April Farm Indiana

APRIL 2013 | Section A

FAMILY FARMS

Sam Kemp Sr. of Circle K Farms has boarded, trained and raised horses for the past 40 years.

Traditions pass from a father to his son Sam Kemp Jr., left, and Sam Kemp Sr.

story By Ryan trares photos by josh marshall

Light has barely broken the early morning at Circle K Farms in Bargersville. But already the Kemp family is well into its daily routine.

Dozens of horses, both their own and others that the family boards, need care. Water troughs have to be refilled, stalls have to be cleaned and fresh hay has to be spread on the floors.

Wearing bib overalls and a cap, with a nub of a cigar hanging from his mouth, Sam Kemp Sr. goes about the work with the same rugged determination he’s had for more than 80 years. He is joined daily by his son, Sam Kemp Jr., who also cares for the dozen or so head of cattle raised on the farm.

The Kemps have boarded, trained and raised horses at Circle K for the past 40 years. Recently, they’ve expanded into growing and selling hay to area farmers.

Sam Sr. is a throwback to another

era of farmer, one who often worked two or three jobs at a time while establishing his farm. “I started out with $3 and three acres,” he says. “I never had nobody give me nothing my entire life.

It all came from these two hands that the Lord blessed me with.”

In the Kemps’ Bargersville office, Sam Sr. goes over the week’s orders to determine how much hay needs to be ready to ship. Customers will be showing up later in the day to purchase hay.

Some come for a single round bale for horses, while others pick up large orders of 20 bales or more.

Hay is the main focus for the Kemps these days. Across four counties, they harvest 1,000 acres of hay every year. They entered the hay market after Sam Sr. retired from Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, where he had worked as an orderly and in the maintenance department for 45 years.

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

circle k // cont. from a1

The hay market is steady. If Sam Sr. had a load of corn or soybeans, he would be at the mercy of the market fluctuations. With hay, he says he can set his own prices. “I’ve got something to say about what people pay me for it,” he explains.

The Farm’s Charm The elder Kemp remembers when he first bought the Circle K farm in 1973. He was farming row crops on a small amount of land on his threeacre property near County Line Road and decided to expand his property.

Over the course of two years, he looked for property around Bargersville that had 50 acres or more that he could purchase and farm. When Circle K came up, he worked with his real estate agent to get a deal done.

“He couldn’t tell me where the farm was, and we were driving down the road. When he put on his turn signal, I asked if this was a place,” Sam Sr. says. “When he says it was, I says right then I’m going to buy it.”

Part of the charm of the farm was its unique barn. Circle K Farms has one of the few remaining round barns in Indiana and the only one in (From left) Barn manager Karen Miles, Gaye Kemp, Sam Kemp Sr. and his dog, Jack, Sam Kemp Jr., and Kay Farmer.

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Johnson County. The barn was built in the early 1900s.

The building was ideal for keeping cattle and horses during the winter, as the animals were kept around the outside of the structure, leaving the center open for work. The family uses it as a foaling barn now. Sam Sr.’s work couldn’t be done without the larger, rectangular barn that he later had built, he says.

That first year he farmed at Circle K, he had 17 acres to work. He had a two-row corn planter and a plow, and did all of the work himself.

“That’s about as low as you can start,” he says. “It just kept growing from there.”

Farming is only one of the jobs Sam Sr. has held during his lifetime.

In addition to his work at Methodist Hospital, he also had a plumbing business. Often, his employees didn’t know when they came to work if they’d be baling hay or mending pipes.

“Being your own boss and making your own calls is more rewarding than working for somebody else,” he says.

For many years, he’d sell watermelons on his days off from his full-time job. He would rise before

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

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April 2013 Farm Indiana

Lying in Wait I write this on the eve of what should be the first day of spring: March 20. My constant checks of the weather online tell me the temperature is set to be 30 degrees tomorrow. That doesn’t sound like spring to me. Sigh.

Each March, I make a regular habit of obsessing over the weather. It’s about this time of year when I’m officially sick of being cold, draped in 10 layers of clothes and still shivering. It’s also this time of year when I’m starting my plants from seeds and dreaming about what fruits (and vegetables) I will harvest in the coming summer season.

But because I’m currently in transition, restoring a farmhouse and still trying to maintain a city home, a hectic work schedule, family life and more, I’m unsure of how much I’ll actually get planted this year. Because we won’t yet be living in our country home when it’s time to install a garden, I’m hesitant to do so. I won’t be able to give it the initial care that it needs.

So with a bit of sadness, I’ve decided I’ll purchase a few starter plants and put them in containers this season. That way, I can move them from one location to the other, should we move mid-season. Then, there’s always hope for a late fall garden before the winter’s wind begins again.

For this spring, then, I’m going to be relying on you, the great growers of our state, to provide me with my usual piles of summer zucchini, squash, green beans, tomatoes and peas. To you, I’ll come for

bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, spinach and fresh, juicy strawberries. Farmers markets I will frequent, and I’ve already made plans to have local meats and eggs delivered to my door.

So, it’s not all bad, though I still like to feel a bit sorry for myself. This will be the first time in several years that I won’t have a huge garden. It’s a little ironic. My husband and I now own more property than we had a year ago, acres of it, but I won’t have the proper time to make good use of our land. At least not yet.

But next year. Oh, glorious next year.

Come March 2014, I will be obsessively checking weather updates, trying to shake the last of the winter’s chill off me and planting seeds like a wild woman, my sights set on the beauty of the year’s coming harvests. And that — if I do say so myself — is worth the wait.

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Comments, story ideas 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.

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Circle K Farms Who: Sam Kemp Sr. and Sam Kemp Jr. Where: Bargersville What: Boarding and raising horses; hay and forage Founded: 1973

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circle k // cont. from a2

Sam Kemp Sr. sits in his office at Circle K Farms.

dawn to go to southern Indiana.

There, he’d walk through the field of a grower he knew, and he’d pick 100 melons for 15 cents each. By 10 a.m., Sam Sr. was walking local neighborhoods to sell the watermelons out of his truck. Whatever was left, he’d sell to a local grocery store.

“By the end of the day, I was all out,” he recalls. “I made more money that one day than I would the whole week at the hospital.”

A Family Business Horses were a lifelong love. Even before he bought Circle K Farms, Sam Sr. had raised horses in northern Johnson County. His family had horses when he was growing up.

They used the animals in all aspects of the farm, including taking the plows out into the fields.

“I had three horses out there, and I thought I was 10 feet tall,” he says.

The Kemps bred quarter horses and paint horses, focusing mainly on cow horses and cutting horses used in competition. They also boarded horses for other people and sold tack.

Sam Jr. spent about 10 years in Texas, working for the Upjohn Co. in its feedlot division. In addition, he marketed and showed the Kemps’ horses that were raised in Bargersville.

“Our horses are more well-known in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma than they are here,” Sam Jr. says.

After his father had open heart surgery, Sam Jr. returned to Indiana to the family farm to take over the operation.

“He was getting older and wanting to slow down,” Sam Jr. says. “He needed some help. I always knew I was going to come back sooner or later.”

Potential buyers have approached Sam Sr. about selling his farm. But he’s determined to retain the operation as long as he can, to keep it in the Kemp family. “We’ve had several opportunities to sell it.

But we’re proud that it’s stayed in the family,” he says. *FI

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

FAMILY FARMS

Rick Johnson and his son, Ricky.

Pure Passion

A Bartholomew County father and son venture into the popcorn business story By Dave christian | photos by josh marshall

A

t only 14 years old, Ricky Johnson III is the driving force behind PurePop Popcorn company. “We always ate lots of popcorn for as long as I can remember,” Ricky explains. “So I told Dad I wanted to grow some popcorn.”

Ricky was 11 years old when he approached his father, Rick Johnson Jr., and told him he wanted to try his hand at growing popcorn in the family garden. Ricky showed a continued interest in the product and an eagerness to learn the potential business side of it for about a year before his father decided to expand upon his son’s idea. The family formed PurePop Popcorn and began growing the crop with sales in mind.

“We already owned a farm so we decided to up our production from the family garden,” says the elder Rick.

