Farm Indiana | March 2015

MARCH 2015

Rural Living & Local Food

Harvesting Hope Mike Higbee and Justin Berg repurpose an urban plot for Seven Steeples Farm

ALSO INSIDE:

LIBERTY FEED AND BEAN MEAL FRUIT LOOP ACRES FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 1

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Contents MARCH 2015

5 Upcoming Events 8 Farm Tech 9 Farm Tools 10 From the Field 16 Liberty Feed

20

36 Food Rescue 40 Eastern Hancock FFA 44 Continuing Education 46 Local Food

and Bean Meal

20 Fruit Loop Acres 24 Seven Steeples Farm 28 Indiana Hop Growers Association

32 Soilmaker

ON THE COVER

Read more about Seven Steeples on page 24.

Photo by Josh Marshall

Good preparation is necessary,

A Great Marketing Plan Completes the Process

6672 East 650 South | Edinburgh, IN 46124 812-526-5574 | 800-284-2676 | kokomograin.com FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 3

Editor’s Note

The Big Question

I

I’m biased — I know that — but that doesn’t make what I’m about to say any less true: Farm Indiana is an undiscovered gem. I say it’s undiscovered because of a few facts. For nearly three years now, we have been printing and distributing approximately 30,000 copies of Farm Indiana throughout south-central Indiana. If you do the math, we’ve placed nearly a million copies of this publication into the hands of Hoosier readers over the past few years. And yet, regularly, I walk into farm conferences and meetings with stacks of Farm Indiana publications, and folks are surprised and eager to learn of this “new” publication. They’ve never seen or heard of it before.

What that says to me is that we’re not doing the best we can to get the word out. I attend events as often as I can to talk about what we’re doing here. I leave copies of the publications wherever I go, and I hope that word will spread as all good things do — organically. That said, I’m counting on you, our loyal readers, to help me share the news of our good publication.

And why do I think Farm Indiana is so good? That’s because of you, too.

There’s so much going on around our state right now in farming that I can hardly keep up each month. Every issue is packed with stories about small and large farmers working hard to make a difference in our food system and in our world. In this issue, we host a number of familiar voices on our From the Field pages, we give you the lowdown on the upcoming Indiana Small Farm Conference in Danville (I’ll be there), and we profile Liberty Feed and Bone Meal, Fruit Loop Acres, Seven Steeples Farm and the newly formed Indiana Hop Growers Association. That’s not to mention the stories on our local chapters of FFA, upcoming Indiana auctions, Purdue University’s continuing education classes, the latest farming technologies and our local schools tackling food waste issues.

I hope after reading this issue, you’ll also see Farm Indiana for what it is, an as-yet undiscovered gem. There is no other publication in this state doing what we do, and for that I’m proud and impassioned.

So won’t you help me spread the word? Tell your neighbors. Give someone a subscription as a gift. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and spread the word about Farm Indiana’s mission: to promote and celebrate the rich history and tradition of farming in Indiana; to serve as a conduit of information among growers, producers, farmers and local food consumers; and to educate readers about the nutritional, social and financial importance of local food support and consumption. And with that little itty bitty teeny tiny request, I offer a great big Hoosier-hearted thank you.

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

PUBLISHER Chuck Wells EDITOR Sherri Lynn Dugger CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Nate Brownlee, Katherine Coplen, Katie Glick, Jessica Hoopengardner, Cheryl Carter Jones, Garrett Kelly, Shawndra Miller, Allen Moody, Jim Poyser, Jon Shoulders, Clint Smith, Rebecca Townsend, Ryan Trares, Catherine Whittier, CJ Woodring COPY EDITOR Katharine Smith SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST Margo Wininger ADVERTISING DESIGN

Emma Ault, Hollie Brown, Dondra Brown, Tonya Cassidy, John Cole, Julie Daiker, Ben Hill, Phil Manning, Josh Meyer, Desiree Poteete, Tina Ray, Kelsey Ruddell, Robert Wilson PHOTOGRAPHER Josh Marshall IMAGE TECHNICIAN Matt Quebe

©2015 by Home News Enterprises.

All rights reserved. Reproduction of stories, photographs and advertisements without permission is prohibited.

Comments, story ideas, events and suggestions should be sent to Sherri Lynn Dugger, The Republic, 333 Second St., Columbus, IN 47201, call (812) 379-5608 or email farmindiana@hnenewspapers.com.

To advertise, contact Mike Rossetti at (812) 379-5764 or mrossetti@hnenewspapers.com.

To subscribe to Farm Indiana, call (800) 435-5601.

12 issues (1 year) will be delivered to your home for $24.

Back issues may also be purchased for $5 per issue.

4 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

Events

An American

REVOLUTION

Indiana Small Farm Conference to stoke a growing, grass-roots movement

BY REBECCA TOWNSEND

SMALL FARMS are set to receive big treatment at the third annual Indiana Small Farm Conference — nothing short of revolutionary, really.

“There’s no doubt about it: There’s a major revolution going on in the food system,” conference keynote speaker John Ikerd said in a telephone interview.

The conference, which will feature Thursday tours and workshops and a Friday and Saturday packed with speakers on subjects ranging from animal husbandry to energy issues, is scheduled for March 5 to 7 at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds and Conference Center in Danville.

The burgeoning rally around local foods in communities nationwide is being driven by the convergence of growing environmental, pollution and public health concerns, such as antibiotic resistance, Ikerd said.

A University of Missouri professor emeritus of agricultural and applied economics, Ikerd has been retired for 15 years but continues traveling around the country speaking “his truth” about sustainable capitalism, ecologically sound and just food systems, and the future of farming. Not everyone has to agree with his positions, Ikerd says, but they are important enough to him that he continues working to encourage cultural change

Register for the Indiana Small Farm Conference at edustore.purdue.edu/wk_begin.asp

through agriculture at places like the Tennessee Local Food Summit, the Virginia Association for Biological Farms and the Mississippi Local Food Revival.

“This whole movement is rising,” Ikerd said, noting that he is encouraged to see people are banding together to re-create their local food landscapes and especially hopeful to see large percentages of young adults and families in the audiences of the events he visits.

Small farms are real farms The message he plans to underscore at the Indiana Small Farm Conference is this: Small farms are real farms. A prolific author, Ikerd has written a book carrying the same title. Farming is not just business, a pursuit of ever-increasing efficiencies of scale and volume. Farming has historical and traditional connotations of land and animal stewardship and community engagement, the public speaker asserts.

Small farms today, especially those using sustainable production systems are “much more consistent with historical definition of real farming,” Ikerd said.

“What I want to get across is the idea that while small farms have been kind of marginalized as something of the past as people try to achieve economies of scale (with) larger and larger industrial opera-

WHO

ONE DAY TWO DAY

Conference attendee Student fees Children 12 and under Pre-Conference Workshop Fee

$75 $50 $15 $50

$100 $75 $25

» Thursday workshops are $50 and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch both days will be catered by Lali Hess of the Juniper Spoon with ingredients sourced from Indiana small farms. Beverages will be served all day.

Nonprofit organizations can register for an exhibition booth in the trade show for $50; commercial exhibitors for $300.

Conference organizers are welcoming any ​individual or group who would like to showcase their small farm programs to join a March 6 poster session. Set at the trade show, it will focus on small farms or local foods both in Indiana and beyond involving research, extension, outreach, education and programming.

tions, the smaller farms of today is what farming has always been about.”

Skyrocketing growth in organic and then local foods reflects the shifting consciousness of the nation, Ikerd said, noting that organic sales were growing at about 20 percent per year through the ’90s and ’00s into the recession and at about 10 percent since. He added that as industrial ag began to capitalize on the growth opportunities of the organic industry, small farmers and food consumers began trending more toward promotion of local foods.

Overall, the small farm revolution must strive toward integrity if it is to survive, Ikerd said.

“To sustain (the small farm movement), you have to maintain the integrity of the system,” he said. “The same kind of integrity that defined the farmer in the first place as stewards of land and animals and communities and business.”

As people work to ensure the integrity of their food, they will continue to boost their relationships with and purchases from local farmers, people they know and trust to operate real farms, who are not just in it for the business, Ikerd said.

Local food is thriving, he adds, offering examples in Virginia, which saw a four-fold increase in farmers markets to more than 8,000 over the decade ending in 2013, while community-supported agriculture subscriptions grew to around 2,700. Nationwide, growth in regional food hubs is also evident.

A 2013 national food hub survey conducted by Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems and the Wallace Center reported growth and profits for the ventures engaged in recasting the nation’s food systems: 62 percent of the 107 food hubs responding to the survey began operations within the last five years, and 31 percent had $1 million or more in annual revenue and most were supporting their hubs “with little or no grant assistance, including food hubs that identified as nonprofits.”

On the menu The Indiana Small Farm Conference is poised to help Hoosiers continue this trend.

During pre-conference workshops, participants can review the basics of running a market farm or explore opportunities in hops production driven by the local craft beer craze.

Organizers will also lead a pre-conference “Value-Added Local Food and Farms Tour,” which will visit a few Henry and Hancock county small farms. Tours are scheduled to stop at Redbud Farm and Caprini Creamery​in Spiceland, where Kristy Kikly and Mike and Jessica Hoopengardner raise goats and llamas and produce goats’ milk cheese for local markets and restaurants, in addition to the Engleking Country Beef Shop​in Wilkinson and the Tyner Pond Farm​in Greenfield, which is committed to the holistic grazing philosophies espoused by pasture poultry mentor Joel Salatin.

The “Making Your Market Farm Work For You” session will cover weed control, irrigation, post-harvest handling and marketing, as well as management of farm systems, employees and finances. Session leader Chris Blanchard is a veteran organic farmer who has developed an educational nonprofit focused on supporting farmers in the pursuit of ecological and economic sustainability.

Blanchard will also lead the following break-out sessions during the conference: “Capturing and Organizing Data for GAPs, Organic Certification, and other Endeavors,” and “Evaluating Investments and Operational Changes.”

In addition, organizers with the Purdue Small Farm & Sustainable Agriculture Team have planned sessions covering plenty of other ground. A number of animal-related topics are on the menu in beekeeping, pasture poultry, rotational grazing, aquaponics, livestock regulation, nutrition and mortality management.

Other offerings focus on energy efficiency, solar power, liability and grant writing, plus production-oriented features such as organic disease control, composting and handling high tunnel systems for winter veggies. The growth trends Ikerd mentioned in sustainable food sales will be highlighted in a session run by staffers from Clarkson Grain and Eden Foods on what they’ve called “the black hole of the Midwest,” the insufficient supply of local organic grain.

Trade show demonstrations will include the do’s and don’ts of hand sprayer usage and vermiculture/compost products.

Additional information and online registration for the Indiana Small Farm Conference is available at ag.purdue. edu/extension/smallfarms.

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 5

Event

Auction Action

S

BY CJ WOODRING

Good deals can be found at Indiana’s farm auctions

SPRING IS FARM AUCTION TIME, and for Sullivan resident Jeff Boston, that means gearing up for the SHS/FFA Alumni Farm Equipment Auction held annually at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds.

The beneficiary is the county’s FFA chapter.

Boston is a graduate of Reppert School of Auctioneering and principal of Jeff Boston Auction Service, which co-exists with Century Auto Sales (bostoncentury.com). Reppert was founded in 1921 in Decatur, where Boston attended, and has since moved operations to Indianapolis (reppertschool.com).

In business since 1976, Boston is assisted by his brother, Clay Boston, and brother-inlaw, Richard Sater, both licensed auctioneers.

Despite the fact that he’s also worked at auto auctions in Indiana and Illinois for the past 36 years, his specialty is conducting farm equipment and farmland auctions.

Boston touts himself as “a farmer working for farmers.” It’s a slogan his father suggested to set him apart from other auctioneers. His father, in fact, founded the now second-generation, 800-acre family farm that produces corn and soybeans.

“Dad started it in the early 1960s,” Boston says, “and I began helping him when I was 13; then my brother began helping. Dad’s now 82 and is still active on the farm.”

Although Boston has conducted about 250 farm auctions, the largest by far is the FFA fundraiser that includes farm, livestock and construction items. Last year’s event, the 11th annual, brought in just under $1 million in sales. It is considered the largest FFA-sponsored consignment sale in Indiana, attracting bidders from as far as Mississippi and Minnesota.

“Then every year we have farmers bring equipment up from below Louisville and last year an estate from the Carmel-Fishers area. So we’ve got equipment from people up to 175 miles away,” he says.

No one can talk as fast as an auctioneer. But these silver-tongued speakers, part salesman, part showman, are there for one purpose only: to sell property and/or goods at the highest price within an allotted time and to a specific market. Bidders create that market, which can rise or remain static, depending upon interest.

It all comes down to the auctioneer’s expertise in advertising, the number of quality items and word of mouth. And, in Boston’s case, the fact that, as a farmer, he speaks the bidders’ language and is well-versed on the equipment he auctions.

6 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

Farm auctions are seasonal, he says, and most often held before planting and before harvesting. “Generally speaking, they’re held November through March,” he says. “We’ve done a few in August, but they don’t go as well. Cultivators sell better in spring, before planting, and combines, wagons and grain carts might sell better right before harvest than they would this time of year.”

