The Hoosier Farmer

Indiana Farm Bureau has awarded 10 grants to support the growth and development of women-owned agriculture-related small businesses across the state.

Each grant, valued at $1,000, will help recipients pursue training and professional development, invest in technology upgrades, or purchase equipment to strengthen and expand their businesses.

Grant recipients were recognized Wednesday, Sept. 9, during Indiana Farm Bureau’s Harvest Dinner at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds Bicentennial Pavilion in Noblesville. The event celebrated the contributions and leadership of women in agriculture.

Grant recipients include:

Tana Long - Bluejay Homestead

This Starke County business is a fresh-milled flour bakery that also offers value-added farm products. Long plans to use her grant to increase production capacity and expand into additional products.

Stephanie Strothmann - Purple Shamrock Farm

This Jackson County business would like to increase marketing efforts for their upcycled dog treats and expand distribution across Indiana.

Shannon Tieken - Samara Acres LLC

This Clay County business that produces local honey, beeswax candles and artisan products would like to use the grant funds to update equipment to meet standards for a wholesale food processor licensing.

Marybeth McDaniel - MBee's Honey Farm

This Benton County business would like to add more hives to their apiary and support beekeeping education.

Madelynn Keiffer - Lavender and Lace Florals LLC

This Huntington County full-service florist would like to use grant funds to update equipment and increase marketing efforts.

Suzanne & Lauren Flanders - Simply from Scratch

This Hamilton County farm-to-table mobile grocery would like to use grant funds to update equipment to improve product quality and increase storage capacity.

Kristen Tackett - The Harvested Homestead on 13

This Wabash County self-serve farmstand would like to use grant funds to purchase equipment to display their pork products.

Jenna Blue - Blue Family Farms

This LaPorte County premium cut flower and dahlia tuber farm plans to use the grant funds to purchase equipment to extend their growing season and expand educational programming.

Beverly Sharritt - Flying Dirt Farm

This Madison County specialty cut-flower farm would like to use the grant funds to participate in professional development and educational opportunities to refine business operations.

Aimee Jo Albright - Albright Acres Flower Farm and Nursery

This Hendricks County business would like to use the grant funds to equip a permanent farm store with supplies to provide consistent retail space and improve customer experience.

INFB originally set out to award five grant winners this year but instead doubled the amount of recipients due to an overwhelming pool of qualified applicants.

“In celebration of the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we wanted to help provide more opportunities for women to succeed in farming and agribusiness,” said Chelsea Poe, INFB executive director of education and engagement. “This initiative also aligns with one of our top priorities this year to create incentives for rural entrepreneurship and agricultural diversification. We know funding can be a huge roadblock in growing a business, so hopefully this grant will alleviate that hurdle for some.”

Contact Editor

Robert Herrington

(317) 692-7871

RHerrington@infb.org