Going to local businesses and talking with them about their popcorn, young Ricky now serves as a company salesman. Showing a vast knowledge of the product, he explains to potential customers why they should carry his popcorn in their stores. Because of his efforts, his family’s popcorn is now available in many regional markets such as Savory Swine, Daily’s Farm Market, Nienaber’s Farm Market and the Brown County IGA Store.

Beyond sales, Ricky helps with all aspects of the business, from hand hoeing the popcorn on the farm to delivering the packaged product to the markets with his mother, Alice.

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“This, more than anything, is a learning experience for us and particularly Ricky,” his dad says. “Through his interest in popcorn, he has learned several business lessons.”

While the Johnson family has had involvement in a number of business ventures over the years, this is the first of the family businesses in which Ricky has taken an active role. “He’s seen what we do and been around the companies his whole life,” says Rick. “This is the first time he’s jumped in and been involved.”

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Ricky and Rick Johnson stock shelves at The Savory Swine in Columbus.

“Through his interest in popcorn, he has learned several business lessons.”

—Rick Johnson, of his son, Ricky sible, the Johnsons are careful to not get carried away.

“We’ll never compete on a national level,” says Rick.

“There is room to expand some, however, and move into a few nearby markets.”

Johnson Farms purchases its seeds from various suppliers, including Ag Alumni Seeds in Romney, which specializes in popcorn seed. The Johnsons currently grow three types of popcorn: Pearly White, Pure Gold and Native Mix, which is the company’s best-selling corn.

“The Native Mix is a hybrid popcorn,” Ricky explains.

“We planted the seed, and it grew into this mix. It’s been the same corn mix through two seasons.”

Planted at the same time of year as regular corn, popcorn has a slightly shorter maturing season. Harvesting, however, takes extra care, because no metal parts can be used on the harvester.

“It’s important to not damage the kernel,” Ricky says.

“If the moisture is released, the corn won’t pop.” Once the seeds are harvested, they are cleaned at a facility in Seymour. The yield, on average, comes close to 5,000 pounds of popcorn per acre farmed, with 95 percent of the popcorn harvested being usable kernels.

The popcorn is then packaged and labeled. From there, Ricky sells the product to local markets by the case. Sales have been good, and the Johnsons have a realistic approach to their new business venture. “We’ll stick with it until we at least break even,” Rick says.

But Ricky plans otherwise. “I don’t plan to stop once we break even,” he says. “This is definitely a part of my future.

While I don’t plan on it being the only business I’m a part of, I will always be involved in popcorn.” *FI

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Good bookkeeping helps farmers plan for next season

The fall harvest is in, the equipment stored in the bays and the checks are in the mail, but before the ground even freezes, next year’s decisions are here.

How did the farm do this year? What was your most cost-effective crop? Where does the farm stand financially? Did those Rhode Island Reds work out this year?

Those and many other questions about a farm’s financial health can be difficult

to answer if most of the business records are wadded up in the glove compartment of the truck or shoved under the tractor seat. Not that the extra paper won’t subdue unwanted vibrations, but it won’t help in the area of financial analysis, said Alan Miller, farm business management specialist for Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics.

Miller explained the details of farm record-keeping at the Purdue Extension Indiana

Small Farm Conference on March 1 at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds.

Good farm records, like any business records, will help farmers plan and are necessary to obtain loans, lines of credit and other resources to protect the farm and family.

It also helps to “keep score,” which Miller said is always interesting when dealing with the economics of agriculture.

“One of the things that makes small farming business-

es interesting is the metrics we use to keep score — yield per acre, lambs per ewe,” he said.

The best place to start is simply to develop and organize a filing system, the simpler the better. Learn the rules and regulations and establish routines, operating procedures and internal controls. “Establishing routines is really important,” Miller said. “Put everything in the same place every time.”

Pay close attention to what the Internal Revenue Service

calls “source documents,” those records such as daily sales sheets, canceled checks, invoices and any other “kind of statement that comes from people we do business with,” as opposed to summaries and secondary documents, Miller said.

If you wish to use a computerized record and accounting system, make sure it gets a test drive before you purchase it.

Most important, Miller said, is keeping the recording current.

“Develop a habit of keeping

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Purdue University farm business management specialist Alan Miller said the following categories of documents should be included in a sound farm financial record system; however, the list is not all inclusive and should be tailored to suit specific operations.

Bills paid

the record system up to date from day one,” he said. “Don’t wait until year end.”

He cautioned against making numerous cash transactions and suggested doing most of the business through a bank account with notes on checks, receipts and deposit slips, and always using separate accounts for different business entities and personal finances.

“The bank account is the key in terms of internal con-

trol of the business,” he said.

Miller suggests recording transactions in chronological order, reconciling bank statements with record-keeping systems and checkbooks monthly, and at year-end taking inventory with a physical count and valuation.

Comprehensive records should also include depreciation schedules, a net worth/ balance statement at least once a year on the same date each

year and accrual-adjusted income to determine the operation’s net profit or loss.

Integrating all the information into one comprehensive farm management program is not yet at hand, Miller said. “It doesn’t exist.”

However, a fairly extensive directory of farm-related software and management programs can be found on the Alberta, Canada, Department of Agriculture and Rural

Development website covering a variety of topics from agro-electronics and finances to nutrition/ration/fertilizer analysis at www.agric.gov. ab.ca/app68/agsoft.

Of course it’s one thing to assemble, organize and keep track of the truckloads of business paper a farm generates, but that’s only half the battle.

“The important thing is that we actually use the information we collect,” he said. *FI

Income or receipts Account books and inventories Credit records Tax records Insurance Business management

“Develop a habit of keeping the record system up to date from day one.

Don’t wait until year end.”

—alan miller, Purdue University

Valuable records, such as wills, abstracts, deeds, bonds and stock certificates and important correspondence Production records for crops, livestock, machinery and equipment, farm buildings, computers and office equipment, including manuals, documentation and other reference materials

Alan Miller, farm business management specialist for Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, discusses the intricacies of farm records and financial analysis. Photo by Jim Mayfield

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< < Juvonda Jones' love of alpacas developed from an interest in spinning and weaving.

FAMILY FARMS

For Juvonda and Ed Jones, their favorite jobs are on the farm story by Marcia walker Photos by marcia walker and courtesy of hoosier heartland alpacas

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All she wanted was two alpacas. At least that’s what Juvonda Jones claims.

“I wanted a couple to play with,” Juvonda says, during an interview in a barn with a number of the curious, wide-eyed animals looking on. “I didn’t have any idea we’d have 27.”

But that’s how many Juvonda and her husband, Ed, have at the time of this writing. They raise the animals for their fiber on a farm in eastern Jackson County, near the Jennings County line.

Both Ed and Juvonda have other jobs; he works at North Vernon Beverage Co. She is a self-employed seamstress, and she holds down a part-time job at her church. But the two readily admit that their favorite job is running their farm, which they’ve named Hoosier Heartland Alpacas.

Although Juvonda grew up in Seymour, her family owned a farm in Kentucky, where they spent many weekends.

Ed refers to himself as a city boy with ties to Michigan and Ohio, although his grandfather operated an apple orchard.

Juvonda jokes that she brainwashed her husband into wanting alpacas, although he doesn’t seem to mind and is just as passionate about the animals.

The two obtained their first alpacas in 2009, but only after several years of research that included visiting about two dozen alpaca farms throughout

the Midwest. Their venture also meant selling what Juvonda calls the couple’s “dream home,” since the property couldn’t accommodate the animals.

They eventually purchased 26 acres in Redding Township; 24 acres are devoted to hay, the rest to the alpacas.

Ed says their alpacas are either Hucuyas or Suris, based on the type of fiber they offer, and they are registered and bred within the United States.

Most of their herd is made up of Suris.

The best fiber comes from the animal’s back, lesser quality from the legs. “Your blanket is where the prime fiber is,” Ed explains, adding that each animal produces from 3½ to 7 pounds of fiber each season.

The alpacas are sheared just once a year. The Joneses currently hire someone to do the shearing, though they hope to learn to do it themselves one day.

