State Representative Terry Goodin (D-Austin) and State Sen. Chris Garten (R-Charlestown) recently announced that the Donahue Farm in Scott County was on of this year’s recipients of the Hoosier Homestead Award, which recognizes farms owned and maintained by the same family for 100 years or more.
The Hoosier Homestead Award Program honors families who have made significant contributions to Indiana agriculture. Instituted in 1976, the program recognizes the impact these family farms have made on the economic, cultural and social advancements of Indiana. In the past 40 years, more than 5,800 farms have received the honor.
“It’s a tremendous feat to be honored with a Hoosier Homestead Award,” Garten said. “These families have sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears for more than a century and have given so much to our state. Farms like these have contributed greatly to Indiana’s economy, culture and history, and for that I offer my congratulations.”
“For generations, families like the Donohues have made an outstanding impact on our state,” Goodin said. “Every day, they have rolled up their sleeves and done the incredibly hard work of sustaining a farm and I’m proud to see them get the recognition they deserve. I’m sure our communities will be reaping what they sow for another hundred years.”
To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres or produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. The award distinctions are Centennial, Sesquicentennial and Bicentennial – for 100, 150 and 200 years, respectively.
