinvigorate local these assets, so why are we not capitalizing economies.” Another interview showed on them for our own benefit?”

Tedd Grain, deputy director of Local The film’s appeal reaches far beyond Initiatives Support Corp., saying the its home state, because Indianapolis’ “silos” of the movement have begun budding local food movement is by no

Hannah Myers Lindgren and Suraj Choudhary interviewing Chris Baggott

“There’s a blossoming in Indy of not just eateries but urban farms.”

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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talking to each other. It’s a shift that puts a sustainable food system within reach.

Speaking to the assembled audience, Audrey Barron praised the film’s aims. “This documentary (is a) way to get across to the rest of the world that Indiana is not just a place where GMO corn and soy are grown,” she says. “This documentary shows that locally sourced food is what people desire.

“There’s a blossoming in Indy of not just eateries but urban farms,” she said. “People are coming out in droves. Every year there are more and more farmers markets. This is us voting with our dollars.”

Whitney Fields of Indy Food Council, one of the film’s backers along with Visit Indy, said the film’s strength lies in bringing all the different food-related sectors together.

“We were happy to help fund it,” she said. “This film broadens the conversation and gives a more holistic view of the movement.”

In the audience was Sarah Adams of Growing Places Indy. Asked why the film is important, she said, “It’s capturing a national trend and localizing it. People see documentaries like ‘Food Inc.,’ but to know of likeminded folks and things going on here, it’s very empowering.”

The film premieres June 11 at Tyner Pond Farm in Greenfield. This ticketed event starts at 5 p.m. and includes live music, farm tours and local food. The screening begins at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a community conversation on agriculture and the economics of growing highquality food.

More information: deliberate mediallc.com/food-first.html

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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County Fare Farmers Care initiative combats hunger statewide through fair food drive programs

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By Jon Shoulders

For Jeanette Merritt, a fourth-generation hog and grain farmer in Miami County, hunger and food insecurity in her local community of rural Peru are a problem she observes firsthand, on a daily basis. “I see hunger in my kids’ school and worry that some kids go home on a weekend and don’t have food again until Monday morning,” she says. ”I see the lines for food help at our pantry.”

Last spring Merritt and her fellow board members at the Miami County Helping Hands (MCHH) food pantry determined that teaming up with the local county 4-H fair could be an effective way to provide their pantry with fresh, quality food for those in need. Miami County 4-H Fair representatives enlisted in the Farmers Care food drive program, a joint initiative of Indiana State Fair officials, the Indiana Association of Fairs and Feeding Indiana’s Hungry (FIsH) created to raise hunger awareness and incentivize food drive participation at county fairs statewide.

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The MCHH staff sent letters to all organizations that submitted bids at previous Miami County 4-H Fair auctions to remind them of the option to donate animals to the pantry after purchase and eventually accepted 16 hog donations purchased at the 2015 fair. The hogs were processed into whole hog ground pork and delivered to the pantry for cold storage. “Food pantry recipients were very excited to have protein options to choose when they made their grocery visit to the pantry,” Merritt says. “The Miami County fair will be doing the same thing again this year.”

In 2013, Indiana State Fair Commission (ISFC) members challenged counties throughout the state to connect with a local food pantry to organize and implement a local food drive at their annual county fair. Officially naming the program Fairs Care, the commission allotted state fair tickets to participating county fairs to encourage donations.

“Each of the 36 participating county fairs will develop and implement a food drive during their 2016 county fair and engage a local food bank to help organize the food drive,” says Lesley Gordon, media and community outreach manager for the Indiana State Fairgrounds. “The tickets are mailed to the county fair representative that signed up to the program and distributed accordingly.”

After Indiana State Fair —Lesley Gordon executives declared the Year of the Farmer as the official theme for the 2015 state fair, the Fairs Care program was formally rebranded as Farmers Care, and 29 counties participated in the program in 2015 — a number organizers hope will increase for the coming fair season.

The five counties with the most total donations — measured by pounds of food donated and money collected — will be announced on the second Wednesday of the state fair at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and each will receive a $200 prize to be used for a hunger-related program in the future. This year’s state fair runs from Aug. 5 to 21.

“Each of the 36 participating county fairs will develop and implement a food drive during their 2016 county fair and engage a local food bank to help organize the food drive.”

“One in six Hoosiers are food insecure. Families are living paycheck to paycheck. As a hog and grain farmer, I feel a deep responsibility to help feed those around me.”

—Jeanette Merritt

“One in six Hoosiers are food insecure,” Merritt says. ”Families are living paycheck to paycheck. As a hog and grain farmer, I feel a deep responsibility to help feed those around me. While I know the products I raise go to feed the world, I also want to ensure that we are feeding our community. Farmers Care helps ensure that our food pantries are stocked and gives those who need a helping hand a chance to get on their feet again with some food help.”

“Agriculture and food is one of the foundations of the Indiana State Fair and having a program that touches on so many parts of the state all unified around creating more access to food is something I value about this program,” Gordon says.

