The Donald Ring Family accepting the Hoosier Homestead Award.

By SALLY HOGAN
Director, Old Jail Museum

The Donald Ring Family from Kosciusko County was one of 63 families receiving the Hoosier Homestead Award.

On March 6, Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and Indiana Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney, presented 63 families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture.

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 agricultural products each year. The award distinctions are centennial, sesquicentennial and bicentennial.

Ellspermann said, “We are proud to celebrate both the farms and the families that have continued to make Indiana a leader in agriculture.” McKinney said, “We are celebrating ‘preserving a way of life that values hard-work, integrity and community.’

These 63 families join over 5,000 Hoosier Homestead farms. The Donald Ring family from Kosciusko county is one such recipient. The historical society was glad to assist the Donald Ring family with necessary research and procedure for receipt of the awarded. For more information visit www.indiana.gov/homestead.