The numbers of bidders he’s seen attending auctions hasn’t changed through the years; they’re just willing to travel farther now that equipment costs so much. And there’s no such thing as an average farm auction customer. “We get them from 18 to 85 and everything in between,” he says.

As for online bidding, Boston admits he’s “old school.” And though he’d never say never, he prefers dealing with folks who stand out with him on a snowy, muddy day, having driven a distance to attend. “There’s no right or wrong about online bidding, but I prefer dealing with the guy who spent gas money and paid for a motel rather than someone 700 miles away.”

As auctions continue to attract new bidders, real estate is the fastest auction growth area. Farm auctions are one of the most consistent subsets and may include agricultural holdings such as real estate, livestock, timber and grains. But the addition of farm machinery into the mix — vintage and otherwise— can be a new grower’s best resource.

The key to successful purchases lies in finding auctions that advertise quality and brand names, Boston says. “The number one selling brand is John Deere, followed by Case IH. If farmers look for an auction that says they’re selling name brand farm equipment, it’s my belief it will be better to bid on these brands with resale value.”

And, he says, quality farm equipment also means equipment that has been kept sheltered and has been well-serviced. And if you’re looking to sell?

“Hopper bottom grain trailers are really hopping,” he says. “There’s a tremendous interest in them.”

Farm auctions are held throughout Indiana.

Boston suggests that new farmers seeking equipment should follow auctioneers who are credible and honest by asking fellow growers for referrals.

“Our company has a good reputation, but my main deal is we are a family operation, and that’s very important to me,” Boston says. “I’m awfully proud that I have the consistency and loyalty of the people who work with me, not for me, to see that every auction is the best it can be. The supporting cast I have around me is outstanding.”

RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL AUCTION BIDDING » Auctions can be fun, can result in fantastic bargains and, if property is involved, can net a quick purchase and closing at an assured market value price. Regardless of what you’re seeking, experienced bidders suggest a few rules to ensure a positive auction experience. » Understand the types of auctions. An estate auction offers property from a single individual. A consignment auction features items from multiple sellers. Property being sold with a reserve means the sale is subject to seller approval, whereas property sold absolute goes to the highest bidder, on auction day only, regardless of price. » Know what you want to bid on and the maximum you’re willing to spend. Auctioneers will list online or in industry newspapers most, if not all, items up for bid. If possible, browse the website for similar items to learn what a fair price may be. Auction sites open several hours prior to actual bidding, so be there to preview your targeted item(s). » Bid only on what you want. Bidding just to raise the price is a sure way to antagonize bidders who are there to buy. Be aware that many auction services now include online bidding, and you may be bidding against someone who isn’t present. » To communicate effectively, try to make eye contact with the auctioneer. Pay attention to lot numbers up for bid and to others’ bids. » Don’t hide items from other bidders so that you can have first dibs. And don’t mix items from different lots. This is called stealing. » If items you successfully bid on are small, take them to your vehicle once you’ve paid for them. Unethical auctiongoers have been known to steal others’ goods when set aside to take later. » Wear comfortable shoes and layered clothing that will enable you to take garments on and off should the temperature change. » Don’t take young children or pets to an auction. Little ones are easily bored and can get hurt or damage fragile items.

Some auctioneers disallow children younger than 12, and no auctiongoer wants to baby-sit your child, trip over your dog or strain to hear the auctioneer over your crying baby. » Remember that your bid is an agreement to purchase. All sales are final and “as is.” Likewise, deposits made on property are not refunded should you change your mind after the sale. » Most auctioneers accept cash and major credit cards. Additional applicable fees can include a buyer’s fee, a transaction fee on credit card purchases over a set amount or an online transaction fee.

UPCOMING INDIANA FARM AUCTIONS March 6 Consignment auction features farm and construction equipment.

TIME: Not given LOCATION: Best Equipment, Junction 3 and 46, Greensburg AUCTIONEER: Owens Auction Service Inc. CONTACT: Bob Whipple (812) 593-3733; Brian Owens (812) 5287021; Kenneth Owens (812) 614-4100; auctionzip.com

March 6 Fourth annual consignment auction presented by Hendricks County Antique Tractor & Machinery Association offers antique and late model tractors and machinery, vehicles, parts, tools, toys, and miscellaneous items.

TIME: Not given LOCATION: Ted Everett Farm Machinery, Monrovia.

CONTACT: Terry Johnson (317) 430-2989; Jim Elsbury (317) 7455890; Jerry Kittle (317) 432-2668;

March 7 44th Annual Spring Consignment Machinery Auction features a full line of farm equipment and agriculture tools.

TIME: 9 a.m.

LOCATION: White’s Farm, located three miles south of Brookville off U.S. 52. AUCTIONEER: White’s Auctions CONTACT: Jonathon White (765) 265-3886; Dave White (765) 265-3883; whiteswebsite.com

March 7

April 4

Absolute unreserved machinery consignment auction. National farmland specialist is selling farm and recreational land equipment, farmland and timberland.

All types of farm machinery are expected, including tractors, combines and heads, planters and drills, hay equipment and more.

TIME: 10 a.m.

LOCATION: 1400 N. Wabash Ave., Hartford City.

AUCTIONEER: Schrader Real Estate & Auction Co. CONTACT: (800) 451-2709; schraderauction.com

Mensendiek’s 26th Annual Farm Machinery, Equipment, Tools, Lawnmowers and More Consignment Auction. Items too numerous to mention will be auctioned off in three rings. Last year’s event drew more than 1,000 buyers.

TIME: 9 a.m.

LOCATION: Louis and Imogene Mensendiek Farm, 11491 S. Jonesville Road, Columbus AUCTIONEER: Mike Mensendiek CONTACT: (812) 3423264; (812) 523-6664; auctionsandreal estate.com

March 14 The owner is not going out of business.

He and neighbors are downsizing farm equipment inventory, including tractors, semitractors, a combine, grain table, grain cart and related items.

TIME: 10 a.m.

LOCATION: Watson Farm, 6589 County Road 35, Auburn, northwest of Spencerville AUCTIONEER: Schrader Real Estate & Auction Co. CONTACT: (800) 451-2709; schraderauction.com

March 14 Annual auction presents good, clean farm machinery TIME: 10 a.m.

LOCATION: 640 W. Contreras Pike, Liberty AUCTIONEER: Abernathy Auction & Real Estate CONTACT: (765) 458-5826; abernathyauction.com

March 21 Annual consignment auction puts spring farm machinery on the block.

TIME: Not given LOCATION: 1324 E. Fifth St. (East State Road 44), Connersville.

AUCTIONEER: Koons Auction & Realty Co. CONTACT: (765) 8253594; auctionzip.com

April 4 12th Annual SHS/FFA Alumni Farm Equipment Auction includes farm, livestock and construction. As the largest FFA consignment sale in the state, event draws more than 1,000 buyers each year.

TIME: 9 a.m.

LOCATION: Sullivan County 4-H Fairgrounds, 1301 E. County Road 75N, Sullivan AUCTIONEER: Jeff Boston Auction Service LLC CONTACT: Jeff Boston (812) 382-4440; Alan Huff (812) 249-2577; bostoncentury.com

April 4 Annual Farm Consignment Auction features tractors, riding mowers, heavy equipment, farm implements and more.

TIME: 10 a.m.

LOCATION: Highway 66, Fennhaven, Tell City AUCTIONEER: Dixon & Dixon Auctioneers CONTACT: (812) 547-3721; dixonauctionand realty.com

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 7

Farm Tech

Cheat Sheets

BY GARRETT KELLY

Distribution calculator makes crunching numbers on operation costs a piece of cake » AS PAUL HARVEY ONCE eloquently explained in his “So God Made a Farmer” speech, farmers generally wear several different hats. They function as caregivers, employers and mechanics when the situation calls for it. However, the accountant hat may get worn less often now, thanks to a new distribution calculator in the form of a Google spreadsheet.

Emily Toner, urban agriculture educator for Purdue Extension in Marion County, was introduced to the distribution calculator during a nationwide

» To keep up-to-date on developments in farming, visit the Purdue Extension Small Farm Team website at ag.purdue.edu/extension/smallfarms.

To subscribe to Emily Toner’s newsletter, email Toner directly at eegglest@purdue.edu. conference call with its creator. Todd Jones piqued her interest during the call initiated by the USDA, which focused on local food concerns.

The distribution calculator essentially brings several spreadsheets into one master spreadsheet that outlines your day’s expenses and shows the amount of money you need to earn to end up in the black that day. The first section tallies the mileage between all of your stops. It starts at home, allows for four other stops and ends back at home.

After you get your total travel distance for the day, you plug in the current cost of gasoline to determine what your fuel costs will be.

The next section of the distribution tool accounts for your time. After all, time is money. You’ll already have your drive time figured out, but there are four other spaces you can fill in. These spaces are for time spent at the market, time for unloading, time for drop-offs and other miscellaneous tasks you may need to complete. These hours and minutes are added to tell you what percentage of your day you spent not doing any real farming.

The third section covers your employee payouts for the day. You can add the wages of up to five employees in the spreadsheet and enter what each individual makes per hour. Then you have a clear idea of how your labor for the day has affected your wallet.

Then your vehicle’s depreciation is calculated.

This part of the spreadsheet looks at the loan amount on your vehicle, the loan length, interest rate, insurance costs and your vehicle’s gas mileage information. These numbers give you a daily vehicle depreciation amount. On the back end, the miles per gallon information and the monthly insurance premium are used to figure your final expenses of the day.

The last tool measures all the other costs associated with a day at the market and your profits.

These costs include fees to sell at the market, parking fees, the amount of goods you sold in dollars and your profit margin. At the very bottom of the spreadsheet is a pie chart illustrating all of the information you entered in the fields above. It breaks down the cost of each section and shows how much of the pie each expense takes up. Next

to that chart is your total cost, the amount you need to sell in order to break even for the day.

Toner saw such value in the distribution calculator that she shared it through an email newsletter that she sends out on behalf of Purdue Extension and on various social media outlets. “I thought it was fantastic because it helps people who are selling at a farmers market understand their true costs of going to that market,” she says. “This tool helps them be even more comprehensive by including things like depreciation of the car that you use to get there and your car insurance.”

Toner says this is the first free tool that she has seen in a Google spreadsheet to go into this much detail. She says there are probably similar tools out there, but this is a great place to start if you don’t utilize another one. She also acknowledges that every farmer has his own way of keeping records, but she thinks almost anyone can appreciate the distribution calculator. “You can customize it (the distribution tool), and they haven’t made any assumptions on your behalf,” she says. “They’ve put all the blanks there, and they’ve synched five different sheets into one.”

According to Toner, the easiest way to access the distribution calculator and the spreadsheet for crop planning guidance is to do a Google search.

Go to Google’s search page and search for “Three Free Tools to Make You a Better Farmer.” Jones’ article, from a site called foodtank.com, will be one of the top results.

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IN THE TOOLBOX

Warm Water Therapy Ron Marlin created heated beds to help his plants get a head start

By Catherine Whittier WHEN RON MARLIN OF MARLIN’S PLANT KINGDOM in Greenfield first began growing seeds in seed plug trays, he would use heat mats under them to warm the soil and encourage germination. But he noticed a problem. The propagation mats contained heat cables that did not heat the entire mat consistently.

Marlin found that his seeds would germinate quickly and evenly in the seed cells that were situated directly over the warm cables but would not come up evenly or consistently anywhere else. He wanted all of his seedlings to germinate at the same rate, so he came up with a simple and relatively inexpensive idea that would deliver warm temperatures to all of his seed plugs at once.

He invented a version of a waterbed for his plants. His waterbeds solved the problem by allowing water to be a vehicle for heat distribution. Marlin now utilizes this idea to grow about 600 flats of plugs in his 21,000-square-foot greenhouse. “It’s something very simple, but it works,” he says.

HOW RON MARLIN BUILT HIS WATERBEDS

»First he built a frame out of 2-by-4-inch pieces of wood.

The base frames serve to distribute the weight of the waterbeds over the legs of the huge tables he uses to start his seeds. Marlin says the frames could be built to fit on a shelf or table in the basement or small greenhouse; however, in smaller applications, this foundation frame may not be necessary. »Next, he nailed a layer of fence pickets, which are

spaced evenly in order to create a platform. He says anything sturdy could be used to create that platform. »On top of that, he laid a piece of foam insulation board, which is cut to the same dimensions as his frame. »Next comes another 2-by-4 frame built to the same dimensions as the first one. This frame is necessary to create the depth required for the waterbed.

»Marlin then covered the insulation board with a layer of sand about 1-inch deep. »He then buried thermostatically controlled heat cable in the sand. The cable is simply laid back and forth, at about 18- to 24-inch intervals. »Next, Marlin cut and laid a large piece of greenhouse plastic over the frame. The piece was large enough to fold over, forming a double layer that lines the inside of the frame, allowing for the

plastic to lie on the sandy bottom, as well as come up and over the top of the 2-by-4 frame on all sides.

access the water to measure the temperature later.

