Indiana Veteran-Owned Farms Provide Unique Goods

In partnership with: Indiana State Department of Agriculture

From lavender farms to heritage New Zealand pigs, Indiana’s Homegrown By Heroes program helps support a range of veteran-owned farms.

Bringing Service Home

Jason and Amanda Hand of MKONO Farm in Bloomington specialize in the Kunekune breed of domestic pigs from New Zealand. Homegrown By Heroes has helped Jason, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, and Amanda connect with other veteran-owned farms, as well as bring attention to their products.

“The biggest thing that’s been of help to us with the Homegrown By Heroes program is the use of the logo because it sets us apart,” Amanda says. “That’s a great asset to any farm that’s part of the program.”

“It definitely distinguishes us,” Jason says. “People notice it whenever they’re buying our products.”

Jason’s military service in Africa inspired the farm’s unique name. Mkono is Swahili for hand, an homage to the Hand family’s namesake and the phrase “mkono wa bwana,” meaning “hand of God.”

MKONO Farm’s products are sold from Indiana to southern Maryland and Washington, D.C., and they produce the only Kunekune charcuterie available to the public in the U.S., including sausage, salami, guanciale and more. Kunekune meat is known for its delicious flavor and marbled meat.

“Going into the Kunekune world was completely new,” Jason says. “Even now, it seems like there’s not a lot of people who know about the Kunekune breed, and it still feels like we’re blazing a new trail.”

See more: Homegrown by Heroes Allows Veterans to Continue Service Through Farming

Family Roots, New Territory

At Rolling Hills Lavender Farm in Cortland, Steven and Kelsie Rieker are cultivating land that has been in Steven’s family for 175 years. “My parents would love to see it stay in the family for another 175 years,” says Steven, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years and deployed twice. Inspired by a visit to a veteranowned lavender farm in Maine, Steven and Kelsie began their farm with only 30 lavender plants. Now, they have more than 2,000 plants.

Homegrown By Heroes helped attract customers and connect the Riekers with other veteran-owned businesses.

“It’s a good way to connect and learn how veteran-owned farms do business,” Steven says. “People are typically very eager to do business with veteran-owned businesses, and that’s a title I earned.”

From dried lavender bundles to bath salts and sugar scrubs, the Riekers sell products at local farmers markets and businesses. They hope to expand into agritourism by hosting events like U-pick days and fall festivals on the farm.

“We fell in love with the idea of having our own business but also something that at the time was pretty unique to our area,” Kelsie says. “We still have an opportunity to do something pretty unique as we grow.”