They then process the fiber; Juvonda’s skillful fingers spin it into yarn — a task that can take as long as a year to accomplish. Some of that yarn, along with other items made from alpaca fiber, is sold at a little shop tucked into a corner of the barn. Juvonda is also often found on the fourth Saturday of the month during warm weather months at the Seymour farmers market, where she sells her wares, and she also markets her products through Facebook.

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Juvonda Jones uses a blending board.

Ed Jones cleans fleece that has just been sheared from an alpaca.

SPRING OPEN HOUSE Visit Hoosier Heartland Alpacas on April 13 to learn how alpaca owners process the animals’ fiber and turn it into fine yarns, clothing and home decor.

Fiber demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. More activities will take place throughout the afternoon, including book readings, live music, merchandise for sale and more. Location: 2500 N. County Road 1000W, Seymour. Information: (812) 445-7874.

The Jackson County native says she first discovered her interest when she was in sixth grade and visited Spring Mill State Park.

“There were ladies [there] dressed up, spinning and weaving, and I’ve been intrigued ever since,” she explains.

Spinning yarn is “fun, it’s peaceful, it’s relaxing,” she says.

The Joneses offer tours of their alpaca farm, and Juvonda teaches spinning classes. Once a month, a group of women meets in their barn for a “spin in.” The women are not limited to spinning, however. Some knit during their visit. Others crochet. They hear of the meetings through word-of-mouth; a recent “spin in” brought eight women together, one from as far away as Yorktown.

The Joneses urge anyone interested in keeping alpacas to do their homework.

While the animals are sometimes offered for sale on sites such as Craigslist, Ed recommends building a relationship with a reputable breeder, someone whom new alpaca owners can turn to for advice and pointers, if needed.

While the animals are gentle and easy to handle, Ed cautions that alpacas don’t do well by themselves. “They are

land Alpacas, the Joneses say their operation “just kind of keeps growing.”

Ed has four children; Juvonda, two.

All are grown and living away from home. But, in a sense, the 27 alpacas are like family. They interact with each animal every day. Each has its own name, its own personality.

“We spend a lot of time in the barn,” Ed says. “We even eat out here with the alpacas.” *FI

herd animals,” he explains. “They do need companionship.”

He and Juvonda also do much of their own veterinary work — there are no medicines specifically developed for alpacas, but rather medicines intended for other animals that have been adapted for use with them. Fortunately, they have found a local vet who has experience working with alpacas.

As far as the future of Hoosier Heart-

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

AGRITOURISM

compiled by ashley petry

While temperatures are rising, vines around Indiana are ripening. Travel the state to sample what several Hoosier growers are harvesting.

Ah, spring. The trees unfurl their leaves, the tulips and daffodils push their colorful ways above ground, and Hoosier farmers sow the produce that will eventually find its way to our plates. What better time to reconnect with our farming heritage and support local farms in the process. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Hoosier destinations for agritourism, which encompasses everything from you-pick farms to estate wineries.

• Best Road Trip With its wealth of watermelons and cantaloupes, Knox County has been dubbed the Melon Capital of the World. The local bounty is on display along U.S. 41 north of Vincennes, a stretch of road dotted with farm stands, apple orchards and plenty of old-fashioned roadside kitsch.

Pose for a photo with the giant peach at the Big Peach Market, snack on homemade pies at Apple Hill Orchard and browse the colorful produce at Prairie Acres Restaurant and Farm Market. Along the way, you’ll find plenty of other stops to tickle your taste buds. Big Peach Market: 7738 N. U.S. 41, Bruceville; (812) 324-2548; Apple Hill Orchard: 6235 N. Ford Road, Bruceville; (812) 324-9010; www.applehillorchard.webs. com; Prairie Acres Restaurant and Farm Market: 14387 Old Highway 41, Oaktown; (812) 745-3207; prairieacres.net

• Best Gourmet Experience > > Tiny Roanoke seems like an odd place for one of the state’s best gourmet restaurants, but only in the middle of nowhere could Joseph Decuis create such an immersive experience. Overnight visitors check into the quaint Joseph Decuis Inn before touring the sustainable cattle farm, where the restaurant raises its own Kobe-style Wagyu beef.

Nearby are the award-winning restaurant and the Joseph Decuis Emporium, a shop carrying all-natural carry-out foods, fine wines and gourmet goodies from across the state. 191 N. Main St., Roanoke; (260) 672-1715; josephdecuis.com

Macadamia Nut-Crusted Sea Bass, left, and Wagyu Steak Tartare. Photos courtesy of Joseph Decuis

• Best Conversation Starter

• Best Historic Destination

The White Violet Center for Eco-justice, a ministry of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, focuses on the preservation, restoration and “reverent use” of natural resources. Free tours include visits with the alpaca herd and peeks at the organic farm and fiber arts facilities. You can even adopt an alpaca and pay it regular visits. Or work alongside the sisters on a multi-day volunteering vacation, where accommodations include both traditional guest houses and small hermitages made from recycled materials. 1 Sisters of Providence Road, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods; (812) 535-2930; spsmw.org/white-violet-center-for-eco-justice

Historic Prophetstown, a 125-acre working farm at Prophetstown State Park, has two goals: preserving old-fashioned agricultural methods and teaching children about the origins of their food. In addition to touring the 1920s farmhouse and watching blacksmithing demonstrations, visitors can assist with daily chores such as feeding the Belgian mares and milking the cows. 43534 Prophetstown Trail, Battle Ground; (765) 567-4700; prophetstown.org

• Best Sensory Indulgence

The seventh-generation Stream Cliff Herb Farm has long specialized in fresh and dried culinary herbs, as well as flowers.

But instead of resting on its laurels, the farm has expanded in recent years, adding a winery and tearoom (where the chicken salad is, naturally, seasoned with the farm’s own rosemary and dill). If you can, snag a sought-after reservation for the tearoom’s Candlelight Dinners. Previous menus have included dishes such as rosemary pork loin and chicken breast in caper-tarragon cream sauce. 8225 S. County Road 90W, Commiskey; (812) 346-5859; streamclifffarm.com

Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

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A Little Closer to Home Photos courtesy of Huber's Orchard, Winery and Vineyards

No time to travel?

These down-on-thefarm experiences are right in your own backyard. Almost.

Conner Prairie, an interactive history park in Fishers, tells the story of Hoosier pioneers, most of whom were farmers. Visitors can tour the historic Conner farmstead, interact with farm animals in the barn and even make a meal the old-fashioned way during the Hearthside Suppers program. 13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers; (317) 7766006; connerprairie.org

Photo courtesy of Conner Prairie

• Best Amish Getaway

Traders Point Creamery, an organic dairy farm on the outskirts of Zionsville, offers both guided and self-guided tours, which include visits to the milking parlor. The farm also offers cheese and ice cream tastings, weekly farmers markets and the unparalleled farm-to-fork Loft restaurant. 9101 Moore Road, Zionsville; (317) 733-1700; traderspointcreamery.com

• Best All-in-One Destination

A weekend at the Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort can include a guided tour of the 1873 farmstead, a buggy ride around the 80-acre farm, cheese and wine tastings in a barn loft, and family-style dinners at the Restaurant Barn. Hopefully you’ll still have time to browse the shops for hand-made quilts and freshly baked pies. Lodging options include the 62-room Inn at Amish Acres and 66-room Nappanee Inn. Or head northeast to Shipshewana, another Amish community, where the small Farmstead Bed and Breakfast offers a true Amish farm experience — breakfast fit for a hard-working farmhand, but no electricity in sight.

Amish Acres: 1600 W. Market St., Nappanee; (800) 800-4942; amishacres.com; Farmstead Bed and Breakfast: 1300 N. Road 1000 W, Shipshewana; (260) 768-8086

Huber’s Orchard, Winery and Vineyards has been farmed by the same family since 1843, and every generation has added its own touches. These days, the sprawling property houses the largest estate-bottled winery in Indiana, a new brandy distillery, a year-round farm market, a café and a children’s play area.