Last year’s fair season saw Farmers Care participation from counties as far north as Porter and Allen and as far south as Vanderburgh and Perry, and 21,243 pounds of food were donated along with more than $16,000. Since the program began three years ago, 32,600 pounds of food and $39,750 have been collected for pantries around the state.

“We see (Farmers Care) as a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about hunger in our communities and what’s going on with food banks and with pantries that are near to those county fairs,” says Emily Weikert Bryant, executive director of FIsH, a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to connect Indiana hunger service providers and food producers. “Also, in the fair communities it’s created a little bit of competition amongst different 4-H groups to participate, such as in Miami County with what Jeanette Merritt and the pantry there have done.”

Additional details on the Farmers Care food drive program, including online registration information, can be found at indianastatefair.com/state-fair/entry-information/farmers-care.

For a listing of 2016 Indiana county fair dates, visit the Indiana Association of Fairs website at indianafairsandfestivals.org.

For statistics on food insecurity in Indiana and throughout the U.S., visit purdue.edu/indianasefrnetwork/home/hungerfacts.aspx.

More information on Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, including its programs and partnerships, is available at feedingindianashungry.org.

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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In Good Hands Farm animals get a new lease on life at Uplands PEAK Sanctuary

By Shawndra Miller Photography by Josh Marshall

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

P

Michelle and Mark Pruitt

Pull into the lane at Grandview Road, outside Salem, and you’ll be greeted by an unusual sight as a couple of fullgrown pigs run to the gate to meet you.

Welcome to Uplands PEAK Sanctuary, Indiana’s only sanctuary dedicated to farm animals. Here rescued animals like Vegan, a young steer, and Tulip, a sow, will live their days under the care of co-founders Michelle and Mark Pruitt. PEAK stands for “People, Earth and Animals In Kinship,” and the couple’s kinship with their furred and feathered charges is clear when they take guests on a tour.

“Tulip was depressed when she came,” Mark says, opening the gate and entering the enclosure. “Her eyes were sunken like a depressed person’s.” The 450-pound pinkish pig approaches him with the air of a congenial auntie, as if she knows that she’s won some kind of sweepstakes. As he scratches her underside, Tulip lowers her hefty body to her knees and then rolls on her side in the straw. Her ear flap covers her eye, so it’s impossible to tell if it’s sunken or not, but she appears to be smiling as she relaxes into the tummy rub.

Her sow “sister,” Lucy, roots in the straw around her companionably. (The two pigs came from different situations, but quickly bonded as buddies.)

Galvanized by their conviction that animals’ lives should be respected, the couple founded the nonprofit on the principles of veganism. Rescuing abused and neglected farm animals is primary, but they are also passionate about the sanctuary’s mission to promote a vegan lifestyle.

By simply sharing stories of the animals they’ve taken in, the Pruitts invite others to reconsider their food choices.

Hundreds of visitors and volunteers come to the facility to get acquainted with animals who otherwise would have perished. Like

Annie and Andy, sibling pigs who ran away from the Minneapolis backyard where they were being fattened for a family barbecue. They were the first animals to find refuge here and now share digs with five other pigs, three goats, a calf and a rooster named Nigel — with room for more.

Though neither of the co-founders has farming experience, they’ve learned

from others in the business of creating safe havens for farm animals. Michelle completed a seven-week internship at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in New York, and they have close ties with the founder of the Pig Preserve in Tennessee.

Combining those resources with on-thejob learning, lots of reading and plain old determination, they’ve carved out a unique destination — a twist on agritourism.

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

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Mark Pruitt

With help from volunteers, the couple put in the fencing for the front paddock, a difficult job without equipment and experience. That got the place ready to receive rescues in October 2013.

Since then, they’ve been able to fundraise to cover the cost of building additional fences, so they have three separate areas to house animals. A chicken house stands ready to host rescued hens once another pen is completed. At 20 acres, the land offers room for expansion, though much of it is wooded.

The Pruitts say visitors are typically surprised by how people-friendly the animals are, the pigs in particular.

“Most of the pigs here,” Michelle says, “if you start rubbing them, they’re going to flop down for a belly rub.” She points out that Lucy and Tulip are no different from the ones that end up as ham and bacon.

“Most people have no idea, when they sit down to eat, who they’re eating. These are actually sentient beings with emotions, likes and dislikes, and families.”

But it isn’t necessary to meet an Uplands PEAK resident face to face to understand this, she says.

“We have people who follow us on Facebook, and it’s changed their life,” she notes, referring to footage and photos of the sanctuary’s residents. “We don’t even have to say anything, just, ‘This is Lucy enjoying her life,’ and they make that connection.”

Vegan limps up to Mark briefly to see if any food will be proffered. Born on an Iowa cattle farm, the black calf caught a back leg in a farm implement, and the broken bones were never treated. “It actually caused his other leg to break down,” says Michelle, “because he put all his weight on it.”

Now about 11 months old, Vegan spent two months at Purdue before arriving at the sanctuary in February. A few months into his residency here, he’s still cautious about human contact, maintaining a slight 36

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

Visit Uplands PEAK Sanctuary during public tours the fourth Sunday of each month, April through October, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

4205 W. Grandview Road, Salem, (812) 896-2114, uplandspeaksanctuary.org

distance and keeping limpid black eyes on people as they move about the enclosure.

