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Farming a new frontier
 By Beth Forbes
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| Janine Montgomery and her family grow produce and host a haunted corn maze. (photo by Tom Campbell) |
Many a farm family who has felt the stress that comes when losing a loved one has then also had to face the stress of losing the farm.
When Susan Trees' dad died, the family farm, near Frankfort, Ind., was in jeopardy. Long a provider of poultry to west central Indiana, the turkey farm had a change of ownership and some unexpected expenses.
Thus, a transition began for Trees and her husband Dave as the family branched out into new territory. They stopped raising poultry in 1995. Then, they moved into produce to go with their seed cleaning business and sales of corn and soybean seed.
About a year ago, a greenhouse was added to produce herbs and flowers. In addition to being sold from the farm, the plants are taken to farmers' markets in Lafayette, Noblesville and Indianapolis.
Farmers' markets proved to be a connection that brought producers like the Trees together with Purdue horticultural professor Jules Janick.
Long-miffed by the growing "monoculture of agriculture," Janick has a mission to raise awareness among farmers of the opportunities in growing crops other than corn and soybeans. His NewCROP (New Crops Resource Online Program) Web site Êis an information-rich resource on thousands of potential crop plants. It is a project of the Purdue Center for New Crops and Plant.
Janick realized that herbs, both for cooking and medicinal use, are trendy items among consumers. However, many soccer moms don't know how to use herbs when they're not pre-packaged, pre-dried and already prepared. "I came up with an idea to help market herbs and make them easy to use," he says. "I saw this as an opportunity to help small growers and greenhouse owners better market their product."
With a grant from the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Janick worked with Swaim and others to develop Hoosier Botanicals. The idea was to sell herb plants by the six-pack and market them in various combinations for cooking, health, aromatherapy, teas, etc.
While participating growers grew their own herbs, Purdue supplied colorful carrying containers, an idea inspired by the take-home six-pack of beer. A slogan, "Herbs for Health and Delight," helped market the product.
This past summer, the Trees were among 20 greenhouse owners who launched the initial sales of Hoosier Botanicals. "People think the containers are so cute; they're really eye-catching," says Susan, who found that the six-packs sold easily, particularly at city markets. "They were a nice way to get people to talk to you, and even if they didn't purchase the herbs, they usually stopped and looked at the rest of our produce."
Janick is pleased with both grower and consumer response to the project and plans to expand the effort. Recipe cards and information on growing the herbs are being developed to accompany future products.
Whether it's marketing herbs to urban shoppers or scaring the wits out of thrill-seekers in a haunted maze, today's farm enterprises are blazing trails on a new farming frontier.
"Farm enterprises are a good way to supplement the income of those who want to live a rural, agricultural lifestyle," says Casper.
These non-traditional farmers are taking on new challenges and finding inventive ways to stay on the farm, he says. While their methods may be new, their hard work and love of agriculture are no different from those of farmers of previous generations.
As Denise Dailey says, "Our micro-greens business is helping to keep us home on the farm, and that's where we want to be."
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