State FB Convention

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Young farmers from Decatur, Putnam counties win statewide contests
The winners of two of Indiana Farm Bureau’s highest honors for young farmers are Steve and Kimmie Gauck of Decatur County and Joe and Angela Mann of Putnam County.
The Manns won the Indiana Farm Bureau Young Farmer Achievement Award, and the Gaucks are the winners of IFB’s Excellence in Agriculture Award. The announcement came Nov. 21 at IFB’s state convention in Fort Wayne.
The Young Farmer Achievement Award recognizes young farmers whose farm management techniques and commitment to their communities set a positive example for those involved in production agriculture, while the Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes young farmers who are involved in agriculture in ways other than as farm owners.
The Manns and the Gaucks will represent Indiana in January at the young farmer and rancher contests at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention in Seattle.
The Manns are partners in White Oaks Farms with Joe’s father and two brothers. More than 7,500 crop acres are under production, producing corn, soybeans and wheat. White Oaks Farms also includes a wean-to-finish swine operation marketing 20,000 hogs per year. The couple also owns Rolling Meadows Plant Farm, a retail greenhouse business. The Manns live near Cloverdale with their three children, Brady, 6, Emily, 3, and Nathan, 2.
As winners of the Young Farmer Achievement Award, the Manns win a $6,000 cash prize from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, $500 from Dodge, one year’s (or 350 hours’) use of a Kubota tractor, and the David Leising Award, which includes a $200 savings bond, as well as the trip to the national convention.
The Gaucks have a small cattle herd and freezer meat business, MapleWay Meats. Kimmie manages the company and is a vendor at the local farmers market. Steve works off-farm for Beck’s Hybrids and helps on the family farm, which raises corn, sod, soybeans, wheat and hogs. They live near Greensburg with their son Christopher, 6, and daughter Addie, 3.
As first-place winners, they will receive a John Deere Gator, courtesy of Farm Credit Services, a $3,000 cash prize from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and a $500 cash prize from Dodge. They also win a trip to the 2009 national convention.
Note Kimmie Gauck is the daughter of Burl and Cheryl Dudley of Fillmore.