“Sometimes,” Mark says, “bad things are the best things that can happen to pigs or goats or other farm animals.”

In the case of Vegan, he says, “the guy’s wife talked him into giving the (calf) away because it really wasn’t worth anything anymore.”

Similarly, Lucy the pig fell off a transport truck as a tiny piglet and managed to survive unharmed. The Pruitts note that such incidents are fairly common; transport truck slats are widely spaced, and piglets a few weeks old weigh only about 20 pounds.

Lucy was picked up by a family, with her “unfortunate” tumble leading to her happily ensconcing at Uplands PEAK. “If the best day in your life is when you fall off a truck …,” says Mark.

The nonprofit’s work is supported by donations and grants. Public tours are offered once a month. For a more upclose-and-personal experience, people can volunteer any day of the week, and overnight visitors can reserve a bed-andbreakfast room in the couple’s home Thursday through Saturday. Volunteer days are held once a month and limited to 10 people, always including a vegan potluck. Finally, “if you sponsor an animal,” says Michelle, “you can make a private visitation to come see them.”

Regular volunteer Cheyenne DeBlois of Louisville drives 50 minutes twice a week, rain or shine, to help at the sanctuary. To reduce feed costs, she brings food scraps from Whole Foods, as well as spent grains donated by Great Flood Brewing Co. Once here she’ll clean stalls, help with hoof clipping and baths

in summer, and do various barn chores.

She also represents the organization at various Louisville functions to raise awareness and grow the mailing list.

Most of all, though, she says, “I love being around the animals. I just love being out there and seeing them happy and thriving.”

Vegetarian since age 16, she gradually gave up all animal products after she started volunteering. Going vegan wasn’t so much a conscious goal as a natural progression. “I think when you’re interacting with those beings every day,” she says, “it really seems much less appealing (to eat animal products).”

That message is resonating with people from surprising quarters.

Contributions and support come from as far away as England, California and New Jersey. Here in the Midwest, the

facility draws volunteers and visitors from Bloomington, Indianapolis and Louisville.

Being smack in the middle of farming country adds a unique element to their work, but the couple says that the response from locals has been overwhelmingly positive. “Regardless of whether they’re vegan or not vegan,” Michelle says, “they still think it’s noble that we’re rescuing animals and letting them live out their life.”

Mark tells the story of a neighbor across the street who came over to ask, “What do y’all do over there?”

“Here’s this big old burly country guy,” he recalls, “and he got his wallet out and gave me five dollars, and said, ‘This isn’t a lot, but I really appreciate what you guys are doing.’… I still get teary thinking about it.”

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

37

From the field

To Dad

with love

By Cheryl Carter Jones

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

P

Joe Carter

People often have trouble keeping up with me when I walk. They say I walk too fast. I suppose that goes back to my childhood. My father would take me on walks to our woods to check on the crops along the way.

Those walks will always be some of my best childhood memories. My father shared with me his strong sense of heritage and core values and the value of the land passed from generation to generation. I made sure I kept up with every step, unwilling to lag behind and miss a word.

My dad, Joe Carter, was short in stature, but bigger than life in my eyes.

There was very little the man could not do. He instilled in me an uncanny strength to persevere no matter how great the adversity. The sense of accomplishment in overcoming obstacles others deemed insurmountable made it worth the frustration and effort to get there. Others might have

called it hard-headedness, contrariness or even defiance.

He was a welder, engineer, carpenter, artist and most of all, a visionary. His mind never rested, a trait I have inherited. He invented farm equipment and in his spare time (he had none, but made time) applied that ingenuity to projects just to prove he could — often to the amusement and amazement of antique farm machinery show attendees. He built a motorized manure spreader, which we understand now resides in a museum out West. He built the first modified pulling tractor in Bartholomew County and restored several tractors. I remember a trip to Selma, Alabama, as a young teenager.

The Bush Hog company gave him the grand tour in hopes of luring him to their design department. They even showed us some houses that were on the market. He didn’t bite on it. My father was also an entrepreneur, as was his father. They both taught me incredible lessons in business.

My father always portrayed himself as a simple man, sometimes implying he was not the smartest guy around, but in reality, ask him about politics, world affairs or history, and one would quickly realize the deep intellect he held back from the masses. He was a deep thinker.

He had a great respect for what belonged to others, and, as his children, we knew never to step foot on property belonging to others without first being invited.

If someone needed help, my father was there, having helped to build houses and roof buildings in our neighborhood.

His generosity reached out to victims of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, and there was a very special place in his heart for the poor in the Appalachian Mountains, particularly around Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky. He did carpenter work at the mission and would load up pumpkins he had raised each

fall to take down for the people to eat.

He was a humble and giving man who did not appreciate when his body was no longer able to keep up with the desires of his heart. He would describe himself as a 17-year-old trapped in an 85-year-old body, and he was not happy about it.

