Two Fulton County farms honored with Hoosier Homestead Awards

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 5:04 PM

By Staff report

At the Indiana Statehouse, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Don Lamb presented 56 farming 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 more than 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres. If less than 20 acres, the farm must produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. Indiana farms may qualify for three honors: Centennial Award for 100 years of ownership, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years of ownership and the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.

Among the farms recognized:

Fulton - Guise, 1924, Centennial

Fulton - Struckman-Smith - Shriver, 1864, Centennial & Sesquicentennial

Kosciusko - E & M Hollar, 1919, Centennial

Starke - Charles E. Troike Family, 1924, Centennial

Since the program's inception in 1976, over 6,200 families have received the Hoosier Homestead Award. Often, a Hoosier Homestead farm is easily recognized because most recipients proudly display their awarded sign on their property.

During the ceremonies, two Indiana farms received the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of continuous ownership: the Hamilton Batterton family and the McCoy family, both from Decatur County.