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It seems like not long ago the Indiana Grown initiative was officially being announced at Waterman’s Family Farm in Indianapolis. At that time, only a few members had announced their intentions to join and the fledgling project, with big aspirations, was just getting started.
Fast forward to today, the state’s agricultural marketing initiative has over 500 members, from all facets of Indiana agriculture, and has products in major retailers including Marsh, Kroger, Market District and Meijer. We have created a network of support, developed lasting relationships and partnered with a number of groups to uplift Indiana's producers – big and small.
We have found many new and exciting ways to expand the initiative and reach consumers in all corners of the state. To celebrate our one-year anniversary, which is July 7th, we wanted to provide some of the highlights and accomplishments that have occurred over the past year.
Kroger Food Show
Last summer, over 75 of our members participated in the Kroger Food Show to share their products and business story with Kroger buyers. As a result, 100+ new products were introduced in Kroger stores throughout the state and have remained available on shelves for consumers to purchase.
Indiana Grown at the Indiana State Fair
Indiana Grown had two Marsh kiosks set up at the state fairgrounds to help consumers identify where they can purchase Indiana Grown products. Additionally, the Indiana Grown trade show display was set up, which allowed four different members each day to sample and sell their products to thousands of Hoosier consumers.
Fantastic Food Fest, presented by Indiana Grown
Taking place Jan. 16-17, over 50 Indiana Grown exhibitors were able to sample and sell their products to thousands of attendees in the Champions Pavilion. The event featured culinary celebrities, such as Ted Allen, Hugh Acheson, and Loreal Gavin, and was one of the largest presentations of fine food, breweries, wineries, restaurants and purveyors to date.
Indiana Grown Day at the Statehouse
Indiana Grown hosted a legislative reception at the Statehouse, which allowed members to share their story and products with Indiana's elected leaders.
Indiana Grown Homegrown By Heroes
To celebrate those who have served our country in the military, Indiana Grown announced a partnership with Homegrown by Heroes. This national organization certifies military service for farmer-veterans, and with our partnership, those individuals are able to use a unique logo designating their service to our country, as well as their current vocation, as an agriculturalist and producer of Indiana products. The partnership was announced at the Indiana War Memorial and was sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America.
On the River, a family and farming festival
To reach consumers in southern Indiana, Indiana Grown partnered with iPICKHERE to host On the River, a family and farming festival. The event took place on the Evansville riverfront, in conjunction with the 2016 River Run, a multi-course road race from Kentucky to Indiana, and was a great opportunity for Indiana Grown members to sample and sell their products to thousands of hungry consumers.
Marsh Taste of Indiana, presented by Indiana Grown and Red Gold Tomatoes
At the Carmel Marsh location on June 11, central Indiana residents and visitors were invited free of charge to come and taste locally sourced products that are available for sale at Marsh Supermarkets. The event featured more than 20 Indiana Grown members, who offered samples and conducted food demonstrations for hundreds of shoppers.
 These were just a fraction of the events that Indiana Grown has been a part of and does not include all of the retail partnership announcements, media events, and of course, the countless member success stories that have resulted from the initiative – and we are just getting started! More events and announcements will be coming over the next couple of months as Indiana Grown continues to grow and develop new opportunities throughout the state.
For instance, Indiana Grown will be expanding its presence this year at the Indiana State Fair. We will not only be including our booth display similar to last year, but we will also be rolling out the Indiana Grown Marketplace, presented by Marsh. In the Agriculture Horticulture building, the marketplace will provide fair-goers with the opportunity to get to know many of our Indiana Grown members while being able to purchase some great, Hoosier-made products. We will also be hosting a culinary competition in the Indiana Arts building, highlighting Hoosiers who create new recipes using Indiana Grown products.
For more information about these events, or the initiative in general, visit www.indianagrown.org or follow us on social media @Indiana_Grown.
 Whether it’s learning about agriculture, competing in a career development event or spearheading a charity drive, Indiana’s nearly 12,000 FFA members participate in a variety of activities throughout the year to enrich their lives as well as the lives of others in their schools, communities, state and nation. While so much takes place during the year, all of those activities and events lead up to one culminating week, one celebration: Indiana FFA State Convention.
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On June 13, over 3,500 FFA members descended upon Purdue’s campus for the 87th Indiana FFA State Convention, themed Amplify. Each day was jam-packed with leadership contests, tradeshows, service projects, career development events, workshops and much more. While most of the attendees went their separate ways during the convention, participating in various competitions and training sessions, they all came together for the general sessions.