My father did not always voice his religious convictions, but they ran deep. He said when he died, he wanted to return to the soil as quickly as possible, just as the Bible says we should. A number of years ago, he built his own coffin, and I must say, his craftsmanship was excellent, down to the lining on the inside. As the years went by, the finish aged to enhance the beauty of his simple but meaningful creation. Even in the planning of his death, his dry, wit came through as the coffin was complete with a copper plaque that read “Made by Occupant.” He said when God called him that would mean he had work for him to do, and accordingly, he wanted to be buried in his jeans, boots and a work shirt so he would be ready to do the Lord’s work when he arrived in heaven. We upheld his wishes and also included his trademark pipe in his pocket. As I shared with Mark Fischer, one of Dad’s pallbearers, I also think this was Dad’s way of having one last laugh. The pallbearers, most farmers, were all dressed up, while Dad lay in his coffin in his work clothes — a bit of wit I am sure had passed through his head.

Those who knew my father would never have accused him of being a romantic, but upon hearing the story of him meeting my mother, most are reduced to tears.

My father was active in 4-H when he was growing up and attended State Fair Boys School when he was 16. Among the attendees of the State Fair Girls School was a beautiful Shirley Jones from Liberty.

There was a dance, and the boys and girls were paired up. When Joe Carter entered

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the building, this young, beautiful girl caught his eye across the room, and he said he did not care who he was paired up with, he was spending the evening with her. As fate would happen, they were paired together.

When he returned home, he told his father about this girl.

His dad, my grandfather (also not known for being a romantic), looked him in the eye and asked him if he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Upon saying yes, my grandfather told him to go after her, and with a great deal of effort and luck, Dad did. For three years, my father commuted back and forth to Liberty to court Shirley. My parents were married Oct. 8, 1950.

Most marriages are filled with challenges, and I am sure that particularly given my father’s antics, their marriage was no exception. But the one thing I am assured of is that the love that brought them together never

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My father lived each moment to its fullest, once having told me he did what he wanted to do all his life, and he was thankful for that.

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wavered. Once they retired, or as Dad would say, stopped getting paid to work, they would see each other out in the yard (my father usually coming from his shop and my mother in the garden), and they would walk to each other, embrace, kiss and walk hand-in-hand to the house.

Theirs truly was a magical love story, and I know of none greater.

My father lived each moment to its fullest, once having told me he did what he wanted to do all his life, and he was thankful for that. He also had a steadfast yearning to live, to keep on living, despite numerous life-threatening illnesses over the years. I think my mom was the source of his strength to overcome whatever came his way, and he did so time and time again. He overcame three rounds of cancer, a major heart attack and a burst appendix at age 79, to name a few upsets, yet each time he returned to quality of life with his inspiration, my mom, at his side.

My father passed away on May 4, and for the first time in my life, I know that horrible emptiness and void in my heart of having lost a parent. And yet, knowing he had no chance to return to quality of

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In all his friendships, there was an inlife, I knew his moving on to his reward credible amount of laughter and learning was the only option. I find solace in that, and fun while working harder than imagyet selfishly, life will not be the same inable. I have come to realize that while again, not after the loss of someone so my father, Joe, and great. And that Harold Volland and burden I carry with Alvin Dale gave honor for having us a foundation had the privilege like no other, they for so many years were part of a great of being able to call brotherhood of him “Dad.” farmer dads. Their As I have walked gifts and teachings down memory were greater than lane the past few any sum of money. days, there is one They worked from more aspect of my the heart and they father that is such gave of themselves. an important part Greg Volland, Harof who he was. My old’s son, shared dad loved people with me the other and had many lifeday that he was long friendships. modifying a tractor Dad and Harold Cheryl Carter Jones and her exactly as Harold Volland became dad, Joe Carter had done because best friends in it was perfect. The legacies of those three high school and in time that friendship fathers and other farmer fathers will conincluded their wives and children. They tinue to transcend generations to come. spent every New Year’s Eve together This Father’s Day will be a hard one with the exception of about two from for my family, yet it will be mixed with high school until Harold passed away priceless memories. My wish for those a couple of years ago. Not many people who still have a farmer father is to realize have friendships that last so long. He and how precious the gifts that they give us Harold farmed together for a number of are and to cherish each moment you have years, and Dad went with Harold all over with them. For those who share my loss, the county to tractor pulls that Harold embrace the magnitude of the memories participated in. They were more than every farmer dad leaves us. friends; they were brothers.

And then there was Alvin Dale Cheryl Carter Jones is an Indiana farmer Fischer. They became great friends after and the president of the Local Growers’ the passing of a mutual friend, Ray HorGuild, a cooperative of farmers, retailers man. After Ray died, Alvin Dale and Dad and community members dedicated to planted Ray’s fields one last time, and strengthening the local food economy in the new friendship lasted their lifetimes. central and southern Indiana through Again, the friendship included families. education, direct support and market When they farmed together, we kids connections. For more information on the came along and grew up together. guild, visit localgrowers.org.

