Last Updated on March 22, 2024 by Indiana State Department of Agriculture
INDIANAPOLIS — At the Indiana Statehouse Friday, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Don Lamb presented 59 farming families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture.
“These long-standing Hoosier farming families are the backbone of our state’s rich agricultural history,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “They have dedicated their lives to supporting our strong agricultural economy, and it was a pleasure to honor them today.”
To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres. If less than 20 acres, the farm must produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. Indiana farms may qualify for three honors: Centennial Award for 100 years of ownership, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years of ownership and the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.
Since the program’s inception in 1976, over 6,100 families have received the Hoosier Homestead Award. Many past awardees can be identified by the sign proudly displayed in front of the family farm or field.
“The Indiana statehouse is a historic venue for hosting this historic ceremony,” said Lamb. “Honoring over 50 farming families today was an unique look into Indiana’s rich past, especially when celebrating two bicentennial awards. Thinking of how much agriculture, and our whole world, has changed in the last 200 years was an incredible thought and we are so thankful to these farming families for remaining committed to agriculture production.”
During the ceremonies, two Indiana farms received the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of continuous ownership: the Dorton family from Harrison county and the Coleman family from Parke county.
Below is a list of the Hoosier Homestead Award recipients honored during the spring 2024 ceremony:
| County | Award Name | Award Year | Award Type |
| Adams | Girod | 1865 | Sesquicentennial |
| Allen | Kruse | 1872 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Bartholomew | David & Brenda Simmons | 1850 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Blackford | Twibell | 1870 | Sesquicentennial |
| Cass | Ide | 1874 | Sesquicentennial |
| Clark | Trainor | 1920 | Centennial |
| Daviess | Ferguson | 1852 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Daviess | Flinn | 1893 | Centennial |
| Daviess | Kavanaugh | 1894 | Centennial |
| Dearborn | Andrews-Probst | 1916 | Centennial |
| Dearborn | Gaynor | 1924 | Centennial |
| Delaware | Felton | 1881 | Centennial |
| Dubois | Feldmeyer – Holtzman | 1848 | Sesquicentennial |
| Elkhart | Zollinger | 1899 | Centennial |
| Floyd | Leonard C. Lemmel | 1918 | Centennial |
| Franklin | Elmer & May Brack | 1919 | Centennial |
| Franklin | Werner | 1923 | Centennial |
| Fulton | Shewman | 1905 | Centennial |
| Gibson | Spindler | 1924 | Centennial |
| Grant | Dearduff | 1870 | Sesquicentennial |
| Hancock | Troy | 1921 | Centennial |
| Hancock | Gundrum-Long | 1906 | Centennial |
| Harrison | Dorton | 1824 | Bicentennial |
| Huntington | Kennedy | 1919 | Centennial |
| Huntington | Bone-Ulrich-McPherson | 1912 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Cummings | 1924 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Durham | 1919 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Koop/Otte/Rieker | 1867 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Jackson | Speaker/Otte/Rieker | 1886 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Tatlock Farms | 1888 | Centennial |
| Knox | Marchino | 1865 | Sesquicentennial |
| Lake | Merritt G. Bailey | 1882 | Centennial |
| LaPorte | Spence | 1868 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Madison | Moore-Rydman | 1890 | Centennial |
| Madison | Drake | 1920 | Centennial |
| Madison | McClintick-McClintock | 1898 | Centennial |
| Miami | Peter/Fisher/John H. Balsbaugh/Raymond E. Musselman | 1837 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Miami | Peter/Fisher/John H. Balsbaugh/Raymond E. Musselman | 1873 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Montgomery | Richard S. & Sandra K. Clouser | 1848 | Sesquicentennial |
| Montgomery | Gentry | 1918 | Centennial |
| Morgan | Rhea | 1920 | Centennial |
| Orange | McDonald | 1922 | Centennial |
| Orange | McDonald | 1887 | Centennial |
| Owen | Stahl-Williams | 1902 | Centennial |
| Parke | Coleman | 1824 | Bicentennial |
| Perry | Hagerdon | 1919 | Centennial |
| Pike | Whitehead | 1869 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Ripley | Amy & Edward Rodriguez | 1852 | Sesquicentennial |
| Rush | Halterman/Wallace/Mull | 1883 | Centennial |
| Spencer | Hildenbrand | 1923 | Centennial |
| St. Joseph | Berger | 1907 | Centennial |
| St. Joseph | Besinger | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| St. Joseph | Besinger | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Tippecanoe | Charles Dill | 1896 | Centennial |
| Tippecanoe | Stan Thayer | 1850 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Tippecanoe | Charles & Theresa Shelby | 1835 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Vanderburgh | Herman Wortman | 1866 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Wells | Ted B. & Valerie N. Markley | 1874 | Sesquicentennial |
| Whitley | Keiser-Fenker | 1923 | Centennial |
To view photos from the Spring 2024 Hoosier Homestead Award Ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse, click here. All family photos will be available online by March 27, 2024.
The 2024 Summer Hoosier Homestead Award Ceremony will take place on Aug. 14, 2024 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
SOURCE: News release from Indiana State Department of Agriculture