Led by the state officers, each session was full of excitement and included everything from talent presentations to special keynote speakers, such as Governor Mike Pence, Lt. Governor Eric Holcomb, Superintendent Glenda Ritz, Scott McKain and Taylor McNeel, National FFA President –all testifying to the important role that FFA plays in Indiana.
They also provided the opportunity to recognize outstanding FFA members for their efforts
in leadership excellence to include: winners
of the proficiency areas from their Supervised Agriculture Experiences; the Hoosier
FFA Degree
recipients; the top teams and
individuals in the state Career Development Events, the Indiana FFA 2016 State Stars, as well as the new state officer team. Click here to see a full list of those recognized during state convention.
Before the sessions concluded, a retiring address was given by each state officer. They spoke about their year of service with FFA, what the organization meant to them and offered some inspiring words for the future.
Every state officer put in considerable time and effort, preparing months in advance, to make the convention a success. Without their efforts, as well support from all of the sponsors, the Indiana FFA Association, the Indiana FFA Foundation, staff, volunteers, and of course, the FFA members themselves, state convention would not have been possible.
Overall, the four-day event provided an excellent opportunity to reward Indiana’s finest students for their hard work and dedication to promoting agriculture as well as improving their academic and leadership skills.
We would also like to congratulate the new Indiana FFA state officer team, pictured below, and for more information about them, or Indiana FFA in general, please visit www.inffa.org.
 June is National Dairy Month! To celebrate, 11 dairy farms across Northern Indiana opened their barn doors to the public to showcase modern dairy farming. This series of dairy farm "open houses" is part of the Northern Indiana Dairy Trail, which allows visitors to get an in-depth look at what cows eat, how they stay cool in the summer heat, how they are milked and how they are cared for. Visitors are also able to go on farm tours, try great dairy products and get to know some of the families behind the farms.
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Cynthia Adam of Knollbrook Farm, one of the farms involved on the Dairy Trail, said, “The best part of hosting an event is the opportunity to interact with the public. When I was explaining the cows’ earrings (RFID tags), cow 'Fitbit's' (activity monitors) and how the girls have a two month maternity leave before they have their babies, I could almost see the mental processing occurring. The smiles get bigger, the questions flow, visitors relax, and a positive response radiates outward.”
 Dairy farmer Cynthia Adam of Knollbrook Farm in Goshen with U.S. Representative Jacki Walorski
Many consumers are 3 to 4 generations removed from the farm and some do not know anyone involved in agriculture; however, consumers are more interested than ever before in where their food comes from and how it is produced, especially dairy. That is why the Northern Indiana Dairy Trail has been so important and provided a great opportunity for Indiana's dairy farmers to tell their story and reach consumers across the state.
The last, and 12th, stop on the dairy trail will take place Oct. 4 as part of the Bicentennial Torch Relay at Mybrook Farm in Middlebury. Visit www.dairytrail.com for more information..
The recent closure of a grain elevator in West Central Indiana could have resulted in many farmers facing potentially devastating financial losses. Fortunately, the overall impact will be greatly mitigated by the Indiana Grain Indemnity Program.
This program was established in 1995 by the Indiana General Assembly to protect farmers in the event of a licensed grain facility failure. The Indiana Grain Indemnity Fund (IGIF) is voluntarily funded by producers who pay a premium equal to two-tenths of a percent (0.2%) on the price of all marketed grain sold to licensed Indiana grain buyers. This premium is deducted from producer settlements at the time the grain is sold, and is then submitted by a licensee to the Indiana Grain Indemnity Corporation (IGIC). A grower may opt-out of the program by requesting a refund of the premiums.
In the event that a licensee fails, producers who have
not requested or received a premium refund can receive 100 percent payment on storage
losses, and/or 80 percent payment on all other financial losses from grain delivered
to a licensee. Producer financial losses for unpriced grain are calculated using average market
value for nearby elevators on the elevator’s last day of business.
IGIF is overseen by IGIC which is governed by a board of directors. The membership is defined in state
law, and 10 voting members make up the
board. These members represent Indiana
farm organizations, grain and feed organizations, commodity groups (corn and
soybean), the banking industry and the seed trade. Three non-voting members include the director
of the Indiana Grain Buyers and Warehouse Licensing Agency, as well as representatives
from the Indiana Attorney General and the Treasurer of State.
For more information, please visit www.in.gov/isda/2352.htm or call 317-232-1360.
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