You-pick options are available in season. Down the road is the Joe Huber Family Farm and Restaurant (no relation), which serves heaping platters of home-style food like country-fried chicken, honey ham, mashed potatoes and fresh baked biscuits. Huber’s Orchard, Winery and Vineyards: 19816 Huber Road, Borden; (800) 345-9463; huberwinery.com; Joe Huber Family Farm and Restaurant: 2421 Engle Road, Starlight; (812) 923-5255; joehubers.com

• Best Wild West Adventure

• Best Destination Dairy Located near Interstate 65 in northwest Indiana, Fair Oaks Farms is the perfect break on that long drive to or from Chicago — and also one of the state’s best-known agritourism destinations. Kids will enjoy the birthing barn, outdoor play area and interactive Dairy Adventure, which teaches about sustainable farming. Fair Oaks also offers tours and tastings at its cheese factory. Don’t miss the café, which serves the dairy’s signature grilled cheese sandwich. 856 N. Road 600E, Fair Oaks; (219) 394-2025; fofarms.com

The 400-acre Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve, which has a herd of more than 250 buffalo, offers daily tours, including an option to explore the preserve on horseback. With a bed-and-breakfast and café on site, the preserve offers meals ranging from buffalo sausage to Big Tatonka bison burgers. More adventurous visitors can stay in elevated safari tents, nestled in the same fields where the buffalo roam. 6975 N. Ray Road, Fremont; (260) 495-0137; wildwindsbuffalo.com *FI

Waterman’s Family Farm is known for its strawberries, tomatoes and corn, but you-pick options range throughout the season from peas to beets to salad greens to pumpkins. The latter are a popular choice during the annual Fall Harvest Festival, which offers hayrides, corn mazes and other autumn fun.

7010 E. Raymond St., Indianapolis; (317) 356-6995; 1100 N. Indiana 37, Greenwood; (317) 888-4189; www.water mansfamilyfarm.com

Photos courtesy of Fair Oaks Farms

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

story by jenni l. muncie-sujan

Indiana Department of Health pushes new food safety initiative for wholesale produce farms

A

new initiative by the state of Indiana, created as a response to salmonella outbreaks associated with cantaloupes last year, is helping all wholesale produce farmers work toward food safety compliance with Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs).

The motivation for imposing standardized food safety practices stems from federal actions.

The Food and Drug Administration released its Food Safety Modernization Act in 2011 to regulate produce farms. The FDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Produce Safety Rule is currently open for public comment until the middle of May, according to Scott Gilliam, director of food protection at the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).

After the new rule is adopted, it will be applied nationwide, and Indiana will eventually adopt it as a state rule. According to Gilliam, small farms will be allowed up to six years to become compliant.

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Gilliam did not indicate how the size of the farm will be determined, but he did clarify that that the term “wholesale” refers to producers who sell their product to someone other than the final consumer. Because farmers markets sell directly to the end user, he says, the initiative should not affect market vendors, but a side initiative will be working with these farmers to encourage them to comply.

“Right now, all we’re trying to do is get growers registered in the system to figure out who is out there and who is doing what,” he says.

In the fall of 2012, a college intern spent a semester with the ISDH compiling a list of producers. Gilliam says the registration efforts will begin with that list.

He says that if the state is aware of a farm that hasn’t registered, the ISDH will make a more deliberate effort to contact the owners and explain the purpose of the initiative.

“We will explain that it is for their best interest,” Gilliam says, noting that larger farms are embracing the concept of standardized food safety measures.

Keith Uridel, owner of Backyard Berry Plants in Nashville, says having more regulations for farms is fine … as long as there are people to enforce the rules. “Our watchful FDA and USDA have loads of protective laws in place already, and yet we see ever more serious and widespread cases of food poisoning and/or recalls,” he explains. “It boils down to lack of enforcement and lack of personnel to keep track. These folks (regulators), for the most part I believe, want to do a good job, but just don’t have the people power to do it. Adding more laws, or rewriting them, won’t help unless the inspectors on the ground have enough boots and hands to cover the farms and record their findings.”

According to Gilliam, the new initiative begins with the creation of two food safety farm consultant positions that will focus on registering farmers and putting them in contact with training resources. The initiative will also include eventually getting all wholesale food producers to become third-party certified.

In response to the heightened concern for food safety, Gilliam says that it’s likely, in the future, retailers will not purchase from farmers who are not third-party certified. He believes that once the farms get this form of validation, retailers will feel that the product is safe to buy.

“We are not requiring that at this point,” he

says. “We are encouraging it.”

According to Gilliam, in 2012 one single farm destroyed the melon industry in Indiana. Because of an episode of contamination, he says, none of the retailers would buy from Indiana.

“That’s what we want to keep from happening again this year,” he says.

The purpose of the initiative is “to restore confidence and move ahead,” he adds. “Our focus this first year will be to focus on the low hanging fruit, the people who want to work with us. It is not intended to put anybody out of business. It is intended to save their business.”

A15

growers association or consortium, which would have its own branding, so consumers could easily recognize which farms are certified.

Roy Ballard, Purdue Extension educator in Hancock County, says that the goal is to keep contamination outbreaks as close to zero as possible, focusing on the areas of soil, water, employee health and hygiene, and contact surfaces.

At this time, Ballard says, the GAPs program offers training at various Purdue Extension locations throughout the state. He recommends growers attend the “GAPs from A to Z: Food Safety on Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farms” one-

“If we do our jobs right, we should not have to worry about what a certifier might find.”

—jennie hoene, Ewenique Farms

Jennie Hoene of Ewenique Farms in Seymour isn’t much worried about the potential changes. “I don’t do much wholesaling, but I do think it would be a good idea to get the certification, just in case,” she says. “If we do our jobs right, we should not have to worry about what a certifier might find.”

John Bonsett, the director of environmental health at the Johnson County Health Department, recognizes some local growers may see the initiative as government interference. “On the other hand,” he says, “I hope that they would look at us as an agency that is trying to improve their operations, so they can more readily sell their produce.”

Bonsett sees offering general education on proper handling of animal waste, use of fertilizer and chemical applications, keeping livestock, maintaining restrooms and hand-washing stations for workers, and storing produce safely as a hand of partnership with produce farmers.

“It’s starting to be a big idea,” says Bonsett of the wholesale produce market, “and we want to make sure everything is as safe as can be when it gets to the consumer. We don’t want to be in anybody’s way. We just want to help them in the process.”

Though the initiative is still in its infancy, Bonsett says it “is something that we need because we are going to see more emphasis on locally grown produce.”

Gilliam says that there are discussions in non-governmental associations about creating a

day overview, though the overview is not the same as the GAPs certification.

A complete certification includes the development of a food safety plan, hiring a third party auditor to audit and walk the farm to see where deficiencies are in the field and packing house, and obtaining a total food safety score. Currently, certification is only necessary if the farmer’s buyer requires that, says Ballard.

All in all, Gilliam says he is simply hoping growers will show they have gone through the GAPs training or that they plan to do it. “That is our focus for the year,” he says. “If we could accomplish that, it would be a huge success.” *FI

HELPFUL LINKS Fact Sheet for the Food Safety Initiative for Wholesale Produce Farms in Indiana: www.indiana.gov/isdh/files/fact_ sheet%281%29.pdf Registration Application for Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Growers and Distributors: www.indiana.gov/isdh/files/Registration_ form%281%29.pdf The New FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA): www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/fsma/ default.htm GAPs Training Registration Information: https://ag.purdue.edu/hla/fruitveg/ Documents/pdf/GAPS_spring2011_ rec-webinars.pdf

ABOVE: The state is promoting standardized food safety practices to help protect growers and consumers. The Republic file photo. RIGHT: Cantaloupes from Indiana were the source of a salmonella outbreak last year. Associated Press.

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

APRIL 2013 | Section B

Rick Followell

FAMILY FARMS

Fowl Play

Much of Rick and Kay Followell’s farm in Brown County is now for the birds story By jeff tryon

photos by josh marshall

W

hen Kay Followell moved to Brown County with her husband, Rick, to live on his family’s old homestead, she didn’t really have in mind breeding guinea fowl.