»He then laid long strips of wood over the plastic and screwed them into the 2-by-4s, which made the waterbed airtight. He was sure to leave a small section open that would allow him to fill the bed. This open section would later be sealed with a small strip of wood but would continue to serve as a place to easily

»Marlin says that good lighting is also critical to germination. If lights are used, they must be installed just a few inches above the seed »Each year, at seed plug time, trays to keep the seedlings the thermostat is adjusted from stretching for light to allow the water to warm when they come up. As the to 75 degrees. He unscrews seedlings get taller, he sugthe small section of wood to gests using a fan to blow air access the water, then uses across the plants. This air will a common thermometer to help plants grow stronger.

»He then added water to the opening he left in the plastic. He filled the plastic bed until approximately 2 inches of water rested in the plastic on the sandy bed.

check the temperature. The tiny seedlings are moved off the warm bed as soon as they are about ¼-inch tall.

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FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 9

From the Field

Is Organic Certification Necessary for Your Business?

BY ALLEN MOODY, ORGANIC INSPECTOR THIS ARTICLE WILL HELP you navigate the various decisions you’ll need to make to get your business certified organic per the rules and regulations of the National Organic Program, fondly referred to as the NOP. I’ll talk about first deciding if certification is for you and your business and then provide some guidelines and resources to help you make the decisions necessary to answer your questions and help achieve your goal to become certified organic.

Back in the late 1970s and through the 1980s folks began to realize there was a need to verify whether certain foods were meeting a standard of organic production, meaning was the food raised with no synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. From this need was born independent certifiers with their own set of standards to define what organic meant and a system to verify their clients were following those standards. The problem with this system was the range of organic standards across the United States that created different economic realities across state lines.

And the one thing thou shalt not do is mess around with interstate commerce. Hence, Sen. Patrick Leahy and representatives of the organic industry met in December 1989 and laid down the foundational concepts of the Organic Food Production Act, from which was born the National Organic Program. As a result of government oversight and regulation, the once niche organic market of the food system has grown into a full-fledged food category worth over $35 billion in annual retail sales or over 7 percent of the total food industry, which was reported in 2013 to be over $466 billion. This is why people now ask the question: “Is organic certification necessary for me and my business?”

To get started you’ll need to answer questions such as what will you produce and sell and where is your market? Will you be selling unprocessed whole foods in a very local market or will your business buy ingredients to process into a finished retail product to be shipped to distant markets? What amount of gross sales of organic products will your business generate and will the costs of certification be justified? If the answers to these questions indicate organic certification is for you and your business, then you’ll need some information about how to get started and where to get that information.

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First things first. Is organic certification necessary for you and your business? NOP regulations allow for small businesses with less than $5,000 of annual gross sales to be exempt from certification in order to sell products labeled “100 percent organic,” “made with organic,” “organic” and “certified organic.” But if your business falls into this exempt category and you wish to claim an organic status, you will still be required to follow the NOP rules and regulations and also acknowledge the USDA or accredited agent has the authority to audit your business to verify compliance to NOP regulations regardless of whether you become officially certified.

Typically, businesses that fall into this category are small market farmers who sell their produce locally at farmers markets, through CSAs (consumer supported agriculture) and/or local retail grocers or restaurants. Some states also require registration of operations that are exempt from certification. Don’t be surprised, though, if a buyer asks to see your organic certificate as proof of organic status. A general rule of thumb is the farther your organic produce/ product has to travel, the more important organic certification becomes.

If you’ve decided to certify your business to market and sell organic products, where do you start?

Compared with 20 to 30 years ago, there are many resources now available to help you move through the regulatory steps required to certify your business. Most important is the website of the National Organic Program, which can be found at ams. usda.gov/nop. Here you will find links to the actual regulations, lists of Accredited Certification Agents (ACAs), lists of NOP-certified organic operations throughout the world and an online version of the NOP Program Handbook, which is a very useful resource to help you understand the reasons for organic regulations. You can also sign up for the NOP newsletter, called the Organic Insider.

There are also non-governmental organizations (NGOs) out there with lots of information about organic certification. First to mind is the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Educational Service, otherwise known aptly as MOSES, which can be found online at mosesorganic.org. Here, you will find an abundant collection of information and resources to help you with many aspects of your organic business. There is an emphasis on farm and livestock

production on the MOSES site; however, plenty of information is available to help businesses that process, handle or manufacture finished goods. While there, don’t forget to check out two valuable publications: the Guidebook for Certification and the Upper Midwest Organic Resource Directory.

Some states have officially accredited organic certification programs and the list can be found on the NOP website. Indiana does not have an organic certification program, and residents/businesses will have to use an accredited agent, such as Ecocert ICO, LLC, which can be found online at ecocertico.com.

Another excellent resource to help you understand the regulatory aspect of the NOP program can be found at extension.org, where you’ll need to type in the search box the letters NOP. Here you’ll find a line-by-line summary of the actual regulations spelled out in easy-to-understand terms.

But I know the question you all have is how much is it going to cost? That depends on several factors.

As I noted, small producers below the $5,000 limit are exempt from becoming certified organic. The rest of you folks will have to get certified. Because organic certification is a service-based business, all costs are generally born by the client. What you will pay is based on the cost of service, and that generally means the bigger your business the more you pay.

Some ACAs use a flat-fee pay structure with a sliding scale based on the size/scale of your business. Others use a flat-fee and then also require a user-fee based on a percentage of gross annual sales.

Each ACA will have different fee structures based on the regions they cover and the types of businesses they primarily certify. Some ACAs specialize in farm and livestock production and others specialize in large-scale organic corporations. Regardless of your business, though, the USDA has authorized a costshare program through 2018 where 75 percent of certification costs can be covered up to $750. You should request an estimate specific to your operation.

Allen Moody has been involved in the organic industry since 1987. His experience includes organic crop and livestock production, grain and meat processing, organic certification and organizing organic farmers. He has been an inspector/auditor for Ecocert ICO since 2009.

From the Field

Dollar Trees

By Cheryl Carter Jones

Each time I think I have nearly exhausted my ideas on how to use my junk, I come up with just one more project. Consequently, my volunteer trees are getting cleared out; some items I should throw away but am having trouble parting with are now being repurposed; and, most importantly, I am saving money in the process and reducing my carbon imprint.

A WHIMSICAL FENCE » On my new farm, there will be a group of small buildings, each serving a different purpose in my agricultural pursuits. Among them will be a toolshed for my hand tools. I enjoy repurposing things and using architectural accents.

It helps in bringing an otherwise drab building to life. As I looked at the wooden-handled collection of shovels, rakes and pitchforks that I have amassed over time, it came to me to incorporate a few of them into a cedar fence in front of the toolshed. Frankly, some of them are not good for much else at this point.

I chose cedar for my fence posts and rails because they are all natural (no chemical treatment) and will endure over time. I set about cutting down four cedar trees. Three were very cooperative, but one had a mind of its own and took more time to tackle than the other three combined. In the end, I persevered and had four cedar trees with all branches cut off close to the trunk. At a future time, I will use my chipper to cut up the branches and allow it to turn into an acidic compost over time.

I cut the trunks into 7-foot lengths for posts and marked where I wanted to place the rails (horizon-

tal supports) for my fence. I used my chain saw to notch a groove in each post for a nicer fit and better look. Unfortunately, when I arrived at my farm, the ground was so wet that digging postholes by hand was a more laborious task than I was willing to take on, given that I have a posthole attachment for a tractor. It put an immediate halt to my project until my tractor is to be delivered.

Once the posts are set, I will follow these simple steps: With some help to hold the rails in place, drill holes through each rail for placement.

Use 4-inch screws to secure each support into place at the point of intersection with a post.

Wrap and tie a rope around each intersection to give it a more rustic look and for added support.

This is the fun part: Drill two holes in each wooden-handled tool to attach them to the fence. Originally, I planned to use screws to mount them to the fence, but then decided that wire would give it a better look. I may decide to go back and add the screws at a later date.

This project is pretty simple once you have the cedar logs and a very handy posthole digger. I am sure there are many other creative things that you could attach to a fence to make it fun, but I believe in using what I have and saving money.

PORTABLE TRELLIS » When I was a small child, I can remember my father pacing about the house in the middle of winter. I used to say, “Daddy is pasting the floors again!” Spring was clearly on his mind; he was thinking through what he would plant in each field, and inevitably he was mentally preparing his to-do list. Years later, I see that familiar look on my mother’s face as she sighs and asks where my mind is as I walk about their house, staring out the windows at my fields.

Crop rotation is a pretty basic principle that I fully embrace. I also know that over time, I may decide I want to make some changes in how I lay out my fields. Thus, I decided portable trellises made sense for my vining crops, such as squash.

One of the things that I fell in love with while visiting sustainable farmer Joel Salatin’s farm was a trellis. His was very large and permanently fixed. I determined that I could use the same concept but make my trellises portable to allow for any changes I wanted to make in the future and for the rotation of my crops. It became another opportunity to repurpose more tall and skinny volunteer trees that have grown up in places where I did not want them. To make them lighter in weight, I elected to use fencing for the vines to grow on versus wood or branches, which adds a considerable amount of weight.

My concept is pretty simple: Take two long volunteer trees approximately 4 inches in diameter, rid them of their branches and cut them to the same length. In my case, I elected to make them each 10 feet long.

Lay them on the ground parallel to each other.

To each pole, use fence staples to anchor a 5-foot wide piece

of horse fence, leaving about a foot clear at either end.

Next cut six volunteer trees with a finished length of 7 feet and a diameter less than 4 inches. Space three of them at even distances on top of the fence and perpendicular to the original two (the remaining three will be used for the next section).

Secure them to the other two tree poles with screws to create added support. I would suggest flipping the structure over on the other side and adding a second screw from the other direction at each intersection.

For looks, rope can be added to the joints. This step is optional.

Repeat this process again to create a second fence structure; however, this time use stouter tree trunks for your side posts (5 or 6 inches in diameter).

This second section will serve as the base that the other structure will lean against to create the trellis effect. Each post of the base structure will be secured by a steel post driven into the ground and wired to the wooden post. Thus, the structure is movable, as the wood posts are not buried in the ground.

Rebar can be driven into the ground and wired to the base of the first fence structure to secure it in place. Wire is also used at the top of the base structure to keep wind from knocking it down.

As there is fence mounted to the angled structure as well as the perpendicular one (base), both can be used to trellis vegetables and/or vining berries. More so, the space underneath the trellis can be used to grow plants that require less sun or even need to be shaded. Maximum usage of the ground space is achieved.

The fun part of projects such as these two is that you can do any variation of them. Let your imagination run wild and come up with something of interest to you and your family.

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

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 11

From the Field

Celebrate Agriculture Every Day

BY KATIE GLICK

T

THESE DAYS IT SEEMS like we celebrate something each day just for the fun of it.

There is a “Baked Alaska Day,” an “Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day,” a “Send Your Friend a Note Day” and the list goes on and on.

And this month on March 18 we celebrate INTRODUCING National Agriculture Day. But weMAHINDRA eat every day, so shouldn’t we celebrate agriculture every day? Even if you don’t have a garden or farm the land you live on that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate.

So this month, I celebrate the fact that my family has been eating locally and at

our farm table for generations, and I am fortunate enough to tell the story.

This past summer, my farmer husband and I were sitting on our porch when he said, “Honey, our entire dinner came from a three-mile radius. People talk about this PRIDE new local food movement, but farmers have been eating local forever.”

I had to laugh as I ate the first bite of my local dinner and sipped on my not-so-local vodka. And that got me contemplating a lot about the local food concept.

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ing locally for as long as humans have been eating, others have not been able to enjoy that same fortune. And those people are just starting to catch on to this local food trend, which many farmers don’t necessarily understand, though they do support it. Farmers can’t even get out of their own sweet corn field without eating some of their own crop sometimes.

When I was younger, my family used to camp with a group of friends regularly, and we were always charged with bringing the hamburgers from our farm. As our family friends took that first bite of the juicy burger my dad cooked, my sister proclaimed, “Guys, we are eating Henrietta right now.”

Their astonished and confounded looks were a little shocking to us because we always ate Henrietta or Bessie or whoever made it to the freezer that year. But they did not completely understand the local, farmto-table experience we enjoyed each meal.

Katie Glick has grown up eating farm-to-table food.

And I will never forget my first year showing animals and that last day of the county fair when I was to sell my 4-H pig at the auction. I was confident and determined to get in the ring and make a profit for my college education.

But along with the confidence came the fear and emotions that every 4-H kid faces on auction day. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I didn’t want to go home without my

pig that I had worked with all spring and summer. But as I confidently exited the auction ring and headed back to the barn where I could see the semi in the distance, I looked up at my dad with teary eyes, and he said: “Say your goodbyes; you did your work. Let it go, Katie. He has to go on the trailer. This is what I told you about; that’s just part of it.

Part of the process of 4-H and agriculture.”

And then he walked away. He left me there to experience the heart-wrenching process of putting my animal on the trailer to head to the market. Looking back now, I can see that is when I started to understand the whole process of farm to table.

That was when I started to care for animals

that would someday be on someone’s table, as someone else’s bacon.

My family has been part of the farm-totable process for generations, and we will continue to be for many years to come. I am excited that so many people have just recently become aware of the farm-to-table concept, but it’s not a new movement for farmers. It was always a way of life.

And as you may celebrate agriculture just one day this year, March 18, or every day, make sure you give thanks to the farmers of all sizes. And thanks for joining and appreciating the family farm and the food we bring to your table.