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From the field The View at Nightfall

»

Promises For The Future

By Liz Brownlee

Our work leaves plenty of time for reflection. Each morning spent caring for our animals, each trip to the butcher, each transaction at the farmers market prompt us to consider our path.

We recently realized that the word “compromise” contains the word “promise.” Over the next three months, we want to acknowledge the compromises — and celebrate the promises — of small-scale, local agriculture.

Compromise / Promise 1:

Careful Watching Small-scale, local agriculture requires huge amounts of labor, and that requires compromise from our bodies and our time. We work long hours.

It’s worth noting that we love working hard on our farm, so most days this work does not feel like a compromise.

But to watch carefully does require that the work on the farm is always the top priority.

So while we love the work, we hold other truths at the same time: We aren’t sure if our bodies will be able to

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

handle this work in 25 years.

We can’t stay out late at a friend’s wedding reception, because chores come early the next morning. Every time we are off the farm, the clock is ticking down the seconds until we are running home to finish chores.

But in exchange comes a promise — a guarantee even — that we are carefully watching our land, learning its limits and its possibilities.

We know our animals and our pasture. Our bodies are strong. We see nearly every sunrise and sunset.

Wendell Berry, a farmer and writer from Kentucky, explains that for the land to sustain us, we need to watch carefully and be “constantly present, always alert for signs of harm and signs of health.”

We have plenty of examples where careful watching helped us prevent or deal with problems. But here’s an example of how careful watching alerted us to an opportunity.

When the persimmons came on in our first fall farm-

ing, we gathered, ground and froze until the freezer was overflowing with pulp. We started carrying some of the persimmons out to the pigs.

We learned that they love persimmons. They will suck the seeds dry and spit them back out into a feed trough.

Rather than carry persimmons to our pigs each year, we’ve planted four rows of persimmon and oak trees in our pasture (about 400 trees in all) to provide food and shade to our pigs. The pigs will be able to harvest the persimmons on their own (in about five years), which saves us time, decreases our feed bill and improves their nutrition.

Berry says that when the land provides income — say, a farm or forest that’s logged — it requires the most careful watching. That’s what we’re trying to do: watch and learn with care.

Careful watching promises quiet moments at sunset, when we’ve finished a hard day’s work, and progress toward a stronger family farm.

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43

From the field

Life and Death

by Katie Glick

I am sure I have written about this before, but now that we are about to welcome our first baby into the world, I have been thinking about it more often. I have been thinking of things I want to tell her and stories I need to share.

Our daughter will be a part of two farm families that have been around for generations. She will understand the seasons at an early age and how much Mother Nature is a part of our lives. She will run around on dirt that will produce a crop that will help feed a growing world and sustain our family farms. And our daughter will know a lot about life and death at an early age, just as I did.

I have been a part of many celebrations in my life — births and birthdays, weddings, graduations, career successes, as well as sharing love, laughter and accomplishments with friends and family and finding the love of my life.

However, I have also been present for negative events. I was in preschool when my paternal grandfather collapsed at the county fair and was rushed to the hospital. I remember the chaos of the day, the days that followed, and I vividly remember his funeral. My great-cousin was playing the piano at the end of the service when I turned to see my dad crying.

My maternal grandfather passed when I was a sophomore in high school. Before he died, my mom would often take me to the nursing home to see him, and I would sit in his room while she talked to the nurses.

Grandpa was a firm believer in education and being involved in your community. So as I watched him wilt away from this earthly life, I studied my vocabulary words and planned student council activities. At the funeral, I saw my dad cry again.

I only saw my dad cry a handful of times; the other times involved him watching sports movies and Westerns. I also saw him laugh a lot and celebrate with family and friends. When he died, I cried, but I also celebrated because that is what he always taught me to do. There were signs that came in the weeks after his death that made me realize his life was worthy of both celebration and laughter, even after his death.

Our daughter will never know her grandfathers, maternal and paternal, as they both have gone to heaven above. My dad and my husband’s father died s on their farms, where they worked and lived, a place they called home.

However, our daughter will know them by the stories we tell and the lessons we teach her. One of our family beliefs is that “God will take you when he wants you,” and really, there is nothing you can do about it.

At a young age, she will understand that sometimes baby calves die of complications or you have to end your animals’ lives to prevent them from suffering. I learned at a young age on the farm that the killing and care of your animals make you more connected to life. You understand life and death better when you are experiencing it every day.

I hope my daughter lives a long, happy and prosperous life. I hope she understands just how precious it is and how quickly it can be taken away. I hope she sees us cry some and laugh a lot on our farm where we live and work. It’s a wonderful lesson we learned from our fathers.

Katie Glick grew up on her family farm in Martinsville and now lives with her husband on their farm near Columbus, where they grow corn, soybeans and wheat, raise cattle and have a private seed company. She is a graduate of Purdue University and has worked in Indiana politics. She now works in the agriculture industry within our state. She shares her personal, work, travel and farm life stories on her blog, “Fancy in the Country.”

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

Continuing Education

SUMMER SCHOOL

June 15 and 20

The Nature of Teaching: Health and Wellness Teacher Workshops

By Katherine Coplen

We’re in the thick of summer now, and there are all kinds of fun field days planned

by Purdue to highlight the season’s bounty.