“When we moved here, we got chickens first,” she says. “And then we got guineas because we had ticks, just like anybody has in the country, and I had heard that guineas were good for that. Then it graduated into peafowl and then pheasants, and here we are.”

That was 10 years ago. Now their 17-acre legacy farm near Belmont in Brown County has guinea fowl, peafowl, pheasants, goats and cattle — “mini-Herefords.”

“And we have Great Pyrenees dogs,” she adds.

Along the way, Kay started breeding birds to sell and now sends them all over the United

States and even Puerto Rico. “I have always liked birds,” she says.

“My dad was in the Army, so the only pet we ever had was a bird, either a parakeet or a cockatiel, something of that nature. And my dad always liked birds. So when we went to a zoo, that’s where we hung out, with the birds.”

After she got started with the guinea fowl, she found herself a little overwhelmed by the number of eggs and didn’t know what to do with them all. So she got a little incubator and started hatching them.

People eventually heard that Kay was hatching the eggs and began inquiring into getting some of her chicks. So many people called that, about seven years ago, she created a website to sell eggs and chicks.

“It hasn’t been updated recently,

See birds on B2

B1

B2

Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Birds // cont. from b1 the two, and featured them in their gardens and aviaries. They also considered them to be a dining delicacy.

In the 15th century, Portuguese traders brought wild guinea fowl from West Africa into Europe, where they were again domesticated and have been a popular domestic fowl ever since.

The birds are good for control

but people go on there from all over the place and call and order and I can ship chicks by the post office overnight,” she says.

Guinea fowl are native to Africa, where they were domesticated more than 4,000 years ago by the Egyptians. The ancient Greeks and Romans brought domesticated guineas from both the east and west coasts of Africa, blended

of bugs, especially ticks. “They’re great for bugs,” Followell says.

“Ticks, tomato beetles, cucumber bugs, and they don’t pierce the tomato or the cucumber. If they do, it’s an accident. They don’t normally go after vegetables. They’re meat eaters.”

The birds also raise an alarm if anyone comes into the yard.

“They’re pretty good watch-

“I have always liked birds ... when we went to a zoo, that’s where we hung out, with the birds.”

—kay followell

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Rick and Kay Followell

dogs,” she says. “They calm down a little bit when they get older, but when they’re younger, the first couple of years, they make a lot of ruckus if something’s different. My husband says the sound they make sounds like they’re hollering, ‘Not right, not right, not right!’”

Rick Followell, who also works as the sheriff of Brown County, wrangles about a dozen head of the mini-Herefords, which they sell for beef or keep as breeding stock.

“They’re very small,” Kay says.

“A full-sized cow is going to give you a minimum 16-ounce Tbone. These will give you about a 10-ounce T-bone.”

The Followell farm is on a portion of land originally granted to his mother’s family by the U.S. government in 1837. The main farming on the property is now dedicated to the mini-Herefords, but the guinea fowl take up a good deal of time and effort, too. Kay

has 11 guinea fowl right now, but at one time kept as many as 50.

“They ate us out of house and home,” she recalls. “We were going through feed like crazy. I found that if I raised them through the winter and sold them as adults, I didn’t make any more money than I would if I kept 10 or 12, a couple of males and the rest hens. I was getting the same amount.”

So now, each year she sells off the previous year’s birds and keeps the next year’s chicks; next breeding season, they’ll be a year old and ready to go.

“In the spring time I put them up, because they’ll wander. They’ll wander an acre or two away from the feeding area. And then you’ll never find them.”

The guinea fowl’s instinct is to go and make a nest; instead, on the Followell farm, about 200 of the eggs will be incubated into chicks with about a 90 percent success rate.

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

“You have to make sure your incubator humidity is right for the guineas,” Kay says. “If it’s too high, they die in the egg, and if it’s too low, they can’t get out of the egg.

“A guinea shell is probably the hardest egg shell around,” she adds.

And the eggs that don’t get incubated are good to eat, she says.

She likes growing flowers, but doesn’t garden. (“Right now, it seems like you can go to a farmers market or grocery store and get things cheaper than you can grow them,” she explains.)

“But the guineas are good to keep bugs out of the garden,” she says. “And if you have animals at all, they’re good to walk with

the animals. They walk with the cattle, they walk with the goats.

They keep everything cleaned up.

We haven’t had a tick around here in years; they keep it clean.”

In the end, it’s a lot of work, but she also gets a lot of enjoyment from it.

“You need to be doing something,” she says. “You don’t need to just come in and sit down and watch TV or play video games.” *FI

Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Record Numbers Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that Indiana farmers had received more than $1 billion in crop insurance payments from losses due to last year’s drought. The 2012 payouts for corn, soybean and wheat losses, which were double the previous record, had reached $1.04 billion. That number was expected to increase, according to Chris Hurt, Purdue Extension agricultural economist.

In total, $900 million in payments were made for corn losses; corn yields were nearly 40 percent below normal.

Soybean payouts reached $138 million to cover low soybean yields, which were about 10 percent below normal.

For more information on insurance indemnities by crop and state, visit www.rma.usda.gov/data/sob.html.

Essay Contest Winner

Looking for Funds?

A seventh-grade student at Central Middle School in Columbus, Yijiang Zhao, took first place in the third annual Our Food, Our Farmers essay contest for Grades 7 to 9. In March, Yijiang and other student winners were recognized at the Statehouse by Gov. Mike Pence and Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann at the Ag Appreciation Month luncheon.

As part of a celebration of Indiana’s Agriculture Appreciation Month in March, six Hoosier children — among 500 students who participated — were selected for their winning essays that described how Indiana farmers nourish families and animals while protecting the earth.

The contest was sponsored by Indiana’s Family of Farmers and Indiana Humanities. To read the winning essays, visit www.indianafamilyoffarmers. com and www.indianahumanities.org.

Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) is accepting grant applications for its Fund-a-Farmer Project. Grants of up to $1,500 will be awarded for projects that help farms transition to pasture-based systems and improve the marketing of their humane products or enrich the conditions in which farm animals are raised. Working, independent family farmers who raise pigs, broiler chickens, laying hens, dairy cows and/or beef cattle are eligible to apply for any of the three types of grants. Projects involving goats and sheep are only eligible for marketing grants. Applications must be submitted online or postmarked by May 1. Grants will be awarded in August. For more information, visit www.fundafarmer.org.

> > SUBMIT YOUR FARM NEWS TO US! Email briefs to farmindiana@hnenewspapers.com.

ABOVE: Rep. Milo Smith with essay winner Yijiang Zhao and her family

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

FAMILY FARMS David Schwartzkopf

Life Lessons

story By Robin Winzenread Fritz photos by josh marshall

Multitasking is nothing new for David Schwartzkopf

D

avid Schwartzkopf is a busy man. On the heels of a week-long vacation to Panama where he and his wife traveled the length of the namesake canal not once, but twice, he came home to a construction project that left a gaping hole in his backyard and an inside remodeling project, which has three rooms of his 19th-century home in southern Decatur County in total disarray.

“The kitchen is down to a microwave,” he says with a chuckle.

Add to that list of projects the roughly 1,300 acres he owns across three counties, his 23 Katahdin ewes, his recent college orientation and the three college classes he currently has under way at Indiana University Purdue University in Columbus.

Schwartzkopf is a very busy man.

But after 74 years of calling central Indiana home along with Joann, his wife of 52 years, this semi-retired farmer wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s good to keep moving,” he says.

At an age when most people are content to cross items off their life lists, David is happily adding to his. Take, for instance, his current sheep project, the 23 Katahdin ewes. One parcel of recently purchased land included a section so overgrown it couldn’t be cleared with a mower for fear of damaging a blade. Enter the sheep. While the ewes happily clear the land of weeds, they fatten up in the process—a tried-and-true method he has used in the past with Boer goats.

“I had plans to put 200 sheep on another farm,” he explains, his voice trailing off with a grin.

Whereas his current college career is fairly new, farming is not.

“I planted my first cornfield when I was 13,” he says. “It was three and a half acres, and I planted it with a two-row planter.” Those first rows were planted on family land in the Columbus area where he and Joann would eventually live for roughly 40 years.

