Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
SALEM – Cornucopia Farm in Washington County is a traditional farm that has embraced agritourism as a way of providing families an outdoor experience and also educating the public about farming.
Kevin and Linda Baird, along with their sons and daughters-in-law Michael and Valerie and Jared and Kayla, operate the farm that produces pumpkins, produce, corn, soybeans and flowers. They also raise cattle, have a Farmers Market and operate a fall agritourism business complete with pumpkin patch, kids games, mazes and wagon rides.
The Bairds were announced last week as one of the 2023 Featured Farmers in this year’s Indiana State Fair.
Also selected from the Radius Indiana region is the Scherle Tree Farm, a Christmas tree farm in Dubois County.
A total of 18 farm operations will be highlighted as Featured Farmers. In its eighth year, the program helps put a face on Hoosier agriculture by connecting consumers with fellow Hoosiers who grow the food they eat.
Kevin and Linda Baird grew up on farms and moved back to Kevin’s home county and family farm east of Salem in 1992. They started farming with his parents and planted their first crop of pumpkins that year.
The pumpkin growing operation took off and in 1995 school groups started scheduling visits to the farm. Today, the Bairds grow 90 different varieties of pumpkins and gourds and grow about 8,000 mums. In 2016, they constructed a building that houses the Cornucopia Cafe, selling burgers, sandwiches, sweets and drinks to the visitors who come each September and October.
Linda said the educational aspect of teaching others about food sources is important to the family.
“We strive to be educational,” Llinda said. “When we started, we liked the idea of families coming out to get pumpkins and we’ve since added more to the farm to teach them about farming.”
In the corn maze, there are signs with questions to provide education about agriculture.
Michael and his wife moved back to the family farm two years ago and have one son, Carter. In addition to farming, Michael works for Beck’s Seed and Valerie handles Cornucopia Farm’s social media platforms. Jared and Kayla live in Rushville and work weekends on the farm during the fall.
“We open our farm to the public to show where our food, fuel and fiber comes from and what the process is to get them from the farm to the grocery store and table,” said Valerie.
This spring, the farm grew and sold petunias and had a special event called Blooms and Babies, selling petunias and setting up a petting farm of baby farm animals.
The farm is very much a family business and decisions are made with the goal of sustaining the farm for future generations of Bairds.
Linda said it’s an honor to be chosen as a Featured Farmer. The family has long supported the State Fair. The Baird sons showed at the State Fair when they were involved in 4-H and the family has volunteered at the State Fair.
Planting pumpkins is hard work and there’s no easy way to do it, but Linda said the family feels blessed to live and work on the farm.
“We all enjoy working. It can be drudgery, but there’s also the satisfaction of a job well done,” Linda said.
“It’s a whole family effort and we focus on a family-oriented environment,” Valerie said of the fall agritourism. “We truly have things for all ages.”
— Valerie Baird of Cornucopia Farm
Cornucopia Farm will open to the public in September, operating Friday-Sunday and in October it will be open Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Friday-Sunday.
Indiana State Fair
The 2023 State Fair runs July 28-Aug. 20. Corteva Agriscience is the presenting sponsor of the Featured Farmer program.
“The Featured Farmers program is all about connecting fairgoers to farmers during the State Fair, to help connect the dots about where their food comes from,” said Cindy Hoye, executive director, Indiana State Fair Commission. “These farmers have incredible stories to tell, and we are proud to be the backdrop for these conversations.” Visitors to the Indiana State Fair can attend a live chat at 2:30 p.m. in the Glass Barn with a Featured Farmer every day of the Fair.
- The Scherle Tree Farm will be the Featured Farm Aug. 10.
- Cornucopia Farm will be the Featured Farm Aug. 16.