Kick off the month with a sales workshop, plus events for kids and educators.

June 1-2

Sales Management and Leadership

This event is sponsored by Purdue’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business and is a two-day workshop for salespeople looking to transition into sales manager roles. Plan on both lectures and interactive sessions featuring a variety of successful sales managers. Time: 8 a.m. Location: Purdue University Stewart Center, 128 Memorial Mall, West Lafayette. Information: agribusiness.purdue.edu/sales.

June 4

Hops Field Day

Hops are in big demand among craft brewers in Indiana, and this educational day offers a tour of Crazy Horse Hop Farm in Knightstown, with sessions on irrigation management, hilling, nutrient testing, pruning and insect identification. Interested in helping brewers meet the demand for (much) more hops production? This is the field day for you. Time: 1 p.m. Location: 8781 S. County Road 925W, Knightstown.

Information: (812) 349-2575.

June 6

Birds and Insects for the Garden

The Herb Society of Central Indiana is programming this wildlife event.

What birds are great for your garden?

Which bugs? Which are bad? You’ll learn all the answers from Amanda Smith, superintendent of natural resources and education of Hamilton County Parks and Recreation.

Refreshments are provided. Time: 6:45 p.m. Location: Clay Township Center, Carmel. Information: herbsocietyofcentralindiana.org.

June 6

Family Day at the Douglas Center

Stop at the Douglas Center, an environmental education learning center featuring activities for kids. The visitors center is the central locale for Family Day; feed resident turtles and spend some time in the Nature Play Zone. Time: 9 a.m. Location: Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education, 7-85 N. Lake St., Gary.

Information: southshorecva.com.

June 8-9

Precision Selling

This two-day course is sponsored by the Center for Food and Agriculture Business and is geared toward salespeople looking to develop strategies for their work with largescale producers. Seminars include discussions on the discovery process: prioritizing and targeting prospects, strategic account planning, and cocreating value, plus interviews with large-scale farmers. Time: Varies.

Location: Beck Agricultural Center, U.S. 52, Purdue University, West Lafayette.

Information: (765) 496-3884.

Learn about the benefits of connecting nature with health and wellness. This workshop is free for kindergarten through fifth-grade educators and provides the opportunity to earn 16 professional growth plan points and receive a $200 stipend for integration of the lessons into the classroom.

Organizers say activities include “exploring with your senses, guided imagery, creative writing, introducing school gardens, educational hikes, animal tracking and wildlife viewing.”

June 15: Time: Varies. Locations: Multiple. Information: (765) 4943568. June 20: Time: 9 a.m. Location: Kokomo Public Library South Branch, 1755 E. Center Road, Kokomo.

Information: (765) 456-2313.

June 18

Beekeepers of Indiana Field Day

This day-long fest is chock-full of great activities for beekeeping enthusiasts. Check out the open hive workshops, pollinator garden workshops, plus classes on beginning beekeeping, planting for bees, managing nuc systems in a breeding program, overwintering nucs and disease identification. Gary Reuter, Dr. Greg Hunt and Kathleen Prough (state bee inspector) will present lectures and updates. Time: 8 a.m.

Location: Purdue Bee Lab, 2255 State Road 26, West Lafayette.

Information: indianabeekeeper.com

June 23

Seed Treatment Workshop The full schedule for this diagnostic training event has yet to be posted; contact organizers at NEPAC for more information.

Time: TBD. Location: Northeast Purdue Agricultural Center, 4821 E. Road 400S, Columbia City.

Information: (260) 244-7290.

June 25

Purdue Beginning Farmer Tour

The beginning farmer tours includes a stop at Silverthorn Farm in Rossville to talk organic fruits and veggies and pastured pork, plus it offers a primer on selling to restaurants.

This event is free, but organizers ask you to register in advance. Time: 10 a.m. Location: Silverthorn Farm, 4485 W. Road 1000N, Rossville.

Information: kgibson@purdue.edu.

June 30

Purdue Weed Science Field Day

This event is coordinated by Purdue’s department of botany and plant pathology and is one of three weed science field days planned for the summer. Participants receive continuing education credits for certified crop advisers or certifications for commercial pesticide applicators.

Cost is $25 per person for this workshop. Time: 9 a.m. Location: Purdue Palmer Amaranth Research Site, 15627 Old Henderson Road, Evansville. Information: extension. purdue.edu; (765) 494-9871.

June 22

Diagnostic Training Workshop

The Purdue agriculture center is the site of one of June’s field days — this one highlighting diagnostic training.

More information will be announced closer to the date. Time: TBD. Location: Pinney Purdue Agricultural Center, 11402 S. County Line Road, Wanatah.

Information: (219) 733-2379.

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

45

Local Food

Q + A:

RJ Wall Founder and curator of Chefs’ Night Off Indianapolis RJ Wall might be the perfect event organizer.

