Indiana State Fair celebrates Hoosier agriculture with 18 featured farmers
If you've been enjoying IndyStar's new Grown IN Indiana series profiling unique farms across the state, you can find even more — from bison and blueberries to wheat and whiskey — when the Indiana State Fair opens Friday.
Corteva Agriscience, headquartered downtown, will recognize 18 in-state farm operations in its daily Featured Farmers program at the fair.
“During the past seven years of sponsoring the Featured Farmer program, we have been able to honor farm families from across the state and provide an opportunity for fairgoers who are consumers to meet these farmers who spend their days working to feed all of us,” Susan Carney of Corteva Agriscience said in a statement.
The state fair, running since 1852, is open July 29- Aug. 21, though the grounds are closed Mondays and Tuesdays. A featured farmer will give a live presentation each day at 2:30 p.m. in the Glass Barn. Visitors will have an opportunity to speak with the featured farmer and learn more about their operations, which produce popcorn, flowers, tomatoes, maple syrup along with more tradition crops such as corn, soybeans, beef and pork.
The program is meant to put a face on Hoosier agriculture and connect residents with those who grow their food.
“Our Featured Farmers program connects fairgoers to Hoosier farmers daily during the State Fair with opportunities to learn more about where their food comes from,” Cindy Hoye, executive director of the Indiana State Fair Commission said in the statement.
DeMario Vitalis, who operates New Age Provisions in Indianapolis, is one of the farmers to be featured. His entire farming operation is run out of two shipping containers in the heart of downtown where he grows leafy greens. Vitalis speaks on August 6.
The Red Frazier Bison Ranch will also be featured. The 320-acre farm with a herd of bison in Bloomington is the brainchild of three former band mates. The bison farmers will speak July 31.
Check out more information on the Featured Farmers program here: indianastatefair.com/p/state-fair/entertainment/featured-farmers.
Featured Farmers line up
July 29 - Sheller Family Farms (Corn), Hamilton County
July 30 - Martin Family Farms (Swine), Warren County
July 31 - Red Frazier Bison Ranch (Bison), Greene County
August 3 - Goin’s Blueberry Lane (Blueberries), Starke County
August 4 - Gutwein Popcorn (Popcorn), Pulaski County
August 5 - Hodgen Farms (Soybeans), Putnam County
August 6 - New Age Provisions Farm (Urban Farmer), Marion County
August 7 - Eggersman Brothers Cattle (Beef Cattle), Jackson County
August 10 - Salomon Farms LLC (Corn/Soybeans, Custom baling), Whitley County
August 11 - Countryside and Apple Hill Orchards (Apples), Vanderburgh
August 12 - Wagler Dairy (Dairy Cattle), Brown County
August 13 - Dutch Valley Growers (Tomatoes & Onions), LaPorte County
August 14 - Superior Dairy (Dairy Cattle), DeKalb County
August 17 - 3D Valley Farm (Maple Syrup and other farm delicacies), Harrison County
August 18 - Mark & Peggy Jones (Hardwoods), Orange County
August 19 - Bourbon Bound Farms (Whiskey/Corn/Cover Crops), Jackson County
August 20 - Lick Creek Flower Company (Flowers), Madison County
August 21 - Scott Farms (Wheat, Corn & Soybeans), Cass County
Unique Hoosier farms
IndyStar is also running a series this summer profiling 10 unique farming operations across the state. So far, the series has featured a mint farm, a shrimp farm and a hands-on farm where an Air Force veteran is "growing" an even more unique crop: New farmers.
Watch for upcoming new features online at IndyStar.com every Wednesday. Still to come: An ornamental fish farm, a hemp farm, a Wagyu beef farm and more.
More:Mint farmer wants you to eat more mint ice cream
More:Hoosier shrimp farm, Indiana's portal to the sea, boasts 'freshest seafood for 600 miles'
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana State Fair celebrates Hoosier farmers