INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State Fair attendees will have the opportunity to visit with – and ask questions of – 15 Featured Farmers during the upcoming fair, Aug. 2-18 (closed Mondays).

A different farmer will participate in a live chat at 2:30 p.m. in the Glass Barn every day during the fair. This is the program’s ninth year.

“Our mission at the Indiana State Fair is rooted in agriculture and connecting our fairgoers to the farmers feeding the world,” Cindy Hoye, executive director of the Indiana State Fair Commission, said in the release. “These farmers have incredible stories to tell, and we are grateful to celebrate them with our partners at Corteva Agriscience.”

Two of the Featured Farmers are Kirk Hoffman & Family Farms, of Whitley County, and 550 Wagyu, of Tippecanoe County. This will be the first year both have participated in the program.

The Hoffman family decided to accept a nomination to participate because they enjoy helping others learn about agriculture and how their food is grown, Kelli (Hoffman) Kreider told Farm World. She works alongside her parents – Kirk and Judy – in the operation.

“We hope (attendees) see our passion for agriculture and our commitment to work together as a family in the farming operation,” she said. “Each one of us plays a vital role in the operation – even the kiddos have special tasks. We hope they see that we are a personable, family farming operation dedicated to producing high quality grain and forage, while caring for our land.”

Kreider said there are a lot of misconceptions about farmers and how food is grown.

“It is easy to Google information and find negativity,” she explained. “We believe it is important to help people understand how farmers produce food and why we do it the way we do. There is no one size fits all in farming. Every operation has to find what works for them. We enjoy sharing how we operate on our farm and why decisions are made. We commonly host visitors who tag along to learn on the job with us.”

Elizabeth and Adam Stonecipher own and operate 550 Wagyu along with a grain farm.

“Being a Featured Farmer is good publicity for a growing business, but it is also a great way to educate the public about agriculture,” Elizabeth told Farm World. “We will also be able to network with other farmers. It is a great way to visit and learn from other farmers.”

Elizabeth also believes there are misconceptions about farmers and their practices. The program will give the public a chance to learn about those practices, where their food comes from, and ask questions directly to farmers, she said.

“The beef industry has been in the global news recently with the proposed taxation of cattle based on their production of methane gas,” Elizabeth noted. “I am not convinced that cattle are the key contributor to that problem. I think there needs to be a common sense approach to some of the issues surrounding livestock producers and grain farmers. We need farmers to keep raising livestock, planting corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables, fruit, etc.

“What happens when we tax or raise the cost of the farmers’ inputs to the point where the farmer cannot afford to farm, and what will be the consequence of that choice?”

Following is the full list of Featured Farmers and dates they will appear (farm products and their home counties):

Aug. 2 – Scarborough Farms (soybeans; Laporte County)

Aug. 3 – Paschen Farms Inc. (pork; Cass County)

Aug. 4 – Howe Farms (beef, pork, hops; Lake County)

Aug. 6 – Lueken Dairy Farm (dairy; Dubois County)

Aug. 7 – Celtic Glen Heritage Livestock (beef cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits; Owen County)

Aug. 8 – Union Go Dairy (dairy; Randolph County)

Aug. 9 – Blue Yonder Organic Farm (organic certified fresh farm products; Hendricks County)

Aug. 10 – Kirk Hoffman & Family Farms (corn, soybeans, wheat, forage production, maple syrup; Whitley County)

Aug. 11 – Fair Farms and Produce (farm fresh produce; Hancock County)

Aug. 13 – Advanced Ag Resources Inc. (seed corn, seed beans; Wabash County)

Aug. 14 – DDH Farms (corn, soybeans; Randolph County)

Aug. 15 – Winzerwald Winery (grapes, wine; Perry County)

Aug. 16 – Tree City Bee Co. (honey drink, honey, bees; Decatur County)

Aug. 17 – Everett Farms and Seed (corn; Boone County)

Aug. 18 – 550 Wagyu (beef; Tippecanoe County)