“I sowed the grass seed at East before there was a high school there,” he says, referencing Columbus East High School. “We

LEFT: Schwartzkopf in what he calls his "toy" tractor that he bought for small projects around the farm. RIGHT: He studies between classes at IUPUC.

used to pasture cows between the high school and the house.

When the cattle would come up, we would open the gate, and they would walk right across McKinley Avenue to the barnyard.”

That love of land and farming planted a seed in David that nagged at him during his first attempt at college in the late 1950s. He tried studying liberal arts at Franklin College, but “learning things from books” didn’t come easy to him and “it wasn’t farming.

“I just wasn’t outside,” he adds.

After leaving school, he and Joann were “as poor as church mice” until a fortuitous interview over a Coca-Cola in a Hoosier diner landed him a job driving trucks for United Parcel Service.

“At one time,” he says, “I had my CDL license and my hazmat.

I could haul anything.” It was the start of a 33-year career that would help him and Joann raise two daughters and help fund the start of his real love—farming.

Over the years, the Schwartzkopfs added to their land

Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

holdings, growing the original 113 acres in Columbus to 160 and adding parcels of land here and there in surrounding counties. Those land holdings have since grown to include 1,300 acres from as far south as the Muscatatuck River in Jennings County to more than 600 acres in Rush County near Carthage.

But as the acreage grew, the time it took to farm the land increased as well. Juggling hundreds of acres of crops while driving tractor-trailers full time for UPS took precious hours away from family, which by now included daughters Vicki, who died in a car accident in 1984, and Lesa.

Often David would return home from a full day of driving semis only to climb into a tractor and head out into the fields at night. “It was hard,” said Joann. “When he was home, the girls would just climb on him,” she recalls.

Because he had so many successful years at UPS — including

receiving a coveted award for 25 years of safe driving — David decided to retire from full-time farming in 1980. But his love of land never diminished, and he continued to buy parcels here and there, entering into a partnership with a neighbor to cash rent those acres.

“I’m the business partner,” he explains. “And I get to play on his [the neighbor’s] toys.”

As for his newfound college career, it was sparked by one of his three grandsons, who commuted to IUPUC in a pickup with no heat. David offered to drive him to school and decided to take classes while he waited. When his grandson transferred to IUPUI because of his major, David decided to enroll anyway and now plans to pursue an associate degree in business. Joann joined him for orientation in January, and when it came time for the students to introduce their parents, David pointed to his wife and said, “This is my

mother’s daughter-in-law.”

“We like to make jokes,” he says.

“I even attended the parents’ meeting,” Joann says.

“Somewhere along the line, I always thought I’d get up to Purdue,” David says, adding that he and Joann had even thought about moving to the Lafayette area, but her job—with the Purdue Extension Agency in Decatur County—kept them firmly planted in the southern half of the state.

“I used to call it PU-C,” he says of the joint IU/Purdue campus he attends in Columbus, “but I never made it to Purdue. So now I call it IU-C since I’m in the business school.”

His lifelong desire to attend Purdue and his current project as a part-time IU student lead to the inevitable question, whom does he cheer for when the two teams meet on the basketball court?

For the briefest of moments, he hesitates before saying with a grin, “Well, I’m starting to root for IU.” *FI

“I planted my first cornfield when I was 13.

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

their wishes are met after they die.

“Our goal was to get people thinking about passing the farm business to the next generation and to inform them about some of the new laws on estate planning,” says Mark Bacon, director of Indiana Farm Bureau’s District 8, which hosted the event. “I believe the day was a great success.”

“I think (Jolene) did an incredible job of covering topics that are pertinent to family farms,” says Patty Lange Reding, the fifth generation on the Lange family farm in Decatur County in southeast Indiana. “I especially found the way she differentiated between treating family members equally versus fairly — based on their investment in the farm — to be relevant to our situation.”

With assistance from a couple of friends, Lange Reding manages the daily operation of the farm, which includes a small herd of Angus crossbreeds and a variety of crops, including traditional grain and hay, as well as food-grade products, such as organic popcorn; small, red

H

er bio doesn’t describe her as a pacifist, but Jolene Brown is dedicated to eliminating fighting — on the way to the funeral home. The author, speaker and active partner in an eastern Iowa corn and soybean farm is on a personal mission to help family farmers improve productivity and profitability while preserving relationships.

Recently, she shared her message with about 75 people gathered for a daylong seminar at Indiana Downs in Shelbyville. Her audience represented a variety of farming operations in Johnson, Shelby, Rush, Fayette, Union, Franklin, Decatur and Bartholomew counties, all eager to learn Brown’s secrets to working the farm with family members. She was joined on the program by Ken Roney, lawyer, accountant and board member of the Central Indiana Academy of Finance, who reviewed legal tools and strategies farmers can use to make sure

COMMON MISTAKES

FAMILIES MAKE Jolene Brown stressed that members of a family farm often forget that sound business practices and “transitional management” must be based on more than emotion, assumptions, tradition and genetics.

When this happens, she added, the result is what she called the “top 10 stupid things families do to break up their farm operations.”

These include:

Assuming all genetic relationships equal good working relationships. “Acceptance in a family is unconditional,” she said. “Acceptance in a business, however, is conditional; it is not a birthright.”

1

Believing the business can financially support any and all family members who want to work together. “What is your estimated cost of living (residence, health care, insurance) for each family unit?” she asked. “Does your cash flow match the estimate?”

2

beans; wheat; and spelt. Two of her sons are financially involved in the farm.

“We’re not a large farm,” she notes. “My parents set this up as a dual corporation, but we still need to make the transition from a family-first to a business-first operation if we are to preserve their financial legacy.”

After years of meeting with farmers at similar settings, as well as around the kitchen table, Brown told the gathering she came up with what she calls “The Top 10 Mistakes that Break Up a Family Business.” (See sidebar.)

“These are based on the most prevalent and repeated behaviors learned from working with family (farm) businesses,” Brown said. “The overall problem is that most choose, by default or intentionally, to become a ‘family-first business,’ not a ‘business-first family.’ People in agriculture are superior at production (weeds, feeds, breeds, seeds, money and marketing) and have had little education, exposure and practice with the ‘human side’ or people skills needed to lead or manage a multigenerational

Assuming others should and will change — not me. “We sometimes forget,” she noted, “that compromising independence was a choice.”

3

Presuming a conversation is a contract.

“There are a number of things a good business has clarified in writing,” Brown said. These include division of profits, the budget and cash flow, return on investment and the management structure.

4

Believing “mind reading” is an acceptable form of communica-

5

tion. Brown suggested drafting a contract to communicate clear expectations of each member of the team.

“This means we help each other out, support each other and get along. Issues will not be ignored, but addressed in a business-like manner. Everyone must be a good team member.”

Failing to build communication skills and meeting tools when times are good so they’ll be in place when times get tough. “Use daily interactions for exchanging information, coordination and to show appreciation,” Brown suggested.

6

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or family business. Then habit and tradition become the status quo.”

Once a farm operation has decided to work more as a business, Brown recommends several steps that should be taken from the outset.

“You should make a conscious decision to do the family right by doing the business right,” she said. “That means hiring well, choosing a leader who will keep the agreedupon mission and goals in the forefront, coach for specific jobs with standards and cheer on the team and fire if necessary; getting things in writing, including a code of conduct, business overview, managing-people chart and contract for communications; working with an advisory council to perform at a high level of business professionalism while the council has the best interest of the business and individuals in the business at heart.

“Doing these things will help prevent many of the daily aggravations of a family business and save fighting on the way to the funeral home.” *FI

“Use meetings for including synergistic decision making and legal requirements.”

Ignoring in-laws and off-site family. “Decide the role of the spouse in the business before putting the ring on the finger,” she said wryly.

7

Forgetting common courtesy. “We often treat strangers on the street with more courtesy than family members,” Brown lamented.

8

ment- and ownershiptransfer plan or buysell agreement. Brown urged the gathering to prepare a list of details others will need to know, including the location of important documents, investments, insurance, deed and property titles.

