|
Farming a new frontier
 By Beth Forbes
The effort was started by a partnership among Purdue, Indiana Farm Bureau and Historic Hoosier Hills Resource Conservation and Development Council, with funding provided by the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture. About 100 farm families have been helped by the program.
Starting in early 1998, participants in Ways to Grow attended a series of training sessions and consulted with Extension specialists, lenders and other experts regarding business management, alternative ventures, production strategies and marketing advice.
David Swaim, Extension specialist in horticulture, marketing and enterprise development, helped oversee the program. "There are many Ôways to grow'--you just need to find one," he says. "The key is to assess each individual and location and do the best job of planning and marketing that you can, while always leaving room for contingencies."
For some, their initiation into the program came as a result of the loss of tobacco growing allotments. Funding Ways to Grow was a way to encourage these farmers to make the transition to other farm enterprises, according to Swaim.
Growing specialty crops also helped make some farms much more profitable. Such was the case for Denise Dailey, owner of Walton Creek Farms in Deputy, Ind.
In a greenhouse that was formerly used solely for growing tobacco plugs, Dailey now raises microgreens. Twenty-three varieties of edible sprouts, greens and garnishes flourish in the same float beds that once served only for tobacco.
For Dailey, her family was also her inspiration. "I had a good job, but I wanted to be at home with my grandchildren," she says. "When my son informed me that grandchild number three was on the way, I moved ahead with my project."
Her microgreens business has proven so successful that son Kyle has now left the factory job he held for 18 years to work on the farm beside mom. "We tried traditional farming--raising hogs, corn and soybeans--but nothing proved financially stable enough for Kyle to make a living just by farming."
The Daileys ship their microgreens to restaurants across the country. Cut fresh and sped on their way by daily Federal Express and United Parcel Service pick-ups, the greens go from farm to plate within 24 hours.
"Three years ago, we didn't know what this stuff was," says Dailey as she waves her hand over exotic-sounding miniature plants like Red China Rose Radish, Tatsoi and Fenugreek.
While the Daileys have had to come up with some of their own tricks in learning to grow these exotic plants, raising the greens may be the easy part, says Jim Casper, who served as field coordinator for Ways to Grow.
"Farmers are not used to marketing their products," he says. "Learning to produce a crop is the easiest part of a new enterprise. The hardest part is marketing." As a result, a good portion of the Ways to Grow program focused on marketing skills.
Still, starting a farm enterprise isn't for those leery of hard work, says Casper. "There's a lot of time and effort that goes into any new business. It's hands-on. These farmers don't do a lot of work from a tractor seat."
Elsewhere in Southern Indiana, two branches of the Huber and Huber family have established separate operations but both on land that has been farmed by generations of Hubers before them. However, their farms are different from when the first Hubers raised row crops on the hilly land about a half-hour north of the Ohio River. Ted Huber's 550-acre farm near Starlight, Ind., is now home to an award-winning winery, cheese and ice cream shop, and petting zoo. Less than a mile away, Joe Huber Sr.'s family farm www.joehubers.com/ grows much of what is served at its highly acclaimed family restaurant and popular banquet halls.
|
