Two Dubois County Longtime Farming Families Honored at State Fair

Yesterday at the Indiana State Fair, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Ted McKinney and ISDA Deputy Director Melissa Rekeweg presented 72 families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture.

“Our state’s legacy has been shaped by our farming families, who continue to pass down their traditions and values from one generation to the next,” said Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “I would like to congratulate each and every family on receiving this prestigious award.”

For a family farm 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 or produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. The award distinctions recognized are Centennial (100 years), Sesquicentennial (150 years) and Bicentennial (200 years).

Dubois County saw two family farms receive centennial awards as the Goeppner and Vonderheide family farms received recognition.

The families honored at the event will join more than 5,000 Hoosier Homestead farms. Administered by ISDA and currently in its 41st year, semiannual recognition ceremonies are held in the spring at the Indiana Statehouse and in August at the Indiana State Fair.