Neglecting vital facts of “fair and equal,” paying cash for “emotional debts” and failing to celebrate. “What was the last thing you celebrated with your family business team?” she asked.

10

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9

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

The Indiana Small Farm Conference makes a big splash among specialty growers

ABOVE: Joel Dufour of Earth Tools demonstrates implements and hand tools. TOP: Anna Welch, left, and Patty Lange Reding lead a discussion on small-scale farming.

story by jim mayfield photos by jim & Donna mayfield

On a crisp March morning in Danville, small was the big topic.

It’s not that the big things didn’t matter, but Hoosier small farmers, livestock producers, specialty crop growers and urban agriculture activists would be hard pressed to find more information concentrated in one location than at the Purdue Extension Indiana Small Farm Conference at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds.

With assistance from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the two-day event drilled down to the specific issues and concerns facing the state’s small farmers and producing operations with more than three dozen lecturers and presenters covering topics along five subject tracks.

In all, the conference featured classes and information on marketing and processing, livestock and crop production, and small farm energy and management with specific topics ranging from good agricultural practices for food safety to the finer points of working with local utility companies when installing a renewable farm energy product.

From specific to esoteric, the conference provided the state’s farmers with practical advice on how to make their operations work.

Patty Lange Reding, who farms Langeland Farms in Decatur County with her four sons, considers herself to be a “big, small farmer or small, mid-sized farmer.” Either way, her road passed both challenges and opportunities.

“Small farms are actually growing,” Lange Reding told an audience attending a “Beans and Grains on a Small Scale” seminar. “It’s the new deal.”

But with that said, she cautioned small producers to think carefully about their ultimate destination before getting started in the spring.

“If you don’t have your market secure, don’t put a seed in the ground until you know where you’re going with it,” Lange Reding said.

Ultimately, success and efficiency were the conference’s dual spines, showing small farmers through a variety of ways and means how to capitalize on the growing movement for locally sourced and natural foods; how to define, refine and expand their markets; how to cultivate and harvest their products wisely; and how to sell efficiently.

The small farm demographic is the fastest-growing segment of Indiana’s farm sector, said Steve Engleking, Purdue extension educator for LaGrange County and Indiana Small Farms coordinator.

“I’m very excited and extremely pleased with the turnout,” Engleking said. “Our primary goal is for the creation of a statewide small farm culture or network, and I feel we made good progress towards that outcome, but time will tell.”

With about 250 in attendance for its inaugural outing, Engleking said the conference also succeeded in bringing people together to celebrate small farms and their contribution to Indiana’s economy. “I feel we were able to accomplish a bit of this as well,” he said.

Eli Robb, a young farmer who owns Fullhand Farm in Perkinsville, northeast of Noblesville, said the conference timing was well-received on two fronts.

“It’s great,” Robb said. “Winter is a great time to get recharged and excited, and it’s nice to see some new people from Purdue to recognize and support (small farms).”

Engleking acknowledged the perception among the state’s outlying small farmers that they fly below the radar and in the shadow of Indiana’s mega-producing operations, but said the conference was a significant step in changing that perception.

“Purdue agriculture has been supporting small farms all along,” Engleking said.

In addition to providing information on backyard fruit production and specialty crops for high-end restaurants, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to network, attendees said.

Christopher Fuchs, a Fayette county resident who said he was still deciding whether to become a farmer, said the conference paid for itself in networking and contacts alone. “I went home last night and spent the night putting together all the contacts I made,” he said on the Saturday morning of the event.

Vendors on hand to display goods and services were also pleased with the conference attendance and readymade target audience.

Sonny Mosley, vice president of sales and marketing for Eason Horticultural Resources of Fort Wright, Ky., said traffic at the conference was tailor-made for enterprises like Eason’s.

“We’ve had very direct contact and have seen a lot of people that are very interested in what we offer,” Mosley said. “The rates here are very reasonable, and one sale will pay for it.”

Conference organizers have already set the date for next year’s event, which will return to the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex Feb. 28 through March 1. *FI

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A Fair of the Heartland AGRITOURISM

S

outhern Indiana is home to beautiful hills and vistas, slow winding roads, charming towns and dozens of highly touted wineries. Fitting, then, that the idea to create the Indiana Wine Fair came to Rick Hofstetter, owner of the quaint Story Inn in southern Indiana, over a glass of wine.

Eleven years ago, “I was sitting with a friend of mine—this guy was a hotel manager—and I suggested that it would be a good idea to invite vintners out to Story Inn to bring people together. He discouraged me from doing it. I went ahead and did it anyway, and the wine fair was born.”

The inaugural event was a “small potatoes deal,” Hofstetter recalls, but, even so, the success of the affair surprised him. Approximately 12 wineries were on hand to share their creations with guests. It was held indoors in the old mill on the property, he says, and “we had people waiting to get into the building.”

The second year Hofstetter says he got smart. He moved the event outdoors to the barn, with individual wineries being housed under tents. The second fair— which Hofstetter refers to as a “real event”—drew approximately 400 people.

And it continued to grow. By the third year, approximately 1,000 guests made their way to the Story Inn. More tents for wineries were added. By the fifth year, he says, approximately 4,000 showed. Over the years, the fair has “maxed out at about 5,600 [guests],” he says. “That’s a lot of people. These people come, and they are hungry. They need to use the restroom.

There’s got to be parking.”

Over the years, the event’s host has fine-tuned the details. He has added more music, more food vendors, more parking at a nearby farm, a free shuttle bus service, which runs all day every 15 minutes from the courthouse in downtown Nashville to Story, and—of course—more wine.

The event has featured, on average, approximately 20 wineries each year, though Hofstetter expects to double that number this year. “Indiana has a little more than 70 wineries now,” he says. “When I started

Annual Indiana wine event showcases the Hoosier state's offerings story By sherri dugger | photos courtesy of story inn

there were 24 wineries.”

The Indiana Wine Fair is now touted as the largest event of its kind to feature Indiana wines. Guests to the fair can sample the state’s finest reislings, malbecs and cabernets, and if they like what they taste they can purchase bottles to take home with them. Local food offerings are provided by onsite vendors, as well as by the Story Inn’s own restaurant, which requires advance reservations and fills up fast, Hofstetter says. This year, several jazz groups will provide the entertainment. And as for the event’s guests, “they’re a mature crowd with sophisticated palates, and they are here to sample and buy wine,” Hofstetter says. “The wineries love that.”

What Hofstetter loves is the lesson he very quickly learned at his initial event 11 years ago. It’s a lesson that hits home each year with the passing of another successful wine fair. “I realized Indiana makes some very good wines,” he says. “We’re not a beer and Slim Jim state anymore.” *FI

The 11th Annual Indiana Wine Fair WHEN: Saturday, April 27, rain or shine WHERE: The Story Inn, 6404 S. State Road 135, Story Tickets: $10-$20; must be 21 years or older to attend. The first 4,000 guests get a keepsake wine glass.

Information: www.indianawinefair.com

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Compiled by Caroline Mosey

Carolyn Behrman, owner of Columbus’ Natural Choices whole foods store and deli, loves the fresh, simple flavors of spring found in this popular salad. Take it along on your next picnic for a verdant, healthy addition to your spread.

Blueberry Spinach Salad Fresh baby spinach 1 ounce blueberries ½ chopped apple 1 teaspoon chopped red onion 1 ounce walnuts

Dressing 1 teaspoon chopped sweet onion ¼ cup chopped blueberries 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cider vinegar ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil Sweeten to taste with honey, agave or your favorite sweetener.

Makes 4 servings.

> > Natural Choices 1825 Central Ave., Columbus, (812) 375-1677, NaturalChoicesIndiana.com

Chef Joseph Hewett Photo by Dario Impini

Spring Smorgasbord With spring finally here, chef Joseph Hewett of Franklin’s Indigo Duck restaurant says, “Simple, fresh and beautiful ingredients are everywhere for the taking.”

Here, he shares some of his favorite uses for spring’s bounty in the kitchen.

• Fiddleheads, morels and ramps (wild chives) can be discovered on a long walk in the woods.