Katie Glick grew up on her family farm in Martinsville and now lives with her husband on their family farm near Columbus. She is a graduate of Purdue University and has worked in Indiana politics. She now works in the agriculture industry. She shares her personal, work, travel and farm life stories on her blog, Fancy in the Country.

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FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 13

From the Field

THE VIEW AT NIGHTFALL

Seeing the Forest through the Trees OUR FARM DOESN’T end at the borders of our fields. Forests make up over half of our family farm, and we see the woods as an important part of our farm business and our lives.

Our forests are diverse, based in part on the soils and topography, but also based on how we’ve managed them. The woods are mostly oaks and hickories on the higher, hilly ground, and the forests are older. The trees grow tall and stately here, and we have mostly left this forest to grow and mature. By the river, the land sits wet. The trees are younger, with lots of sycamores. We’ve also restored some of this low ground to wetlands. The restoration work involved several tree plantings, so now our woods include young chinquapin oaks and red maples.

OFF-FARM FORESTRY WORK I work for a consulting forester, Rob Haubry, who runs Haubry Forestry & Wildlife Consulting. Working for Rob makes sense for our farm for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it generates off-farm income, which is critical for our growing business.

I also enjoy the work and the change of pace from farm work. Last year, Liz and I both worked for Rob during tree planting season, which is my favorite task. We plant trees in streamside buffers and on farmland that is being set aside for wetlands or wildlife habitat. I helped plant 8,000 trees on my birthday last year, and that feels good.

Working in forests increases my knowledge for managing our own land. I know more trees and what they can produce, whether timber for sale, food for wildlife or otherwise.

I’m spending more time in Indiana forests and learning what they can look like and how to manage their growth. I help Rob mostly with timber stand improvement projects, where we control invasive species like autumn olive and multiflora rose or cut back grapevines that are hurting good timber trees. I apply this knowledge to our family land.

14 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

BY NATE BROWNLEE

TIMBER SALE AND START-UP COSTS FOR OUR FARM A few years ago, Liz’s dad, Lloyd, was worried about the emerald ash borer. This invasive insect kills ash trees, and our forests have a fair number of ash. But the family has a conservation ethic, so we found a forester who undertook a timber sale with an eye for wildlife.

Rob (whom I now work for) designed a light timber harvest that would simultaneously generate income and create wildlife habitat.

The timber sale wasn’t about harvesting the most timber to make the most money, but it still generated some income for everyone in the family. We’ve used our money to help start our farm. Our first year required some relatively large purchases — things like a used farm truck and seed for planting our pasture.

knock on trees near the house each morning.

Watching a fox raise a den of pups near the forest edge is a joy (even if it means our fencing needs to be top-notch to keep them out of our chicken coops).

We’re building toward a few “agroforestry” practices, projects that combine agriculture and forestry. For instance, we’re planning to start growing shiitake mushrooms. These mushrooms can be grown in factories, but they are best when grown in forests on logs.

We hope to eventually sell the mushrooms at farmers markets and to wholesale accounts like restaurants and groceries. Look for more details about this project another month.

Because wintertime is the slower season here at Nightfall, we get to spend more time in our own woods and forests around the state. These forests are proving critical to our farm. Thank goodness for the woods.

MANAGING A WHOLE FARM We raise animals on pasture, but we know that managing trees is a part of a whole and healthy farm. We see a functioning, diverse forest as part of a healthy farm. For us, a functioning forest means many things. It means a beautiful place where we’re building a walking trail (this year’s Christmas present for Liz’s mom). When Liz’s parents looked for farmland back in the 1970s, the woods on this land sealed the deal: They wanted to make their lives here. They worked for years to make this place healthy and productive, and now Carol has a trail to enjoy the woods.

A functioning farm forest also means a place for wildlife and wildlife for us to enjoy. We love hearing the barred owls call at night and listening to pileated woodpeckers

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

Liz and Nate Brownlee

Advocating for Agriculture

BY JESSICA HOOPENGARDNER

I love FFA. Formerly known

as Future Farmers of America, FFA is now an agriculture-based leadership organization. Livestock judging teaches time management, public speaking and decision making. The Food Science Career Development Event teaches creativity, resourcefulness and team building.

I could go on and on about the benefits I have received from this organization.

Each activity I do has built me into a better person — the person I am today.

Despite all of this, I don’t want to go into an agricultural field. I just want something different. I have lived on a farm all my life, and I want to experience living in the city. I have had an agriculture class all throughout my high school years. I want to study something else. I have been an FFA member for six years. I want to participate in another amazing organization.

When a lot of people hear, “I’m not going into agriculture,” they actually hear, “I’m abandoning agriculture.” I have been criticized by many people for not going into an ag-related field. I have been told that I am abandoning the fight to end world hunger. I have been told that I am abandoning my roots. I have been told that I am abandoning the

chance to advocate for agriculture.

I disagree. Those who tell me that I cannot be an advocate for agriculture do not see the point of being an advocate. All too often, I see members of the agriculture community advocate for agriculture to other members of the agriculture community. That is wasting our time. Farmers know the benefits of farming; plant geneticists know the benefits of genetically modified plants; food scientists know the benefits of fortified food.

As I go to college and get a job, I will be in a good position to advocate for agriculture to people who aren’t members of the agriculture community.

Instead of only talking to those who already know about agriculture, I can share my story with those who know little to nothing about agriculture. I will be surrounded by chances to advocate positively for agriculture. If you are a member of the agriculture community, I challenge you to share your story with those outside the agriculture community. If you are not a member of the agriculture community, I hope this copy of Farm Indiana will open your eyes to some of the amazing stories that American agriculture creates every single day.

4329 N. U.S. 31, Seymour, IN 47274 Jessica Hoopengardner, pictured at her family farm, is a senior at Eastern Hancock High School in Hancock County. Very involved in 4-H and FFA, Hoopengardner is the vice president of her 4-H club and the president of her FFA chapter. She plans on going to college outside Indiana and majoring in English and biology.

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FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 15

‘We’ll Be All Right’ Health issues drive rural family into a growing, GMO-free feed market

By Rebecca Townsend Photography by Josh Marshall

W

WHAT STARTED AS a quest to regain health for a Shelby County family is now a feed business catering to the Midwest’s growing demand for nongenetically modified feeds, including roasted corn, triple-cleaned oats and full-fat bean meal.

Liberty Feed and Bean Meal is operated by brothers Nathan and Tim Shutt with some help from their dad, Russell, out of a pole barn between Shelbyville and Morristown, just east of the Big Blue River. They sold their first 50-pound bags of GMO-free feed in July, and now they are scrambling to keep up with demand.

16 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

“Two years ago, we had no intention at all of starting a business,” said Tim, the oldest brother, during an interview in Liberty Feed’s office.

The family stumbled into the feed business as the Shutts’ sister, Heather, was coping with her son’s debilitating medical issues. Nathan’s children were also experiencing various health issues, as was Russell’s wife, the Shutts’ mother.

Finally, they determined, “With all these health issues, let’s get our food right,” Tim said. “Dad had chicken and cattle. Nathan had animals. Heather had animals. We all started thinking the

“We all started thinking the same thing: Where can we go to get nonGMO livestock feed so that our eggs and milk and meats are healthier?”

— TIM SHUTT

Nathan Shutt

Liberty Feed and Bean Meal 5367 E. Road 700N, Shelbyville, (765) 763-6111, libertyfeedandbeanmeal.com

same thing: Where can we go to get nonGMO livestock feed so that our eggs and milk and meats are healthier?”

In a subsequent telephone interview, Nathan recalled their initial question: “What would it cost to feed out a hog?

That’s how it got started.”

They had a good base source for grain; Nathan farms about 7,200 acres with his in-laws, 4,000 acres of which are non-GMO. They found organic nutritional supplements from a Pennsylvania supplier, but a non-GMO protein additive proved to be more challenging than the family had anticipated. Fish oil

was smelly, and non-GMO soymeal, Tim said, is “rare as hen’s teeth.”

So, in addition to purchasing a grinder, they added a used, rebuilt bean meal extruder to the operation and began sourcing local, non-GMO beans to supplement their own corn supply.

Nathan became Liberty Feeds owner, and Tim signed on to help.

“Our work skills complement each other; we work well together,” Tim said.

“As he (Nathan) started adding equipment and building the mill, more and more (people) started finding out; they were thrilled to death,” Tim says. “Word

continues to spread. We’ve got new people coming in all the time.”

They travel from Martinsville, Bloomington and north of Indianapolis to purchase products from Liberty. So far, poultry and swine are the biggest movers. Among the small-acreage hog farmers raising meat for the local market, Tim says, “People can’t raise hogs fast enough to take orders and sell meat.”

Jim Cottongim, owner of Jim’s Advance Automotive near Waverly, is a self-described hobby farmer who raises Holsteins, Durocs and Isa Browns for beef, pork, chicken and eggs in Morgan

Since July Liberty Feed and Bean Meal has provided nonGMO bean meal and feed with organic supplements for layers, broilers, nanny goats, sows and feeder pigs, beef and meat goats.

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 17

Feed is stacked and ready for purchase.

18 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

County. Friends and family so far consume his entire supply. He continues to grow his operation in response and travels to Liberty Feed every three weeks or so.

His chicken and hogs are already eating Liberty, and Cottongim said he’s getting ready to switch his cattle over as well.

“The taste in this pork is absolutely insane,” Cottongim said. “You can’t cut the pork chop; it falls into pieces. You can’t even imagine the difference.”

He also noted that the egg shells thickened and the color of the yolks turned a deeper orange. Even more exciting, his sister, who hadn’t been able to cook with eggs because they upset her daughter’s stomach, found that the eggs grown using the Liberty feed were palatable, so the family is cooking with eggs again.

“The only thing I changed was the feed,” Cottongim said.

Organic grains are too expensive for Liberty’s purposes, but local, non-GMO feed meets a need, Tim explained, adding, “Ninety-five percent of people we were dealing with couldn’t afford organic livestock. If we could, we’d

love to sell all organic feed, (but) it’s cost-prohibitive. The average livestock person can’t go that route. Fortunately, we’re able to combine non-GMO grains with organic supplements.”

Russell, who also sat in on the interview and describes himself as his sons’ “safety valve” if they need any help with the Liberty endeavor, added that while there are “multitudes of people who can’t afford to eat healthy, at this point there’s more than enough” to sustain a marketplace for whole food.

Even without the organic label, the feed manages to impress. The company fire roasts its corn and bags its feeds fresh to order.

“Fire roasting started out East, mainly on dairies. … (It) really makes the flavor go,” Tim said. “It gelatinizes the protein, which makes it easier to digest and utilize. The dairies found years ago that by roasting, milk production increased and the feed consumption went down.”

The Liberty Feeds logo features a Revolutionary War-era patriot with his flintlock rifle slung over his shoulder.

The Scripture from 2 Corinthians 3:17 is quoted below: “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

The branding nods to the family’s strong spiritual background and patriotism. (Russell is a veteran of the 82nd Airborne.) And Tim said he feels as if his family is made up of soldiers, fighting against a mainstream agricultural current. He views the consumer-driven market as “a beautiful thing,” a constant ebb and flow and change currently working in Liberty Feeds’ favor. When he sees the fight against mandatory labeling for GMO foods and “a vehement, venomous hatred” he has encountered by some representatives of the GMO status quo, Tim said he wonders what drives the hatred and fear of those looking to return to a more traditional approach.

“Where is all this hatred coming from where there shouldn’t be any at all? I don’t care if you believe this, that or something else,” he says. “Our feeling is the Lord created us and a lot of stuff on this Earth for us to eat. If we eat what he’s provided us, we’ll be all right.”

Tim, Russell and Nathan Shutt.

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An Urban Oasis

By Ryan Trares Photography by Josh Marshall

Nothing goes to waste at Fruit Loop Acres

Kay Grimm (left) and Sue Spicer with their sheep in Indianapolis. Right, one of the 12 ducks that live on their property.

20 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

I

IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EAST Indianapolis neighborhood, an urban agricultural oasis has blossomed.

An orchard of pear, apple and plum trees bears fruit throughout the summer. Blackberries grow in thick, arched tangles. Beehives provide honey, ducks wander the grounds in search of insects and a flock of heirloom sheep gives wool.

“It’s a closed-loop system where nothing gets wasted. That’s what permaculture is all about,” says owner Kay Grimm.

From their farm, Fruit Loop Acres, Grimm and Sue Spicer have created an ongoing experiment in permaculture.

They designed their home, gardens and

Produce and fruit that were available last fall.

property to mimic nature as closely as possible, planting fruit trees and crops that would be found in central Indiana.

From their farm, they have created Basic Roots Community Foods. The year-round community supported agriculture program provides fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs and a wealth of other products.

Their hope is to change how people look at farming and drive home the point that even in the middle of a large city, locally raised food is possible.

“This is the kind of place where you’re working with nature, not against it,” Grimm says.

“This is the kind of place where you’re working with nature, not against it.”

—KAY GRIMM

Driving through the Holy Cross Westminster neighborhood, the area looks like the furthest place from the farmland for which central Indiana is known.

