At many county fairs there will be a competition known as the Battle of the Barns. This is where the different livestock barns will engage in a contest to see which is the best. The exact nature and details of the competition differ from fair to fair, but in the end those in the winning barn can boast that they are the best.

For the past three years, there has been a battle going on between the Center for Agriculture Science and Heritage (CASH) and the Indiana State Fair Commission. In this case, it has been a battle over a barn. On July 12, that battle came to an end with CASH gifting the barn to the State Fair. What is still unclear is who won and who lost.

The barn in question is the Normandy Barn. Built in the early 20th century, it was a state-of-the-art dairy barn on a large estate in northwest Marion County. As the estate declined, the barn fell into disrepair and neglect until the early 1990s when it was donated to the newly formed Center for Ag Science and Heritage and moved to 38th Street directly across from the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, Ind. Lovingly renovated by Amos Schwartz, The Barn, as it came to be called, became a focal point of Indiana agriculture. Thousands of people donated thousands of dollars to the organization. Many high profile events took place at The Barn, and the CASH organization acquired a considerable amount of political power. Yet, this chummy relationship with state government ultimately became the undoing of the organization.
The Barn was supposed to be the centerpiece of a 23-acre campus dedicated to educating the public about the past, present and future of agriculture. Conceived as a public/private partnership, the money from the state and from private fundraising never materialized, and the grandiose plans remained on paper. Yet, educational programming did occur, and many creative and effective programs were implemented that reached a wide cross-section of Hoosiers.

Over the years, tensions between the two organizations grew until, in 2005, the State Fair Commission said it wanted the land for parking and voted to move the Normandy Barn to the north side of the fairgrounds. One problem, they did not own the Normandy Barn. Two years of often bitter negotiations ensued. Finally, in late 2006, tiring of the fight and facing financial difficulties, CASH voted to dissolve the organization. The donation of the Normandy Barn along with funds to move the structure represents one of the last acts of a once dynamic organization. So, why is this worthy of your attention? Because it is an example of what happens when who tells the story becomes more important than the story being told.

Agriculture needs to tell the story of its past, its present and its future; yet, too often, public and private organizations spend more time and money deciding who will tell the story rather than telling the story. I would like to see an organization free of organizational and political encumbrances, which could focus on telling the story – using the best methods and programs available no matter to whom they belong. One is currently under development; watch for details.

In the meantime, the Normandy Barn will continue to play a role in educating Hoosiers about agriculture. Scheduled to be move to the north side of the state fairgrounds in early 2008, it will serve as the centerpiece of the “World’s Largest Classroom.” This program, operated by the State Fair, is a year round effort to teach school children about agriculture: its past, present, and future. If this effort is to succeed, it will require the State Fair to not selfishly maintain total control of the project, but to partner with others in the ag community to bring the best resources to the task.

This task is bigger than all of us, and more important than our individual egos. Let this be the end of the battle of The Barn and the beginning of cooperation.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.