By RICK A. RICHARDS
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Hoosier Homestead Award presentation is one of those Indiana State Fair events that can easily get lost in the hubbub of the festivities. That would be a shame, because the families receiving this unique honor deserve more than a passing mention.

The Hoosier Homestead Award honors a unique group of Indiana farmers – those whose families have farmed the same land for at least 100 years. When Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and Indiana Agriculture Director Joe Kelsay honored 72 families on Aug. 10, it marked the 35th year the awards have been presented.
“It’s always my honor to present these awards and meet these hard-working farm families. These families are the reason Indiana has high-quality affordable food for every Hoosier, every day,” said Skillman, who has described the Hoosier Homestead presentation as one of her favorite ceremonies.

“When I’m there, it’s heartwarming to see multiple generations of family present. They’ve persevered for 100 years and contributed so much to our state.”

Skillman pointed out Indiana agriculture contributes $26 billion to the state’s economy each year and comprises 17 percent of Indiana’s workforce. “These families have withstood good times and bad times. We want Hoosiers to know they’re good stewards of the land,” she added.

The Hoosier Homestead Award was created in 1976 by then-Lt. Gov. (and later, Gov.) Robert D. Orr and the Indiana Department of Commerce’s Division of Agriculture, now the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture. It recognizes farms that have been owned by the same family for 100 years or more and stresses the contributions these family farms have made to the economic, cultural and social advancement of Indiana.

Skillman said the families, honored twice each year (a smaller ceremony is held in February in the Statehouse rotunda, while the General Assembly is in session), have not only contributed economically to the state, but culturally and socially as well.

“These family farms are responsible for many of the rural events and festivals that take place around the state,” said Skillman.

The ceremony Aug. 10 was in the Farm Bureau building and more than 600 people attended. Of the 72 families honored, 57 received a Centennial Award for 100 years of farming and 15 received the Sesquicentennial Award for farming for at least 150 consecutive years.

Over the past 30 years, more than 5,000 farms have been honored, according to Jeannette Keating, spokeswoman for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

For the families whose farms are honored, the award is a big deal. It definitely is for the Barkman-McGiffen farm in Knox County near Vincennes, when it was recognized as Indiana’s oldest farm in 2008.

Diane McGiffen said she knew the family farm had been around for a long time, but it wasn’t until she started checking family history and other documents that she discovered it dates back to 1782.

The scope of history the family farm encompasses is mind boggling, said McGiffen. Her family’s ancestors were farming when George Rogers Clark was roaming what was then Illinois Territory and fighting the British during the Revolutionary War.

The family’s 382-acre farm produces corn, soybeans and wheat and maintains about two dozen head of cattle.

“At first I thought things would go back about 100 years, but as I did my research it kept going back further and further,” said McGiffen, who grew up in Newton County in northern Indiana before marrying her husband, Wally, and relocating to Knox County.

The couple have three sons: Ian, a mechanical engineer at Cummins Engine in Columbus; Ryan, a second-year optometry student at Indiana University; and Justin, an accounting student at Valparaiso University.

Of the many stories about the family farm, McGiffen said the most compelling is of Peter Barrickman, who moved to the territory in the early 1800s from Maryland. While on a hunting trip with his sons, 10-year-old Abraham was captured by natives near the White River. The boy managed to escape six months later to return home and went on to live his life out on the farm.
“Can you imagine the hardships?” said McGiffen. “When you receive an award like this, you can’t help but think about everyone who came before you.”
She finds it amazing that since the 1700s, the family thought enough of future generations to not sell the land. “None of those ancestors were selfish to just sell the land and live the easy life of affluence. Each family decided to keep the land for the next generations. That is quite a legacy.”

Marjean Fritz’s thoughts were of family when she picked up her award at this year’s state fair. Fritz, whose family farms 240 acres in Pulaski County near Winamac in north-central Indiana, said the recognition brought nearly the entire family together for the presentation.

Fritz and her family were recognized for 100 years of farming the same land. The farm was started by Fritz’s father-in-law, Mark, in 1909. Her husband took over and continued farming until his death 11 years ago; since then, her nephew, Scott, has operated the farm.

“I was very proud,” said Fritz. “The whole family except for three people, grandchildren and everyone, were able to be there.”
As Fritz received the award, she couldn’t help but think back to when she and her husband were just starting out. “It was the first year John and I were married. There was a real bad hailstorm and it wiped everyone out. But for some reason, John had decided to buy hail insurance that year and that saved us.”

Fritz said it’s also amazing the family farm has not only survived the current rocky economy, but the Great Depression and two world wars.