Long-standing homes are packed closely together. Abandoned houses are boarded up, partially burned down and in disrepair. Vacant lots appear overgrown with weeds.

But in the middle of that urban environment is Fruit Loop Acres. The property is a certified wildlife habitat, meaning that Grimm and Spicer have created food, water and cover for birds, squirrels, insects and other wildlife.

Grimm and Spicer have recovered FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 21

wooden beams, windows and other salvage to build fences. The beehives are protected from wind by old doors. The dead plant stalks and leaves that fall in the autumn become mulch for the coming year’s crops.

The land Fruit Loop Acres sits on is unique. Before Indianapolis was a city, this area was a small swamp. After it was drained, it left behind a soil that is slightly acidic, making it ideal for growing fruit.

The water table is very high on the property, judging from the elderberry trees there, which only grow where water is close to the surface.

Grimm has lived in the Holy Cross Westminster neighborhood for the past 20 years. She has dedicated her life to sustainable farming, which was how Fruit Loop Acres and Basic Roots Community Foods came to be.

Basic Roots was founded in 2005. At the time, she had a business called Kids in Bloom, which taught children the importance of community gardening.

When she met Spicer, they decided to take those ideals in a different direction.

They wanted to help educate others about healthy eating and help them get nutrient-rich foods grown in Indiana.

At that time, “there was really no place to buy good organic food that didn’t cost an arm and a leg,” Grimm recalls.

“Farmers markets weren’t really up and running much. It was a depressing time for the whole farming movement.”

Grimm and Spicer gathered a group of friends and like-minded people to form a food club. They bought produce in bulk from organic distributors, then distributed the food.

That following spring and summer, they partnered with area farmers to provide food for the club.

“That summer, we bought off of local farmers, took names and numbers, asking what people would have during

A beehive on the Fruit Loop property is surrounded by windows so neighborhood children and visitors can safely watch the bees as they enter and leave the hive.

A repurposed window, slats of wood, and an old shed roof make a nice shelter for the ducks that live on the property.

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the winter,” Spicer says. “That’s the key, to have some food over the winter.” So many people wanted food grown in Indiana that they decided to move Basic Roots entirely toward a local food focus.

Building a connection with more than 100 producers throughout central Indiana, the pair found ways to provide enough food for people in the neighborhood who wanted it. For the first two years, they had to supplement it with a food distribution company.

But ever since, they’ve been able to distribute local food year-round.

“We’re building a food system,” Spicer says. “And you can’t have a food system without local, sustainable growers.”

With the community supported agriculture club established, Grimm focused more energy on growing her own fruit at Fruit Loop Acres. She spent years cultivating the apricots, persimmons, cherries and other types of fruit.

Their property can sustain five beehives, due to all of the fruits and flower-

ing plants growing on it, Spicer says.

The different species bloom in staggered stages throughout the year, meaning the insects have a constant source of food.

Up to 100 pounds of honey can be produced from each hive.

In the nine years since founding Basic Roots, Grimm and Spicer have seen the desire for local food, even in the winter, grow. Indianapolis has started a downtown winter farmers market, and growers have understood that the market exists for area-grown produce even in January, February and March.

“It’s so easy to get year-round now,” Grimm says. “It’s almost no fun because the challenge was part of what made it.”

Their hope is to take their system, and the lessons they’ve learned, and teach other communities how to do the same thing. Groups in Louisville are in discussions with them about implementing a similar set-up in their neighborhoods.

“We’ve learned a lot, and there is such a need for it,” Grimm says.

Fruit Loop Acres OWNERS: Kay

Grimm and Sue Spicer

WHERE: The Holy Cross Westminster neighborhood on the eastside of Indianapolis WHAT: An

urban farm on five lots created as an example of permaculture, designed to be as close to a natural ecosystem as possible.

FEATURES: Fruit trees such as cherry, apricot, plum, pear and crabapples

Fruit bushes such as raspberries, blueberries and blackberries Five honey beehives Ducks Jacob sheep, an heirloom breed known for its natural tan and creamcolored wool

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By Shawndra Miller Photography by Josh Marshall

URBAN GROWTH A sign welcomes visitors to the land that once hosted a psychiatric facility, but is now a sprawling urban garden.

S

SEVEN STEEPLES FARM on Indy’s near westside covers the buried remains of a seven-steepled hospital building that was demolished several decades ago. Not just any hospital building: This was a mental institution for women, part of the campus of Central State, once one of the largest psychiatric facilities in the country.

Since the 1850s-era institution closed a few decades ago, the 150acre grounds lay in disuse, with most of the buildings demolished. But in the past few years the site has begun to come to life with the opening of Central Greens, a new residential development. Seven Steeples Farm is an integral part of the land’s reinvigoration, say project coordinator Mike Higbee and farm manager Justin Berg.

Even on a gray January day, the duo can evoke the farm in all its summer lushness. “One of the highlights,” says Higbee, “is this gorgeous trellis garden that’s covered with vining plants by midsummer.”

Visitors to the farm are greeted by the sight, along with wood-framed raised beds. Farther down the lane, chickens cluck under century-old

24 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

oaks that once shaded patients’ outdoor walks. Here, two shipping containers are being repurposed into refrigeration and storage space to anchor an outdoor classroom.

Berg points out a triangular demonstration garden situated in partial shade. It holds lettuces and other greens during the growing season.

Beyond the shade trees’ reach stretch wide beds, soon to be planted for the second year in melons, tomatoes, pumpkins and other crops.

The surrounding neighborhoods have few options for fresh, affordable, healthy food, says Higbee, who works for Development Concepts, part of the team behind Central Greens. This four-acre farm is meant to remedy that problem.

The farm’s primary objective: to get nutritious food onto the tables of nearby neighbors. Higbee says the dearth of stores offering produce at affordable prices drives most residents to convenience store fare.

“Bottles of pop and bags of chips,” he says. “That’s what’s serving as dinner for a lot of near westside neighborhoods.”

“Their de facto go-to is the Dollar Store, (where they) get SpaghettiOs,”

Seven Steeples Farm brings new life to once-forgotten ground

he says. “We want to give people an option other than that. Within a mile radius of the farm, there are 1,500 households that are considered at the poverty line. They can’t afford a $2.36-a-pound tomato.” That’s the gap he and Berg hope to address.

Higbee also intends the farm as an amenity to people moving in to Central Greens. “It’s kind of like having Waterman’s (Farm Market) in your backyard,” he says.

Mike Higbee (left) and Justin Berg

Berg started working the ground in 2014 with help from Higbee and volunteers. The cucumbers, greens, melons and other fruits and vegetables of the 2014 growing cycle hit the market through three outlets: a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, restaurant accounts and on-site market days.

Each week Berg and volunteers prepped CSA bags for some 40 subscribers, with the majority of uptake

A chicken coop donated

by Indiana University Health.

from young couples and businesses beyond the near westside. This year they intend to increase subscriptions to 75 and target the local base. A new Farm-to-Family CSA program will bring 35 subsidized subscriptions to families in need living nearby. Higbee is seeking business sponsors for the program and working with community leaders in hopes of boosting the number of local subscribers.

“We need a little street cred on the near westside,” he says. “That

neighborhood has had a lot of ups and downs, with people promising things and then disappearing in a year. So we have a lot of timid consumers. Even though the product is good and the price is good, they’re skeptical on whether or not it will stick. We’re going to try our hardest that at least 50 percent of CSAs get into the neighborhood.”

An on-farm market every Thursday and Friday afternoon had a better response: “We got around $1,000

Some 400 volunteers worked on the farm in 2014, and a few steady volunteers who live nearby have created continuity — even stopping by throughout the winter to help care for the chickens.

Berg knows this kind of loyalty is priceless. He wants to encourage as much community involvement as possible. “We’re surrounded by houses,” he says. “I really want (residents) to treat the farm as if it’s their own, to watch over it and help out, because if you help us, we’ll gladly give you produce.”

The guiding principles behind the farm are twofold. The first is to grow all produce organically and free of genetically modified organisms. To that end, Berg eschews pesticides and other chemicals, and the chickens eat non-GMO feed. last year in market stand sales from The second principle is education. neighborhood people,” he says.

“We don’t want to just put a piece In keeping with the educational of kale in (a customer’s) hand and goal, market customers are invited say, ‘Here you go; it’s affordable and to pick their own if they wish, and healthy — go eat it,” Higbee explains. many families did just that last year.

Instead, they will engage a chef to Others chose to have the farmer (or teach farm-to-table cookery: taking farmhands) go into the fields and participants into the field to harvest bring back a bag of greens or a few vegetables at peak perfection, then tomatoes. Either way, the produce demonstrating efficient that graced the dinner and tasty preparatable on those nights “I really want tion methods. Purdue was as fresh as could Extension is Seven be: purchased within (residents) to treat Steeples’ biggest partner minutes of harvest. the farm as if it’s in this endeavor, with Restaurants and their own, to watch food trucks like over it and help out, plans to offer cooking classes in the outdoor Paleo on the Go also because if you help classroom this year. sourced ingredients us, we’ll gladly give As for those demfrom Seven Steeples. you produce.” onstration gardens, In planning the Berg hopes to show 2015 season, Higbee — JUSTIN BERG would-be gardeners and Berg decided to how to turn their own create different plots to yards into food-producing oases. supply each outlet. They are lining up That’s how he got hooked on farming, accounts in advance and planting for and he sees no reason why others those needs, instead of the somewhat wouldn’t take to it as he did. “It is a seat-of-the-pants method of their lot of work,” he admits, “but at the first year. “Last year we planted a same time it’s pretty simple: You put bunch of stuff and then tried to figure a seed in the ground and let it grow out outlets for the produce,” Higbee with a little bit of water.” says. “This year is more calculated.”

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 25

[SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

“I want to show people that through a little bit of work, they can make a real difference to their pocketbook, their table and their health.”

With trellis gardens, the shade garden, a few small raised beds and the wide beds that grow the bulk of the crops, the farm offers multiple models for the backyard gardener.

The layout is walkable, with welcoming swaths of mulch between beds.

People often meander through, and many a child expresses astonishment to find carrots growing underground or to see a watermelon patch full of ripening sweet fruit on their sprawling vines. Learning what food looks like long before it gets to a supermarket is part of the draw.

But the biggest attraction turns out to be the chickens. “The people in the community like to come sit by the chicken coop and watch the chickens act crazy,” Berg says. Fresh eggs have been a hit, too. He has no trouble

The Seven Steeples garden beehive.

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bags of leaves from neighborhoods finding buyers for the 14 dozen or so all over the city. The beds have been currently laid each week. blanketed with these leaves all winBerg also values the chickens for ter long. “Wherever I’m driving,” he their contribution to his compostsays, “I just pull over and get it.” ing program, just as he appreciates Biannual soil tests will moniIndianapolis Municipal Police Detor the impact of such randomized partment’s Mounted Patrol horses inputs, but “as of now I’ve had no stabled nearby. He incorporates issues,” he notes. “I just really hate their manure — hundreds of cubic seeing stuff go to waste … and I feel feet of it each week — into the soil that once it’s turned in hopes of returning For more information, into compost it’s goto the earth more than visit centralgreens.net or ing to save me a ton he takes out. Similarly facebook.com/CentralGreens. of money.” he sources wood chips Turning waste into food seems a from a local tree trimmer, coffee fitting use for a site that lay fallow grounds from three coffee shops for so long. An eerie former wasteand spent brewery grains from a land now plays host to plants, bees, microbrewery. hens and visitors from children He doesn’t stop there in his quest to retirees. And the serene setting for organic matter to bolster the takes those visitors away from the beds. Throughout the fall and even stress of city life. “If you’re tired of into winter, he keeps an eye out for all the concrete and cars,” says Berg, bagged leaves people have set out “you can come sit with the chickens for collection. Since October, he under 150-year-old trees.” estimates he’s brought in about 500

Higbee and Berg work together at Seven Steeples Farm.

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TAKING ROOT

W

Members of the newly formed Indiana Hop Growers Association are brimming with optimism about the state’s budding industry

By Jon Shoulders | Photography by Josh Marshall

28 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

WHEN MIKE AND SUE Brooks chose to try growing 100 hop plants on a plot of land toward the front of their Waltz Valley Farms property in Brown County in 2014, the primary purpose was to generate a bit of extra income to help defray some of their property expenses. Their knowledge of hops, which are perennial plants used by brewers to flavor and stabilize beer, was limited at the time, and neither felt completely confident about how the endeavor would turn out.

By the time their first harvest came and went, however, they had quickly decided to expand their growing space and began thinking long term about providing quality hops for a statewide brewing

[SUBMITTED PHOTO]

From left, Mike Waltz, Susan Waltz, Mike Brooks, Joe Oliphant, Sue Brooks, and Aaron Harden.

industry that has exploded in popularity over the last five years. Mike, a full-time project manager and estimator for HRC Roofing & Sheet Metal in Columbus, and Sue, a branch office administrator with Edward Jones in Bloomington, sold the entirety of their inaugural harvest to Big Woods Brewery in Nashville, but other brewers quickly came calling. “We threw a big harvest party, which is something we plan to do every year, and had music and friends who helped us pick hops off the vines,” Mike says. “Those initial 100

hop plants gave us 17 pounds of hops, and although we sold it all to Big Woods, I was getting phone calls all fall from brewers around the state asking if we had any left.