He takes a sometimes-brash and no-nonsense approach to hosting and has, thus far, successfully brought together well-known chefs from the region to the same kitchen to cook together for his popular Chefs’ Night Off Indianapolis events. By Twinkle VanWinkle

What’s your official title and how did Chefs’ Night Off (CNO) get started?

Ambassador of Awesome for Chefs’ Night Off Indy. It started in Chicago under a slightly different model. When I moved back to Indianapolis, the food scene was really taking off, and I wanted to throw some fuel on that fire. So I started up these events.

What exactly is Chef’s Night Off?

Chefs’ Night Off is an ongoing series of “pirate” dinners, conceptualized and executed by cooks and bartenders from Indianapolis and its surrounding area’s most respected restaurants. This is an opportunity to showcase the developing talents of the local culinary scene and locally owned restaurants and bars with a focus on slow food.

What’s your thought behind putting these together? To support chefs?

Support community?

Indiana chefs rarely stage (their talents.)

Same with line cooks, sous chefs, et cetera. By facilitating this sort of creative think tank, they get the opportunity

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Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

to work with and learn from their peers in a fun and informal environment.

What’s your philosophy behind ingredients and themes?

Do you focus on locally grown farm-to-table fare?

I did my first theme dinner last month — a Tiki theme — and it was a success. And I’d like to do one again. I try to keep the menu as local as possible without putting too many restraints on the chefs. I give them carte blanche with their dish.

What is some feedback you’d give a farmer or producer so they can know more about how to serve their customers like chefs and restaurants?

Communicate better. Farmers and chefs are difficult to get in touch with at times and often work opposite hours.

You seem to have a lot of state pride, so that fuels the events you plan. Can you talk about your love of Indiana and its food scene?

I’ve always loved Indiana. I have lived in LA, Chicago, Denver, and I always come back.

I also believe now, more than ever, that it is critical for us movers and shakers to keep doing culturally relevant and fun events.

What is it that attracted you to food? Do you have training, experience, childhood memories? Be as detailed as you like.

As a former student of anthropology, it’s hard to deny that food is what brought us all together as families and communities. Now everyone has their phones out during dinner; kids are playing on iPads, and no one talks. I purposely do communal seating at my dinners to force people to engage with others.

I love that you are communityfocused and passionate about event planning in all your endeavors — from music to food. What is it that draws you to this?

I really like working for myself. I really like putting together a killer event and sitting back in the corner at the peak of it and watching everyone have a great time — midway through the third course when the room is half drunk and everyone has settled into their surroundings. That buzz,

you can’t pay for that buzz. I dig that. I can be not so easy to work with, so I have to do most of it myself. I have a few people I bring on from time to time to help out because they probably know me personally and can tell me to shut up if needed.

What would you say about Indiana’s food scene to someone who isn’t familiar?

What are your favorite things and favorite foods?

We have some of the best livestock in the United States. Michelin-rated joints in Chicago are sourcing from here. We are the damn bread basket of the USA. Favorite food? I like mushrooms and ramps and such, if we are talking native treats.

Where do you go from here? What’s your “what now” plan for the future?

I am doing a few dinners here and there in other markets. My 2017 goal is to have one a month out of state and take an Indiana chef to another state to cook. Cerulean chef Alan Sternberg is going to Louisville June 27.

What’s your next event?

Who’s involved? What local products are being used?

I have a vegan dinner June 12 at Bent Rail Brewery. Ian Phillips, Audrey Barron, Josh Henson and a fourth chef will be using all local ingredients to compose a vegan feast. Surprisingly, these are my most popular dinners.

For more information, visit chefsnightoffindy.com

Recipe

SPICY SUMMER MINESTRONE Prep Time: 24 hours to soak beans, plus 30 minutes // Cook Time: 45 minutes Makes 8 to 10 servings

1 cup dried white beans 1 cup dried black beans 10 cups water for soaking beans ½ cup pasta, like penne or macaroni 1/3 cup olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced 1 large carrot, julienned 1 rib of celery, diced finely 1 red bell pepper, julienned 1 green bell pepper, julienned

»

½ fresh jalapeño, diced finely, seeds removed

Soup’s On

3 garlic cloves, chopped fine 2 cups shredded kale, rinsed, drained, stems discarded 4 cups shredded mustard or collard greens, rinsed, drained, stems discarded

By Twinkle VanWinkle

I cook all year, no matter the season, but when summer approaches my kitchen becomes hot property. Counter space is limited as I harvest from the garden, and trips to the local farmers markets become more frequent. The dinner table quickly gets covered in baskets of fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit. And — to me — it’s heaven on Earth.

One of my favorite ways to use the bounty of summer is to make big pots of soup. By June, I usually have plenty of carrots, kale and other fresh greens for soups, as well as sweet peppers and early tomatoes.

To make a good soup, vegetables, water and fresh herbs are really all you need, but I’m also a fan of adding beans for added fiber and nutrients. If you can’t find fresh beans, a good overnight soak will have your beans ready for the pot the next day.

