INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney presented 46 families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture. The awards were presented Monday, March 28, at the Statehouse.

Among the families honored were the following:

• Noble County: The Robinson-Miller Family Homestead received a sesquicentennial award.
• Wabash County: The Dan Schuler Homestead received a centennial award and the Phillip Smith Homestead received a sesquicentennial award.
• Whitley County: The Beard Homestead received a centennial award.

“There are close to 60,000 farming operations in Indiana, of which 98 percent are still family owned and operated,” said Holcomb, who also serves as Indiana Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “These families are a fundamental piece of the Indiana story, and I congratulate them on earning the Hoosier Homestead award and their unwavering commitment to both the past and future of Indiana agriculture.”

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 which is 200 years. Notably, the Bicentennial Award was presented to one family from Orange County, during Monday’s ceremony.

“Our state’s legacy has been shaped by Indiana’s farming families, who have passed down their traditions from generation to generation and contributed so much over the past 200 years – both economically and socially,” Director McKinney said. “It was an honor to recognize nearly 50 of these great families at the Statehouse, and I commend all of them on their tremendous dedication to the industry and, especially, to Hoosiers.”