It really opened my eyes to how much demand there is in the state right now.”

According to Aaron Harden, co-owner of Eight One Two Farms in southern Bartholomew County, there are about 12 commercial hop farms currently in Indiana, with his own farm and Waltz Valley Farms comprising the only two in the southern portion of the state. Harden and Mike Brooks feel confident, particularly given the success of the first Waltz Valley Farms harvest, that that number will skyrocket within the next five years due to the rising popularity of local craft breweries. “Even in smaller towns like Bargersville and Hope you’re seeing breweries now,” Harden says. “The last three to five years have been big for the craft beer industry, especially with a new generation of beer drinkers coming in wanting something more than Budweiser and Miller Lite. When you consider that craft beers only account for about 10 percent of the U.S. market and that there are only about 50,000 total acres of hop farms in the country, the demand for local hops I think is going to grow very steadily for a while.”

In the spirit of such optimism, a small group of Indiana hop growers, spearheaded by Spencer Gray, president of Sugar Creek Hops farm in Thorntown, have formed the Indiana Hop Growers Association (IHGA). According to Harden, the purpose of the group’s formation is to pool resources, share information on industry trends and eliminate redundancy while minimizing expenses through group purchasing of hop plants and equipment. Gray, whose

family-owned farm includes five acres of hops established in 2014, says the IHGA currently consists of members from about 10 farms, including growers from Greenwood, Jasper, Fort Wayne, Madison and Indianapolis among others.

After attending an informational event in the spring of 2014 hosted by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and attended by representatives from Purdue University, the Brewers of Indiana Guild and both existing and potential hop growers, Gray organized a meeting at the Tomlinson Tap Room inside the Indianapolis City Market to discuss combining efforts among state hop growers, and the IHGA was born. “Since then interest has grown, and we grow with every meeting,” he says. “More people contact me every week wanting to know more about Indiana hops. In 2015, we would like to begin to establish quality standards for the state and continue to develop relationships with Purdue, the Indiana Brewers Guild and other organizations with like-minded ambitions.”

The IHGA held its third meeting in mid-January at the Indianapolis City Market, and Harden says the organization’s members are in the process of establishing bylaws and figuring out the most efficient methods for optimal production and processing.

“We’re looking to build our own processing facility a few years down the road at our own farm,” he says. “There’s no sense making it hard when all the growers around the state need the same kind of equipment, and at the last meeting we discussed eventually having one processing location north of Interstate 74, and one south, so all the farms could take advantage. It’s a real tight knit group, and I think having an official association will help all of us.”

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Aaron Harden and Joe Oliphant of Eight One Two Farms. Left, Mike Brooks and Oliphant at a Bartholomew and Brown County Hops Alliance gathering.

Harden, a full-time land surveyor, and his business partner, Joe Oliphant, a full-time computer technician, hope to oversee the first Eight One Two Farms harvest of about 2,500 hop plants this fall, and are currently in the process of installing their farm infrastructure, which typically includes rows of poles interconnected by strings or wires that

allow hop plants to grow skyward from the ground. Harden and Oliphant, like Mike and Sue Brooks, will source their plants from a Michigan grower. “You can either plant rhizomes, which is the root system that eventually grows the plant that shoots up from the ground, or you can plant live plants, which is what we’re doing and which really

“I was getting phone calls all fall from brewers around the state asking if we had any left. It really opened my eyes to how much demand there is in the state right now.”

—MIKE BROWN

saves time when you’re first getting started,” Harden says. “After about three years you can start cutting up your own roots and planting your own rhizomes from those.”

Oliphant points out that since hop plants require cold winters to establish strong, healthy roots, northern U.S. locations like Michigan and the Yakima

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Valley in Washington remain the most productive hop growing regions.

“Southern Indiana is just about at the southernmost latitude for being able to grow good hops, and that’s one of the reasons you haven’t seen many hop farms here in recent times,” he says. “But I think the popularity of local craft beers is forcing folks to rethink the possibilities of growing in this state.”

Sue Brooks says she and Mike plan to have a total of 1,500 hop plants in the ground at Waltz Valley Farms by the fall of 2016, with a hopeful eye toward further expansion in the ensuing years.

“We might get to the point where we have to do some automated processing, but we will always harvest those 100 plants from that front field by hand and have our yearly harvest party with friends and people from around town,” Sue says. “That part will never change no matter how much we expand, because we always want to have that sense of community.”

For more information on the Indiana Hop Growers Association, visit: facebook.com/IndianaHopAlliance.

[SUBMITTED PHOTOS]

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Soilmaker owner Jody Tishmack

SAVVY SOIL SAVER

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Composting is Jody Tishmack’s recycling plan

BY CJ WOODRING PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH MARSHALL

32 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

AS OWNER/OPERATOR of Soilmaker, a West Lafayette commercial composting business, Jody Tishmack reduces organic waste materials and manufactures compost, mulch and amended topsoil to sell to others.

In short, she is Mother Nature’s sidekick.

Tishmack spent formative years on her grandparents’ Minnesota farm. After graduating from North Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in earth science and a master’s in soil science, she pursued civil engineering at Purdue University, earning a Ph.D. with an emphasis on waste materials and sustainability.

“I worked on a number of graduate research projects, including manufacturing of topsoils from waste materials,” Tishmack says. “The project was developed in 1995, and I wrote a research proposal and got

funding. By 1998 we were trying to turn it into a full-scale soil-making operation.”

The primary purpose, she explains, was to manufacture topsoil by using highquality compost and blending it with local soil, resulting in a loamy soil. The organicrich, black topsoil would have 7 to 8 percent organic matter in it, she adds, as opposed to 2 percent found in unamended topsoil.

Purdue University ultimately offered her a position in which Tishmack made soil only for the university through a self-supporting enterprise she ran until 2004. At that time, due to budget constraints, the school opted to eliminate what was then called Soilermaker (rhymes with Boilermaker) as a nonessential service.

“In fall 2004 it became my business,” she says. “I leased property from the university,

bought inventory and equipment, and hired my own people.”

Tishmack’s son, Mike Solem, worked with her full time for six years to help launch the business. “Mike, my oldest son, was 19 at the time. I invited him down from North Dakota, and he helped start the business,” she says. “He was just a very important part of this.”

Soilmaker now has two employees who work the 15-acre leased site. It is open to the public April 1 through December.

In addition to contracting to pick up yard waste and animal bedding from a veterinarian hospital, Soilmaker contracted with Purdue and the city of West Lafayette, which supply her with yard waste. We sat down with Tishmack to find out more about her soil-saving ways.

How would you describe what you do? » We function both as a receiver of organic wastes and a place to recycle them. For instance, I grind up trimmings from homeowners and recycle them, breaking them down into humus, a rich, black compost. I charge a nominal fee for recycling — homeowners can drop off a pickup load of tree branches for $5 — because if I don’t charge, people think it’s a dumping site. One person left a water heater here.

In December and January, we still get materials from the university and city. There’ll be a bit of yard waste, but not much, and after Christmas all the trees will come in.

What would visitors to your site see? » We have seasonal activities. They’d see lots of big piles ... leaves ... straw bedding ... soil. Right now we’re making winter piles, which are more static. It’s too cold for a small windrow to keep its heat, so windrows are a summer activity.

We have space for 32 windrows; each holds about 250 yards of material. By the time it’s done composting — about two to three months — it’s shrunk by half. Then we turn it with a special windrow turner, so they’d see curing piles, where matter finishes composting, decreasing again by one-half.

How does your composting operation differ from a farmer’s? » As a commercial-scale composting operation, we handle thousands of yards of material. We have an impermeable compost pad and a front-end loader …, so we’re constantly moving material. The loader also has a water tank we can use because it’s imperative that composting be kept moist.

Farmers generally don’t have capital to invest in the amount of materials and compost-turning equipment that I do. They’ll do it as economically as they can, but without equipment it would be more like static piles than windrows.

And if they don’t have room to turn compost, the soil composition would be the same, but the texture wouldn’t be as fine from an aesthetic viewpoint.

Who are your customers, and what is your peak busy time? » My busiest times are April and May. Primary customers are high-end contractors, homeowners who buy mulch and soil amendments for flower and vegetable gardens, and landscapers who bring in materials to recycle. Some will buy compost to amend soil for planting their lawn.

Homeowners can buy mulch for $20 or $25 a yard. It takes about two years to finish soil, and the more labor intensive, the higher the charge.

I also have farmers market gardeners who buy some of my products and use them as mulch for perennial crops. Others are starting a new hoop house, where they have to use a good quality soil, and they’ll buy several truckloads. Some buy garden mulch, which is quick and easy to mix.

What changes have you seen in the industry since you began?

There’s been a real increase in raised-bed vegetable gardens within the past three to four years. Gardeners want a good quality soil to fill up a 6- to 8-inch deep frame. There’s also been an increase in sales of soil for rain gardens.

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 33

I understand you also use spent grain from breweries in your compost.

You say, “It’s easy to do.”

Do you have a how-to list for would-be composters?

Every brewery has a waste product. We work with People’s Brewing Company, a The first thing they ask is, what am I going to local microbrewery. They bring spent grain put into it? Where am I going to put it? Do I in 55-gallon drums, about six to eight a year. have to turn or water it? There are technical Hop Notches Farm is things to learn, but a new, small farm that the bottom line is grows hops for the same you simply need to INDIANA SMALL FARM CONFERENCE brewery. So we get spent Jody Tishmack will be a presenter at the Indiana Small recycle your organic Farm Conference in March where she hopes to offer grains from the brewery, waste back into advice to small farmers who want to start composting make it into compost and humus and reapply and to discuss applications in which composting waste sell it to the hops farm, it to your garden materials is better than cover crops. which sells hops to the or lawn. And no Purdue Extension’s Third Annual brewery. It’s a continuing Indiana Small Farm Conference matter what scale, cycle. If a hops farm had »March 5-7 »Hendricks County Fairgrounds and there are some Conference Center »1900 E. Main St., Danville a composting operation, fundamental basics. »ag.purdue.edu breweries could take it First, you can directly to them. use any yard wastes, such as grass clippings, tree leaves, plant trimmings.

What would you say to readers who Shredded or chopped material will break want to make and apply compost for down faster. Household food wastes — the first time? veggie and fruit scraps, eggshells, coffee I’d encourage them! It’s easy to do or tea grounds — can be added, along with and really does improve soil.

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COMPOSTING RESOURCES paper towels and organic stuff. The only thing is, if you put in bones, you’ll have neighborhood cats and dogs digging in it.

The solution is to buy a compost bin that has a lid on it, but is open to the ground.

Second, microbes need moisture. Whether it’s in your backyard or wherever, you need to add water.

Third, people think they need to understand the carbon-nitrogen ratio, which science people sometimes make a big deal out of it on websites. It’s not that big a deal, but you do need to have a certain ratio of nitrogen in the pile to sustain it.

Most important, you must have the right porosity in your pile so the microbes get oxygen. If you have a wet pile of sludge, oxygen doesn’t move in and carbon dioxide doesn’t move out easily. Think of it this way: When you make compost, you’re taking little microorganisms, and you’re feeding them and creating an environment that they thrive in. So you need to feed them the right food and create a good environment.

To summarize, anything organic came from something once living and will be eaten

Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, Department of Horticulture: Managing Yard Wastes: Clippings and Compost hort.purdue.edu/ext/ID-182.pdf (download)

Cornell University Waste Management Institute cwmi.css.cornell.edu

University of Illinois Extension: Composting for the Homeowner web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/history.cfm

Mother Nature Network: 81 things you can compost mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/ stories/81-things-you-can-compost epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/composting/index.htm

U.S. Composting Council compostingcouncil.org

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Farm to School

WASTE NOT

This is a story about a simple problem considered too complex to solve. It’s the story of one man who didn’t let that perceived complexity stop him. Mostly, it’s the story of recognizing a wrong and doing something about it.

BY JIM POYSER

36 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

EVERY DAY IN U.S. SCHOOLS an estimated 250 million pounds of perfectly edible food is thrown away.

In Indiana alone, K-12, food waste is estimated at 5 million to 6 million pounds per year. We’re talking about surplus food: unopened milk cartons, juice cartons, yogurt containers, boxes of raisins, individual cheese sticks, plus apples, oranges and bananas. We’re not even addressing the partially consumed food that’s discarded. Look to Farm Indiana for an upcoming story about how some Indiana schools are composting their food waste.

I met with John Williamson for lunch in January to discuss his work. I mention the month of our meeting because his Food Rescue program adds schools on a regular basis. For example, when I started writing this story in January, it had 86 schools. I just checked my email, and Williamson says the number is over 100.

Who knows how many schools will be participating by the time you read this?

Williamson estimates 10 new schools come on board each month. But that’s not fast enough for this

John Williamson of Food Rescue. former elementary schoolteacher who hails from Albany, near Muncie, and is now based in Noblesville.

“Our vision,” he says, “is by 2017 every single school in Indiana will be donating their extra food from tray to trash (the items listed above). And by 2025 the entire nation will be doing it. The story is powerful enough; positive peer pressure is working. I can’t imagine it won’t become a national story.”

The funny thing is, it all began in an accidental way.

