By NANCY VORIS
Indiana Correspondent

GREENFIELD, Ind. — Gary Reding of Langeland Farms looked at high input costs along with the demand for organic food products when he made the switch from traditional farming to organic.
Langeland Farms covers 800 acres and produces certified organic popcorn, hay and seed for food-grade soybeans. It also produces Angus freezer-beef utilizing intensive and custom grazing on a 200-acre organic pasture.
The farm is one of many opening their gates this year for their 2008 Indiana Farm Sustainability Tours, which kicked off last week in Madison, Ind., where it focused on value-added processing. Participants visited the Ohio River Food Venture and met representatives from the Jennings County Growers Meat Market, Thomas Winery, Satterfield Farms, and Leane and Michael’s Sugarbush.
“The tours offer an ideal place to go and learn about other farm operations and organizations,” said Roy Ballard, Purdue University Extension educator in Hancock County and tour co-coordinator. “Participants can interact with the owners and discover what the challenges are as well as the potential value.”
The tours are coordinated by the Purdue Small Farms Team and Purdue Extension New Ventures Team to spotlight the opportunities available to “keep the farm in the family and the family on the farm. Last year’s sessions had up to 35 participants of both farmers and educators.
“We saw the need to provide more information to farmers and other rural residents but also educators who advise them about the diversity of opportunity for small farms in the state and for larger farms to diversify to remain financially viable,” Ballard said. “We figured the best way to show some of the ways to be sustainable was to learn from those who have already begun the journey and have some track record of success.”
The host farms are creative in the ways they use available resources, adapt technology and find markets, he said, and are very open sharing information with others. “It’s a chance to work with some folks with a lot of vision and a desire to stay on the farm,” he said.
The tour is designed not only for large farms looking to diversify, but also for the small family farm or rural acreage with “too much land to mow and too little to plow” who are considering a hobby farm or gaining a supplemental income source.
Registration is $15 per person per tour and is due seven days prior to the tour. Individuals may register for one tour or as many as they would like.
A registration form is available on the Purdue Extension New Ventures Team website at www.agecon.purdue.edu/newventures by clicking on the “Program Calendar” link. Interested individuals also may register online.
Sites are still being added, but the 2008 schedule includes:
•April 17, Tippecanoe County. Extending the production season and availability for local foods. Participants will visit Cooley Family Farms, Juniper Spoon, Seldom Seen Farm and Two Cookin’ Sisters.
•May 15, Vermillion County. E-Marketing. Participants will visit Royer Farm Fresh Beef, Lamb and Pork.
•June 19, Location to be determined. Urban fringe marketing.
•July 24, Decatur County. Organic production and processing and transitioning to organic. Participants will visit Langeland Farms.
•Aug. 23, Monroe County. Direct marketing to consumers. Participants will visit Bloomington Farmers Market, Loveland Meats, The Chile Woman, Hart Farm and Musgrave Orchard.
•Sept. 25, Elkhart County. Agritourism. Participants will visit Fashion Farm and Knollbrook Farm.
•Oct. 18, Perry County. Woodland Products. Participants will visit Etienne’s Timber Harvest.
•Nov. 20, Tippecanoe County. Christmas trees and floriculture and a farm tour celebration luncheon. Participants will visit Purdue greenhouse facilities, Dull’s Tree Farm and the Beck Agricultural Center.
Visit the Purdue Extension New Ventures website at www.agecon.purdue.edu/newventures/calendar.html for the latest updates. The tours are made possible by a collaboration of the Purdue Small Farms Team, Purdue Extension New Ventures Team, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana Cooperative Development Center, Indiana Farm Bureau, and North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.
For questions and more details about the tours, contact Ballard at 317-462-1113, rballard@purdue.edu, or Jerry Nelson at 812-886-9582, jnelson@purdue.edu