Area farmers develop their niche

Dori and Kent Baxter’s small farm on Carlos Road north of Greens Fork raises 300 meat chickens, sells eggs from 150 layers and supplies a variety of vegetables to 11 local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members. CSA members buy a “share” of the Baxters’ farm products, money that stays in the community.

“I didn’t think of myself as a farmer for a long time. I thought you had to have 100 acres and a tractor and grow corn to be a farmer,” Dori said. “But we are farmers. We’re niche farmers, and we work hard every day.”

Agriculture once considered only full-time farmers raising grain and livestock to be “real” farmers, but the definition is changing. Only about one-third of Wayne County farmers work exclusively on the farm now, with the other two-thirds also working at other employment.

The mix of crops and animals on an Indiana farm now might include grass-fed beef, goats and llamas, grapes and wine, and homemade goat cheese or soap.

Seeing agriculture as a part of a community’s economic development is still a connection many people don’t make, said Brian Bergen, agricultural specialist with the Eastern Indiana Development District. It’s a gap in understanding Bergen is determined to fill.

“Agriculture is a very significant part of the Wayne County economy, probably much more than most people realize,” Bergen said. “In the five years I’ve been here, I’ve heard that agriculture is not economic development. It’s a multi-billion dollar business in Indiana, probably the largest business in the state. Farmers are running a business that’s a very vital part of our economy.

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