FROM A FOOD RESCUE VOLUNTEER

»

In September, I was reading through the church bulletin and saw a request for someone to pick up food at West Clay Elementary once a week. I thought as both a parishioner and a mother of students at West Clay, this would be a perfect opportunity for me to help.

I contacted Rie Sylvester, who put me in touch with Beth Galloway, the food service coordinator at West Clay. She explained the Food Rescue program to me, and I knew I wanted to be involved. I was amazed the first time I went to pick up food how much was taken by the children at lunch and not eaten. What was more amazing was that if this uneaten, unopened food were not collected, it would go straight to the trash. What an easy way for the school to make a difference. Hundreds of pounds of food that would normally end up in a landfill is collected and delivered to people who need it.

As a mother, I am relieved that food that I purchase, and may not be eaten, is not going in the trash. I am happy to know that it is being “rescued” and is providing food for families in need. So much good, kidfriendly food is being saved.

I hope that other schools will follow West Clay’s lead and make this little extra effort that produces such a large benefit. As a volunteer, I am proud of what is being done by our school and our children. It is teaching the children to pay it forward. It is wonderful to see the contributions each week.

— NICKI GRIFFIN Carmel; mom of four (one at Carmel High School, one at Creekside Middle School and two at West Clay Elementary)

The Good Samaritan Act Williamson started Food Rescue in 2007. His early clients were City Barbeque, Einstein Bagels and Little Caesars Pizza, among others. Food Rescue inspired those companies — or at least some of their restaurants — to donate uneaten product to caring agencies like food banks.

For example, estimates suggest Little Caesars Pizza restaurants discard at least 10 pizzas per day, and

Food Rescue has connected over 150 franchise stores with caring agencies (like food pantries) in multiple states. That’s millions of meals preserved each year and distributed to families through Food Rescue caring agency/food pantry partners.

Since those early days, Williamson has deconstructed the model of organizing volunteers to pick up the food and take it to a caring agency. Instead, Food Rescue connects the agencies directly with the restaurants.

Now, he says Food Rescue’s main mission is education and mentoring. “We provide the initial logistics and food recovery advocacy educational resources,” Williamson says. “Then we get out of the way and, of course, track the estimated impact of meals rescued and CO2 equivalents prevented from entering the atmosphere.”

Much of the educational work of Food Rescue is focused on this issue of methane emissions and the impact on the climate. When you throw food away, it ends up in landfills to rot and turn into methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more virulent than CO2.

Williamson notes, “Indiana schools are throwing away approximately 22 million items of food — that’s 5 (million) to 6 million pounds — each year. That’s 4.5 million pounds of CO2 equivalents entering the atmosphere from rotting food.”

When Food Rescue began in 2007, Williamson explains, schools wouldn’t participate in the program.

“I know,” he says, “because I asked. I asked, ‘Have you thought about doing this?’ They absolutely could not (at that time) because of the law.

“Fast forward to 2014. I get an email from a Food Rescue volunteer, Brooke Carrell, from Anderson who told me all five schools in the South Madison School district were capturing their food waste with Food Rescue volunteers.”

He pauses, shaking his head, still surprised he had no idea this school system had begun to divert food waste from landfills with the help of a Food Rescue volunteer.

“Before 2012,” he notes, “you legally couldn’t (capture your food waste). Now, schools are protected by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.” In 2012, the Food Donation Act, first enacted under President Clinton in the ’90s, was applied to school food waste issues via the Federal Appropriations Bill of 2012, which included the Food Recovery Act. FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 37

RESOURCES » Contact John Williamson at jcwilliamson@sbcglobal.net or (317) 694-4006. » Food Rescue: k12foodrescue.com » Watch the food waste video: youtube.com/ watch?v=1OGNV6Mr_sU » Calculate meals and greenhouse gases at rockandwrapitup.org » Schools can join the USDA Food Waste Challenge: usda.gov/ oce/foodwaste/join.htm or join the Food Recovery Challenge: epa.gov/smm/foodrecovery

It applies the “grossly negligent” threshold to liability for food donations to charity. According to Williamson, you’d pretty much have to intentionally and knowingly hand someone outrageously unsafe food to potentially incur a legal problem.

Consequently, he says, “What we’re doing is very well received. It’s so simple. There’s no reason not to get involved.”

Everybody Wins After the first group of schools came on board in this accidental way, Williamson started to make simple, instructional videos on food waste issues. More importantly, he filmed a short video featuring South Madison Schools and the school’s food waste recovery action.

He posted the video on Facebook, and “it was shared 39 times — highly unusual for a documentary on a personal page … a ridiculous amount of shares.”

It was then posted on Upworthy.com, and received 15,000 views.

From there, friends and supporters began to contact their schools and school district administrators. And social network platforms continued to play a role.

“I can trace Westfield schools coming on board to one tweet,” he says. “Someone saw that tweet and wrote their superintendent. We connected, got a meeting, and now all their schools are donating their surplus food.”

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The USDA and EPA now promote the Food Recovery Challenge and the Food Waste Challenge, with the USDA giving special recognition on its website to schools who join the efforts.

“What I explain to schools,” Williamson says, “is that this is not a food donation program, even though caring agencies such as food pantries benefit. If you roll this out as a donation program, then you could run into the problem that children could feel pressure to donate their food rather than eat it. Nobody would ever want that to happen.”

Williamson pauses, then smiles. “Having said that, some schools are happy to be involved in the social justice part of this and see such pressure as an unlikely thing to worry about compared to the gain.”

He stresses that Food Rescue focuses on the waste diversion piece of the program. The organization provides the environmental reasons to donate, the photo and statistical evidence of school food waste, and the legal evidence that school food recovery is, in fact, encouraged rather than prohibited.

“My job is I wake every morning and say ‘duh,’” says Williamson. “I mean in a very nice way. You know it’s not right to throw food away. One in six people are hungry. We waste 40 percent of our food. It’s harming the environment. And it doesn’t cost you any money to adopt the Food Rescue program. Everybody wins.”

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FROM A CAFETERIA MANAGER

»

We began the Food Rescue program at West Clay in early October 2014. It has turned out to be a great philanthropic teaching tool for the students. They are so happy to be helping others.

We began by educating them on what types of lunch items they could donate.

At first, we were worried that parents might not be happy that the food they are buying for their students is being donated.

That is no longer a concern as the food we accept was not being eaten anyway by their student and was destined for the trash can.

The parents at West Clay are thrilled that this food is being donated.

We accept unopened packaged items that the student has chosen not to eat. Because we must follow certain USDA guidelines, the students might be required to take

something that they really don’t want, such as milk, juice, fruit, etc.

Each day near the end of each grade level’s serving period, I stand by a cart and accept their donations as they are on their way to dump their trays. I find that if I am standing there, they are much more likely to donate their unopened items. I can also remind them of what can and cannot be accepted.

I immediately take the items and put them in the refrigerator. Once a week, our West Clay Elementary parent and Food Rescue volunteer comes to pick up the items. I have the items counted and boxed so it is fast and easy for her to grab and head off to the food pantry.

One student asked me where the food was going, and when I told him he said, “That is my church and I went on a tour of the

food pantry yesterday!” He was very excited knowing that his church’s food pantry was the beneficiary of all of our donations.

Our Food Rescue volunteer, Nicki, emails me the weight of the food donations each week, and we average around 120 pounds of donations per week.

It is definitely worth the little bit of extra time spent each week in gathering, refrigerating, counting and boxing up these items. We are so happy to help the Merciful Help Center at Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

And I am glad that Carmel Clay Schools has chosen to be a part of this project.

— BETH GALLOWAY Cafeteria manager for West Clay Elementary in Carmel Clay Schools

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In the Classroom Local FFA chapters

Eastern Hancock FFA members, from left, Leah Jacobs, Matt Wilson, Juliann Apple and Shelby Wright

E

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS For Eastern Hancock High School students, joining FFA is like gaining another family

By Catherine Whittier | Photography by Josh Marshall

40 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

EASTERN HANCOCK High School (EH) sits about five minutes from the center of the small town of Charlottesville. There, high school seniors Juliann Apple, Leah Jacobs, Annalee Witte and Matt Wilson take a break from their agriculture leadership class to talk about the school’s FFA chapter. Each of the students has a long resume of accomplishments, thanks to their involvement in FFA. Scott Jacobs, one of two teachers in EH’s agriculture program, as well as co-FFA adviser, joins the conversation.

Jacobs clearly chooses to allow his students to take the spotlight, giving them

a chance to demonstrate the communication skills they have carefully honed throughout their FFA careers.

Approximately 375 students attend Eastern Hancock, with about 175 students enrolled in the ag program and 85 students serving as FFA members. Jacobs explains that many of his ag students live on small or hobby farm operations and have an interest in, or more often than not, a love of agriculture.

Agriculture is not a required course at Eastern Hancock, but it is believed that students are often attracted to the program as they witness the success of students who have gone before them.

Scott Jacobs, ag teacher and FFA co-adviser

“Setting that example for the younger members is really what builds a stronger chapter,” explains Witte, who serves as the FFA chapter’s secretary. “When they see all the things that we’re doing, then they want to get involved and work hard like we did.”

EH chapter members explore a wide variety of interests through FFA, but Career Development Events (CDE) are an area where students say their chapter performs exceptionally well. “As far as Career Developments go, I’ve had a lot of success with the leadership side of it,” says Witte. Leadership development events encompass topics that focus on professional development and the ability to communicate.

“Indiana FFA is broken up into different districts,” Witte explains. “We were number one for leadership CDEs at the state level this year, and it was mostly because our chapter took so many kids to (the) state (competition). We’re pretty dominant as far as leadership development events go. We have a really big presence at the state contest.”

The Eastern Hancock chapter also has a long history of success in other categories, like meats evaluation, forestry, livestock judging and more.

“We had five different teams that competed in Right, Marcus national contests McKee and this last year,” says Gabe Blake Leah Jacobs, who look on as serves as the EH Jason Apple chapter’s co-vice waters a banana tree. president, as well Inset, purebred as a district vice spotted pigs. president. Those teams included a parliamentary procedure team, a meats evaluation team and a food science team, all of which competed at the National FFA Convention in Kentucky.

EH FFA also had a meats team compete in Colorado and a livestock team compete in North Carolina. “We’re fortunate enough to be a really competitive chapter and get to go on lots of national trips and have really cool opportunities,” she adds.

EH ag students are proud of the fact that the school has an animal science barn, which allows students to work

Sarah Williams, left, ag teacher and FFA co-adviser with students Angelique Smith and Leah Jacobs.

FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 41

directly with animals. “We have a sow out there, which is a pig who has given birth before, and she has had her babies,” Leah says. “She had seven pigs. ... Students are able to not only see the baby pigs and learn about parturition (birth), but they’ve been able to help with things such as ear notching and giving them injections, so they get to apply some of the things they have been talking about in the classroom in a real life setting.”

Students were also able to artificially inseminate the sow as part of their learning experience. Scott Jacobs explains that the agricultural learning experience is nothing more than applied science. The curriculum allows students to go beyond classroom theory and textbook lessons in biology to actually seeing and understanding how it all works.

“The other day, the animal science class castrated pigs,” says Sarah Williams, co-FFA adviser and EH’s second ag teacher. Williams feels that while each ag program has its special areas of focus,

From left, Shelby Wright, Juliann Apple and Leah Jacobs

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opportunities like this make the Eastern Hancock agriculture program unique.

While the students who participate in EH FFA work hard and enjoy the resulting success, they also feel there is something more that makes their chapter special. “We like to have fun,” Witte says. “We talked a lot about how we like to compete, and it’s really intense ... but we like to have fun, too. We like going on trips. We like being with each other; it’s really a family, I think.”

Sarah Williams and Scott Jacobs share the opinion that strong community and alumni support, highly motivated students, and years of historical success and tradition have built the EH chapter and make it what it is today.

“We’ve got sons and daughters of students that have gone through the program and been successful, and they want their children to experience that same level of success,” Scott Jacobs says.

“It’s the community and the students that make it special.”

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»

A MISSION TO TEACH Purdue Extension continues to offer multiple ways to learn

A LOT HAS CHANGED IN 100 YEARS of existence for Purdue Extension. Its mission, however, says Fred Whitford, director of pesticide programs for the university, has not.

“We are doing exactly what we did 100 years ago, which is working in our communities to help people,” he says. “Our technologies have changed, obviously, but it’s the same underlying culture. We’re here to help people. We try to help people in communities.”

Whitford, who joined the university staff in 1991, isn’t just the director of the pesticide-related continuing education programs for Extension. He also authors books on the history of Purdue Extension as a whole. Here’s a bit of that history, as explained

by Whitford.

“Purdue was started in 1869 with the mission to teach,” he says. “Soon thereafter, the federal government gave money to research, and so Purdue has been doing research since the late 1800s. … There was only a handful of professors, and they were in charge of doing teaching and research, and all the research was languishing in the files. They couldn’t get out to the counties.

There were no roads at the time — no roads and transportation was horrible through the trains. In 1914, there was something called the Smith-Lever Act (establishing cooperative extension services at land-grant universities like Purdue). The federal government, along with the states, put up money to hire county agents in every county. The first ones were ag agents. In the ’30s, we saw the home economics and the 4-H agents come to play.

