Year of the Farmer

It’s official: 2015 will be the Year of the Farmer at the Indiana State Fair announced yesterday by fair officials, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann and Dow Agrosciences. Indiana State Fair Executive Director, Cindy Hoye, says it’s a great theme for consumer education on production agriculture.

“This year is just perfect. I couldn’t ask for a better year. Talking about individual farmers and what they contribute to put on your table, production farmers, the young 4-Her who’s out growing vegetables and learning about farming to little ones who are following in mom or dad’s footsteps combining, I’m just so excited about it. Even though farming is two percent of the population, it truly is so important to what we do here at the Indiana State Fair.”

Hoye adds that “A main reason the Indiana State Fair continues to thrive after 157 years in existence is the focus we place on agriculture. At the heart of agriculture is the individual farmer and, especially here in Indiana, farm families. We want them to understand how much they mean to our everyday lives and this is one way we can do that.”

This year’s theme is in partnership with Dow Agrosciences and will feature a number of unique programs and events to honor the Hoosier farmer.  A lot of these will begin early in the year to extend the reach of this year’s fair theme, including:

-          Harvest Dinner during the State fair

-          Farmer’s Care Food Drive

-          A speaker series on the importance of modern farming

-          A creative writing contest for school kids centering on the Year of the Farmer

As planning continues for next year’s fair, the public will see messages and branding for the Year of the Farmer through a variety of communications with the intent of making all Hoosiers more aware of the innovative way that local farmers are keeping up with the growing demand for food, fuel and fiber.

Who better to tell the story of the farmer than farmers, themselves? Doug Morrow from Swayzee was elected as a farmer spokesman for this year’s fair.

“It’s quite an honor to be asked to represent Indiana farmers on the announcement. I think that it’s going to shed a new light on what farmers do. I don’t think people understand exactly how we handle our day to day operations and what we do to make decisions that impact our future and the safety of food. So to have a chance to work with the Indiana State Fair to get that platform out there, I think it’s going to be huge.”

Morrow also adds this is a great time to address consumer concerns on food safety. He looks forward to more educational interaction as the Year of the Farmer gets under way.

Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann was also in attendance for the announcement and says any day she gets to go to the Indiana State Fair is a pretty good day.

“Recognizing the 2015 Indiana State Fair as the Year of the Farmer is a perfect fit. Productions grown by our farmers are interwoven through our lives and our economy to the point it’s difficult to identify any part of our existence that is not connected to what our farmers provide.”