• The hardy herbs in your garden—like mint, rosemary, thyme and marjoram— are the first to wake up and welcome spring.

• Asparagus, baby turnips, fennel, English peas and Vidalia onions go perfectly in a simple sauté with olive oil, garlic and mint. These were destined to support a luscious leg of lamb and create a great show.

• Strawberry and rhubarb unite in pies, cakes, sorbets and ice cream. These two having the same harvest time is no accident.

• Juicy cherries are great as a garnish for an arugula salad, the key part of a jam or in a freshly baked pie. > > Indigo Duck, 39 E. Court St. Franklin, (317) 560-5805, TheIndigoDuck.com

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Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

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PINE ROOM TAVERN 51 E. Chestnut St., Nashville, (812) 988-0236, PineRoomTavern.net

story by Caroline Mosey photos by kathy rondomanski

Locals and legacy reign supreme at Nashville’s Pine Room Tavern Not many restaurants can say they’ve been in business since 1949. It takes tenacity — and really good food — to stay center stage for that many decades. But the Pine Room Tavern in Nashville gets those bragging rights, and brag the owners should. Considered by many to be a legendary spot in Brown County, the tavern continues drawing locals and curious visitors through its doors each year.

The restaurant first opened in Nashville’s downtown area and moved after roughly 30 years there. “In approximately 1980, it moved to its current location,” explains Dick Gist, the tavern’s general manager. In early 2012, husband-and-wife team James and Betsy O’Black decided to purchase the restaurant because of its long-standing legacy. The O’Blacks are also owners of nearby Muddy Boots Café.

Both a bar and a restaurant, the kitchen at Pine Room Tavern is headed

by Thomas Dempsey, executive chef. In keeping with the menu’s history, pubstyle burgers and fried fish remain on the menu, as they have for years, while some newer dishes mingle with the old. The menu has something for everyone, from artisan charcuterie plates and organic green salads to barbecue and vegetarian entrees.

Serving American cuisine with a healthy slant, the kitchen focuses on local flavor. “Our inspiration for our menu is health,” Gist says. “We won’t put anything on the menu that we won’t put into our own bodies. We

serve fresh fish on Fridays, and our daily menu uses only the best quality ingredients.”

Local is the name of the game here, from food to beer to live entertainment. “We use local produce from local farms, [along with] meat and local beer,” Gist says. Expect to see names like Fischer Farms on the food menu and beer and wine labels from Upland, Cutters Brewing Co. and Oliver Winery. Featuring large-screen TVs, the bar at the Pine Room is an ideal spot for sports fans. Outdoor seating is also available during warmer months.

Live entertainment is provided on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and it’s generally homegrown as well. “[The musicians usually consist] of local and regional acts like singer-songwriters Tim Grimm, the Indiana Boys and Walk Down Henderson,” Gist says.

For the O’Blacks, the most beneficial part of owning the legendary pub is simple: It’s about pleasing people, Gist explains. They want to see guests from near and far enjoy themselves. And, as Gist quips, it’s about “raising the bar and the roof.” *FI

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FARM INDIANA

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION Composter Sale, Amnesty (tires, propane tanks, CFC appliances), Electronics Recycling and More.

Saturday April 20th, 2013 8:00 am-3:00 pm Columbus/Bartholomew County Recycling Center â&#x20AC;˘ www.bcswmd.com 720 South Mapleton Street, Columbus, IN

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333 2nd Street, Columbus (812) 379-5600

Farm Indiana // APRIL 2013

Purdue Extension Farmer's Share ag day breakfast

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March 20 // Johnson County Fairgrounds

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1. The Morris family was honored as Johnson County Farm Family of the Year.

2. Mindy Paulin and Isaac Carter 3. Ed Morris laughs with family friend Sally Wells.

4. The Boys and Girls Club of Franklin accepts a check for $2,500 from the Monsanto Fund.

5. Bruce Morris and the rest of the Morris family listen as they are announced as the Johnson County Farm Family of the Year.

6. The 4-H Kids Council of Johnson County accepts a check for $2,500 from the Monsanto Fund.

7. Attendees line up on both sides of the breakfast buffet to fill their plates with eggs, biscuits and gravy, and bacon.

PHOtos by mike wolanin

FARM INDIANA April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 “Managing for Today and Tomorrow” Tuesday seminars include handson activities, interaction with local professionals and up-to-date resources.

Light refreshments will be served at 5:30 p.m.

Programs run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Location: Washington County Extension Office, 806 Martinsburg Road, Suite 104, Salem. Information: (812) 883-4601.

April 3 “Spencer County Springtime on the Farm.” Spencer County third-graders will visit “Spencer County Springtime on the Farm” at the Spencer County 4-H Fairgrounds in Chrisney.

Events are from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Information: (812) 649-2291.

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Calendar of Events White County Ag Day. White County fourthgrade students will enjoy an Ag Day from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the White County Fairgrounds.

April 3-4 Warrick County Ag Days.

Warrick County thirdgraders will visit Warrick County Ag Days at the Warrick County 4-H Fairgrounds (Alcoa building) in Boonville to learn more about agriculture in Warrick County. Events are from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Information: (812) 4236481.

April 4 Bartholomew County Ag Expo. Bartholomew County will host an Ag Expo at the fairgrounds for local schoolchildren. Information: (812) 372-4483.

April 9 Decatur County Ag Day. Decatur County Farm Bureau Ag Day in cooperation with Decatur County SWCD will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Decatur County Fairgrounds.

There will be 21 education stations and two rest breaks in 12-minute sessions.

April 9-10 Tippecanoe County Ag Days. Tippecanoe County fourth-grade students will enjoy an Ag Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds.

April 10 Avon Ag Day at Pine Tree Elementary. Grain and livestock farmers are ready to talk with more than 400 energetic children in grades kindergarten through fourth

grade who want to know about agriculture. Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Inclement weather date on April 11.

Lunch will be provided.

Location: Pine Tree Elementary School, County Road 100S, Avon. Information: (317) 696-6389.

Posey County Farm Fair. Posey County fifthgraders will visit the Posey County 4-H Fairgrounds from 8:30 to noon.

April 13 Visit Hoosier Heartland Alpacas on April 13 to learn how alpaca owners process the animals’ fiber and turn it into fine yarns, clothing and home decor.

Fiber demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to noon. More activities will take place throughout the afternoon, including

FARM INDIANA CLASSIFIEDS

333 2nd Street, Columbus | (812) 379-5600

GREENSBURG LOCKER AND

HUBER'S MEAT MARKET Processing Beef-Pork-Lamb 1023 North Ireland Street Greensburg, Indiana 47240 812-663-7744

book readings, live music, merchandise for sale and more. Location: 2500 N. County Road 1000W, Seymour. Information: (812) 445-7874.

April 17-18 Farm Education Conservation Camp. Clinton County fourth-graders will visit Camp Cullom near Frankfort for a day of farm education.

April 26 Arbor Day Tree Giveaway. Approximately 1,200 trees will be available on a first-come, first served basis. Time: 5 p.m.

Location: Bartholomew County Soil & Water Conservation District, 1040 Second St., Columbus.

Information: (812) 3781280, ext. 3.

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April 30 The Columbus Food Coop will be screening “Mad City Chickens,” a look at the people who keep urban chickens, at 7 p.m. at YES Cinema in Columbus. Refreshments will be provided, and tickets are $5. Location: 328 Jackson St., Columbus. Information: (812) 343-3588, www. columbusmarket.coop.

SEND US YOUR UPCOMING AGRICULTURE EVENTS: Be sure to include a contact, the date, location and other important information. Email info to: farmindiana@ hnenewspapers.com.

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4814 W Old State Road 46 Greensburg, IN 812-663-4020 • 800-241-4020 www.obermeyeragrigroup.com

4814 W Old State Road 46 Greensburg, IN 812-663-4020 • 800-241-4020

www.obermeyeragrigroup.com

A TRADITION of Excellence

4814 W Old State Road 46, Greensburg, IN 812-663-4020 • 800-241-4020 www.obermeyeragrigroup.com