From the very beginning, our role was and still is education.”

The continuing education programs have taken a variety of forms through the years, including “education trains,” Whitford says, which transported educators all over the state, and are hosted and taught by county educators, campus specialists and even private industry representatives, like ag retailers.

Whitford says Purdue’s Extension programs excel because of a blend of applied science and research.

“For me, I deal in the here and today. Other people … are looking at tomorrow’s new technologies, new science,” he says.

“So we have a very good blend here at Purdue at developing practical information for people and then coming up with new ideas for the future.”

As part of Purdue Extension, Whitford worked with the state regulatory office to retool the pesticide certification process. Now, instead of re-testing every five years to renew their license, private applicators can attend three continuing education classes over a five-year span to retain the permit needed to purchase and apply certain types of chemicals. It’s been a huge success, Whitford says.

“We can bring them new information,” he says of the classes.

“It opened the doors for the people on campus to have other avenues to reach larger groups of farmers. So our weed scientists, our plant pathologists, our engineers, various people can interact with growers. And (classes are) put on by county educators. So the county educator decides what it is in that county that his or her farmers want to hear, what they need,

44 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

BY KATHERINE COPLEN

what we can best do to serve them.

So it kind of ties everybody into the same program. That, to me, is the beauty of it.”

On March 5, Benton County associate instructor Macy Fawns will host a program at the Benton County Annex covering grain storage management, weed management, and pesticide cleaning and disposal.

“The last PARP (Private Applicator Recertification Program) meeting we had about 25 (in attendance), but this year the numbers may increase due to the number of people needing credits,” Fawns says of her upcoming program.

Purdue Extension agriculture educator Gina Anderson will teach a class on record keeping at the Starlight Vegetable Growers Meeting on March 5 in Starlight alongside Purdue entomologist Rick Foster and Purdue plant pathologist Dan Egel, who will speak about managing insects with fewer pesticides and conventional and organic fungicides, respectively. She expects about 100 people at her program.

“The Starlight Vegetable Growers Meeting is geared toward the local vegetable growers who have private pesticide applicator licenses, as this is an opportunity for them to earn credits for their license,” Anderson says, adding that this particular program is more than 40 years old. “Even if a person doesn’t hold a private applicators license this is a really great event for them to gain more information about vegetable growing.”

Purdue Extension associate educator Crystal Van Pelt is expecting around 200 attendees for her TriState Conservation Farming Expo on March 24 at Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park. The expo will cover market outlooks, economics of conservation, upcoming state and federal programs, manure and pesticide management and water quality issues. It will also feature a keynote address by Purdue agricultural economics professor Otto C. Doering III. “Proper pesticide use and handling is an important topic to me,” Van Pelt says. “During an internship with DuPont Crop Protection, I assisted our field station manager run field tests with experimental crop protection products before they were granted approval by the EPA, so handling the products safely was a great concern. In the program I am putting on with Extension educator James Wolff, we will be discussing handling pesticides safely, personal protective equipment, pesticide transportation, storage and disposal.”

Purdue’s Extension programs cover much more than pesticide application, though Whitford says the pesticide programs are the most numerous in the Extension system, besides 4-H programs. Other programs cover animal and plant production, economics, leadership issues, and consumer and family sciences.

“Farmers and their families have literally thousands of programs that they could go to, depending on what their specific interests are,” Whitford says.

A selection of Purdue Extension classes March 4

Southern Indiana Grazing Conference Topics at this one-day conference include making grazing your business, animal indicators for insight, meat as medicine and selecting the right animals for grass.

COST: $45 LOCATION: West Gate Academy, 13598 E. WestGate Drive, Odon INFORMATION: (812) 659-2122

March 5

Starlight Vegetable Growers Meeting Insect management and organic and conventional fungicides will be discussed at this meeting, which is geared toward local vegetable growers looking to keep private pesticide applicators license current.

COST: $10 (includes dinner) LOCATION: Joe Huber’s Family Farm and Restaurant, 2421 Engle Road, Starlight INFORMATION: (812) 948-5470

March 5

Benton County PARP Topics will cover grain storage management, weed management and proper pesticide disposal.

COST: $10 LOCATION: Benton County Annex, 410 S. Adeway, Fowler INFORMATION: (765) 884-0140

March 5-7

March 12

March 24

Third annual Indiana Small Farm Conference

Empowering Farm Women: Strategies and Tools for Commodity Marketing Success

The Business of Agriculture Series: Livestock Handling for Farmers and Law Enforcement

Corinne Alexander, associate professor in agricultural economics at Purdue, will speak about issues of commodity and specialty marketing.

COST: Free LOCATION: Carroll County Education and Events Center 4-H Building, 102 N. Fourth St., Flora INFORMATION: (574) 967-3538

Purdue beef specialist Ron Lemenager will speak on a variety of animal handling topics, including emergency management.

COST: TBA LOCATION: Cox Livestock, 1014 W. County Road, Osgood INFORMATION: (812) 663-8388

March 20-22

Beekeeping Workshop Series

All manner of workshops for small farmers will be offered at this two-day conference, which also features networking events.

COST: $75 for one day, $100 for two days; adjusted prices for students and children LOCATION: Hendricks County Fairgrounds, 1900 E. Main St., Danville INFORMATION: ag.purdue.edu/ extension/smallfarms

March 7

Rabbit Workshop and Youth Show Includes lectures, workshops and a rabbit show.

COST: $2 per head plus membership dues LOCATION: Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1401 Teal Road, Lafayette INFORMATION: (260) 726-4707

March 10-11

Farm Succession Planning Day one covers topics relating to farm transfer management.

Day two offers a complimentary one-hour farm family meeting with the Farm Succession Planning Team. Registration is due two weeks prior to program.

COST: $150 for first four family members; each additional member $15 LOCATION: White County Extension Office, 12 N. Road 25E, Reynolds INFORMATION: (260) 358–4826

Biosecurity and Zoonotic Disease Prevention: Influenza, Your Pig, and You Form a team of five teens, plus one adult to learn how to create and implement an influenza prevention program in your own community.

COST: TBA LOCATION: Discovery Hall at Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 E. 38th St., Indianapolis INFORMATION: (765) 494-8422

March 24

TriState Conservation Farming Expo Expo will cover market outlooks, economics of conservation and upcoming state and federal programs, plus water quality issues.

COST: $20 in advance; $25 day of expo LOCATION: Potawami Inn, 6 Lane 150, Lake James, Angola INFORMATION: (260) 484-5848

NEED HELP WITH A PROPERTY SOLUTION OR LOOKING TO BUY? Lifelong Farming Involvement - Associate Broker and Auctioneer with over 45 years of combined experience Works well with Estates and Attorneys - Can Market Property and/or Equipment My background as Farmer, Broker and Auctioneer will help give you more options to help you with Your Selling Needs.

From a 3-pronged vantage point as a Broker, Auctioneer and Farm Operator, I am able to see beyond the bounds of a computer screen.

March 26

All ages are welcome at this informative workshop.

COST: Free LOCATION: Benton County Annex, 410 S. Adeway, Fowler INFORMATION: (765) 884-0140

March 31 through April 3

Junior Master Naturalist Training This class, targeted at ages 9-12, includes four afternoons spent outside learning how to identify plants and animals; students who complete the class and six volunteer hours become a certified junior master naturalist.

COST: $30 LOCATION: Floyd County Extension Office, 3000 Technology Ave., New Albany INFORMATION: (812) 948-5470 FARM Indiana will continue to cover Purdue’s Extension programs in upcoming issues.

Mark your calendars for April 18 and 19!

2015

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FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015 // 45

Local Food

Natural Fermentation

By Clint Smith

» ABOUT SEVEN YEARS ago, Andy and Beverly McDowell were presented with a unique opportunity: to purchase the 34-acre farm where Andy grew up. Beverly says they jumped at the prospect.

“This purchase was the beginning of a dream come true,” she says. But, of course, came the requisite dilemma: how to pay for it.

Both McDowells held jobs in urban environments (Andy as an HVAC tech and Beverly as a data analyst), and both desired to settle into a more rural atmosphere. The pair left their city jobs and began tinkering with ways to make the farm, which they coined Hidden Pond Farm, pay for itself.

The first notion was market gardening, but they lacked capital to purchase a proper tiller. “We also felt that such a labor-intensive enterprise might be too

much for two people in their 60s,” she says. “We concluded that making value-added products was the way to go.”

Fermented food, then, was the artisan avenue they decided to navigate.

Fermenting foods — a method of preservation championed by those seeking alternative forms of nutrition — is regaining the spotlight in culinary circles. And though fermented foods (think kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, tempeh and miso) may be recapturing a vogue status, the purported benefits of these items are no secret to the McDowells.

“A century or so ago, our society began changing its relationship with food and farming,” Beverly explains. “No longer was most of our food produced locally and without chemicals. And to prepare food for transport over long distances, and for long shelf life, drastic things were done to it to render it less likely to spoil before reaching the table.”

But why fermented foods? More than anything, she says, because they were aware of their redemptive attributes. Andy grew up in Indiana, his mother often following well-known nutritionist Adele Davis’ recommendations on food, “so the notion of eating healthy foods,” says Beverly, “was part of his growing up.

Andy and Beverly McDowell have found a way to make their new farm pay for itself

“We have both lived to see a drastic degradation in the health of Americans within our lifetime,” she explains.

“Almost everyone knows of someone who has cancer. Disease and ill health, even among children, is rampant.”

As a response to this dietary pandemic, the McDowells say they’re grateful to be involved in a return to healthy farming practices and wholesome foods.

“For some years we had been dealing with digestive issues,” says Beverly, “and had addressed this by making our own gut-healthy raw sauerkraut and beet kvass with guidance from the book ‘Nourishing Traditions’ by Sally Fallon.”

Investing in a 30-year-old, auctionpurchased vegetable shredder and two stoneware crocks, the McDowells began their own raw, fermented food business, constructing a state-certified food facility designed for their specific purposes.

“Fermented foods is a niche market,” Beverly explains, “but it is one of the fastest growing classes of foods sold in health food stores and co-ops. The market is there, and as a result we’ve grown faster than we assumed at the start.”

Advocates of fermented foods highlight digestive benefits associated with their beneficial microbes.

“We need these beneficial microbes to help crowd out pathogenic yeasts, bacteria and so on,” Beverly explains.

Hidden Pond Farm offers a number of fermented products: kimchi (a spicy, chopped vegetable concoction), ginger and cherry kombucha (a cultured, tea-like beverage), sweet onion dill kraut and a super tonic (a fresh, high-potency juice made from organic horseradish root). “We’ll ask the novice customer to venture a taste of raw sauerkraut or kombucha, each tangy and delicious in its own way,” Beverly says. At Hidden Pond Farm, “we love setting our own pace, our own hours, our own path ahead.”

For more information, visit hidden pondfarmllc.com. Hidden Pond Farm products also can be found at the Indy Winter Farmers Market and at Broad Ripple and Binford farmers markets during the spring and summer. On March 14, the McDowells will conduct a fermentation class at The Real Food Shoppe in Plainfield.

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46 // FARM INDIANA // MARCH 2015

RECIPE

PREP TIP » Like many lifelong foodies and culinarians, the earliest memories for chef Suzanne Rockwell, owner of Chef Suzanne’s Catering LLC, revolve around family. As a child, she spent many weekends on her grandparents’ farm, helping in the apple house by sorting “apples as they rolled down the press for cider making.”

Rockwell’s grandmother also tutored her in rolling out and baking pie crusts.

“I became very efficient with a jelly jar,” says Rockwell, “making little cinnamon sugar crisps with the extra pie dough.”

Undoubtedly, these formative experiences helped compel Rockwell to form her own catering company, through which she now offers private chef services. Here, she offers suggestions to stay focused on eating well, even when life gets busy. “Keep it simple and work a bit ahead,” Rockwell suggests. “Before I was a professional chef, I would prep all my vegetables and grill off several types of meat (and) poultry on Sunday night. It was very helpful when I got home from work on Monday (because) I knew a lot of the work (to prepare dinner) was already done.”

Of this weekly planning, she says, the practice “saved me from many a drive-through in my single-mother years.” For more information, visit chefsuzanne.com.

Sage’s Simple Syrups Warm and Roasted Apple Cider

» Sage’s Simple Syrups specializes in artisan syrups infused with aromatic ingredients. “The whole artisan community here in Indiana is amazing,” says Ryan O’Neill, chef and co-owner of Sage’s Simple Syrups.

“Artisan,” O’Neill adds, “means ... someone who takes pride in their work. They have become experts in their craft and take the time to create a wonderfully unique product.”

He says that he enjoys creating “fun drinks” with his wife and business partner, Bryana O’Neill. Here, they share a recipe perfect for pairing with Sage’s Simple Syrups.

“I like heating the roasted apple syrup and pouring it over vanilla bean ice cream,” says O’Neill. “It is like apple pie a la mode.” For a cold winter day, he suggests serving it as a warm beverage.

8 fluid ounces hot water 2 ounces Sage’s Simple Syrup roasted apple syrup 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Optional: 1 ounce warm bourbon or brandy Add syrup and lemon juice to hot water in a mug and stir. Add optional warm bourbon or brandy. For more information, visit sagessimplesyrups.com.

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