Perkins’ Good Earth Farm, located near DeMotte, Indiana, offers a variety of vegetables through its farm store and

subscription service.

Dan and Julie Perkins raise around 20 different kinds of vegetables on about 2.5 acres, and they also offer soups and other prepared foods from their small-batch commercial kitchen.

Among the crops they grow are carrots, lettuce, herbs, radishes, garlic, onions, green beans and tomatoes.

In fact, Good Earth Farm carrots will be one of the products offered to fairgoers at Taste From Indiana Farms, Indiana Farm Bureau’s largest consumer-facing event, presented annually during the Indiana State Fair. TFIF is scheduled for Aug. 7-10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion.

But there are some things that make Good Earth Farm unusual, and one is that it is certified organic.

“Every year, we get inspected by a third party,” said Dan Perkins. The third-party representatives check paperwork, walk around the farm, ask about inputs and generally look into every aspect of production.

“It’s very rigorous – for good reason,” he said. “We can say we are certified organic, and it also keeps us honest and engaged with products and trends.

“We believe that (following these practices) raises superior, nutrient-dense, highest quality vegetables for our customers,” he added.

Perkins decided he wanted his own organic vegetable farm in 2002 while he was apprenticing at Caretaker Farm in Massachusetts. After college, he and Julie ended up in DeMotte – which is Julie’s hometown. Julie taught high school English, Dan worked for the Jasper County Soil and Water Conservation District, and they raised their four young children.

It was in 2009 that they bought a run-down, dilapidated dairy farm and eventually turned it into Perkins’ Good Earth Farm. In the early years, Dan farmed part time (sort of) while still happily working for the SWCD, but in 2019, he started farming full time. Julie is the chief financial officer, doing the books, marketing and taking care of the farm’s 200 CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) members, while Dan describes himself as “the employee.” With the help of three full-time employees and 10 seasonal employees, he does most of the day-to-day field work.

The farm sells vegetables from its farm store, which is opened most of the year, and wholesale through Region Roots, a local farm and food hub for northwest Indiana.

Another important component in their business plan is their CSA service. Each week during a specific season, CSA subscribers receive five to 10 items, most of which are grown at Good Earth Farms, but also sometimes including products from other local certified organic farms.

“We are a no-till vegetable farm – which is very unusual,” Perkins noted. Crops are grown both in fields and in high tunnels.

Perkins added that he believes the key to increasing America’s food production isn’t larger farms but more farmers. For example, on their 2.5 acres, Perkins Good Earth Farm averages 24 tons of food per acre.

“We’re small but mighty,” he said. “Small farms can be very powerful and produce a lot of food.”

He added that one of the reasons why they can farm the way they do is that they didn’t need to invest in a lot of equipment and land. “Anybody can do it and scale up slowly and gain skills,” he said.

“I would love it if there were 30 more farms like this in Jasper County,” he added. “I wouldn’t consider it competition.”

While Perkins is involved with his county Farm Bureau, the couple’s participation in TFIF came through the Indiana State Department of Agriculture’s small producers initiative.

“This year, we made a deliberate effort to source products grown right here in Indiana, enabling us to share the complete story from farm to table,” said Janis Highley, INFB 2nd vice president and chair of the Women’s Leadership Committee, which organizes TFIF. “Consumers genuinely care about the origins of their food, and partnering with small farms to highlight locally grown products is truly a win-win for everyone involved. It allows us to showcase and celebrate the farmers behind these products and to provide consumers with a deeper understanding of where their food comes from.”

In addition to the Perkinses’ carrots, TFIF will also feature applesauce from Tuttle Orchards in Hancock County and pork rinds from Manley Meats in Adams County, among other Indiana commodities.