Souper Tips

Add the acid: If you are wondering about the vinegar (and maybe even the lime juice,) in the minestrone recipe, it’s because acidity is important for great soup. The acid from these two ingredients is best added at the end to complement the veggies (and meat, too, if you want it). It brightens the flavors as well as bolstering the creaminess of your beans.

1 28-ounce can stewed tomatoes with juice 2 medium tomatoes, diced 5½ cups water or vegetable broth ½ tablespoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon dried oregano or 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped 1 tablespoon cumin 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice ¼ cup red wine vinegar

Stock up: Using a hearty stock or broth, like vegetable or chicken, will deepen the flavors in soup. You can make your own or you can buy store-bought. It’s easy to make stock, but it is time-consuming.

If you use store-bought, make sure to use low or no sodium for best results.

Pour beans onto a baking sheet to pick out any grime or dirt.

To soak beans, place them in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with 10 cups water.

Bring to a boil on the stove, letting beans boil for an additional two minutes.

Remove from heat to a non-reactive large bowl. Glass is best.

Cover well and let stand for at least 4 to 5 hours, but up to 24 if you have time.

Drain beans and rinse well with clean water.

Set aside until ready for making soup.

Prep veggies for soup (dice, julienne, etc.).

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven on medium heat and add olive oil when pot is hot.

Add prepped onion, celery, carrot, peppers and garlic and let sear for about 5 minutes or until onions and garlic are translucent.

Begin adding water or stock and stewed tomatoes with juice and bring to a simmer, reducing heat to low — about 5 minutes.

Add beans, fresh tomatoes, oregano, cumin and greens and cook for about 30 minutes on medium low heat.

After about 30 minutes, raise heat to low boil and add dried pasta. Let cook for 11 minutes, or until pasta is tender, but still al dente.

Add vinegar, salt and lime juice and let cook for 5 more minutes then remove from heat.

Serve hot or store in the fridge and reheat for up to a week. You can freeze completely cooled soup and store in an airtight container for three to four months.

Tread lightly: Don’t go crazy boiling.

When you cook too long and too intensely, it will break down your ingredients into a fine mush. For the best vegetable-based soups, cook gently and allow vegetables to simmer on lower temps for a little more time.

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.

PhotoS by Twinkle Van Winkle

Farm Indiana // JUNE 2016

47

Payments as low as PER $ MONTH1

231

on a new Farmall ® 50A Tractor

0

% FOR

84 MONTHS 84 MONTHS 0

Payments as low as PER $ MONTH1

231 *

on a new Farmall ® 50A Tractor

ON NEW UTILITY FARMALL® 50A-70A TRACTORS

% * e IH Farmall A Series tractors are built with proven basics – like a dependable, FOR

cient diesel engine and a straightforward mechanical transmission – for ON NEW UTILITY FARMALL® 50A-70A TRACTORS operation and rugged reliability. No fancy electronic controls. Just simple Case IH Farmall A Series tractors are built with proven basics – like a dependable, es built with The all the pulling power and hydraulics you need for loading, fuel-efficient diesel engine and a straightforward mechanical transmission – for tilling, mowing, baling andand more. simple operation rugged reliability. No fancy electronic controls. Just simple machines built with all the pulling power and hydraulics you need for loading, blading, tilling, mowing, baling and more.

JACOBI SALES, INC. INC. JACOBI SALES,

415 STEVENS WAY WAY 415 STEVENS SEYMOUR, IN 47274 SEYMOUR,812-523-5050 IN 47274 812-523-5050 www.jacobisales.com www.jacobisales.com

* For commercial use only. Customer participation subject to credit qualification and approval by CNH Industrial Capital America LLC. See your participating Case IH dealer for details and eligibility requirements. Down payment may be required. Offer good through June 30, 2016. Not all customers or applicants may qualify for this rate or term. CNH Industrial Capital America LLC standard terms and conditions will apply. Taxes, freight, set-up, delivery, additional options or attachments not included in suggested retail price.

Offer subject to change or cancellation without notice.

1 This low monthly payment is based on a US suggested retail price of $24,337, in which the customer provides down payment of $4,933 and finances the balance at 0.00% per annum for a total contract term of 84 months on a new Case IH Farmall 50A tractor.

icipation subject to credit qualification and approval by CNH Industrial Capital America LLC. See your participating Case IH dealer for details and eligibility requirements. Down payment may be required. Offer good through icants may qualify for this rate or term. CNH Industrial Capital America LLC standard terms and conditions will apply. Taxes, freight, set-up, delivery, additional options or attachments not included in suggested retail price. without notice.

US suggested retail price of $24,337, in which the customer provides down payment of $4,933 and finances the balance at 0.00% per annum for a total contract term of 84 months on a new Case IH Farmall 50A tractor.

0

% FOR

84 MONTHS ON NEW UTILITY FARMALL® 50A-70A TRACTORS The Case IH Farmall A Series tractors are built with proven basics – like a dependable, fuelefficient diesel engine and a straightfordward mechanical transmission - for simple operation and rugged reliability. No fancy electronic controls.

Just simple machines built with all the pulling power and hydraulics you need for loading, blading, tilling, mowing, baling and more.