Annual fall events feature fun and educational experiences at Kelsay Farms
By Rebecca Berfanger // Photography by Angela Jackson
For the last 18 years, Kelsay Farms in Whiteland, a sixth-generation farm that was land granted to the family by President Martin Van Buren in 1837, has been open to the public every fall for visitors to learn about farm life while experiencing fall-themed attractions.
“Experience the Farm,” an event that offers hayrides, pumpkins, a corn maze and farm animals, will run from Sept. 27 through Oct. 27.
“The Holiday Stroll,” featuring 50 different Instagram-worthy holiday displays and plenty of hot cocoa, will be open weekend evenings after Thanksgiving through Dec. 2 and every night from Dec. 18 through 23.
More information can be found at KelsayFarms.com.
A Family Affair
Brothers Joe and Russ Kelsay took over the business from their parents and grandparents after growing up on the farm. Russ oversees farm operations, such as planting, harvesting and equipment maintenance. Joe focuses on the business side, working on strategy, purchasing, marketing, bank compliance and insurance. He also works at Corteva Agriscience as the North American food systems leader.
The name Joe Kelsay may sound familiar. He served under Governor Mitch Daniels as director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture from 2009 until the end of the Daniels administration in January 2013.
A decade before working for the state of Indiana, Joe graduated from Purdue University, where he met his wife, Amy, a self-described “farm girl from Vigo County,” who oversees the educational and agritourism side of Kelsay Farms, including events and guided tours. Before taking her current role, she left her job as the Johnson County 4-H youth educator to focus on raising the couple’s children.
Today, their children also work on the farm. Jenna, 20, and Josie, 18, have been in managerial roles at the fall events, including running the concession stand and hiring and training employees. The Kelsay’s son, Jack, 15, also helps during public-facing farm events, along with other teen and college-age employees.
“The year we opened, our oldest daughter was 3, Josie was 1, and our son wasn’t even thought of yet,” Amy said. “They would come out to farm and play and tag along. They would be our little helpers. Whether it was unloading pumpkins or washing tables or whatever it might be, they would just kind of tag along and help.”
According to Amy, an understood house rule was that once Kelsay children reached the age of 14, they could join the payroll as event staff.
All three children have also been active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America. Jenna and Josie, both pursuing agricultural studies at Purdue University, have already expressed interest in continuing to work on the farmafter college.
After seeing her older sister show a calf and a pig in 4-H, Josie said she knew she also wanted to get involved.
“Now I’m finally finishing my last year in 4-H, which is very bittersweet,” Josie said. “I started FFA in seventh grade. Then in high school, I was able to be in an Ag class. FFA and 4-H have helped me on the farm because with 4-H, you must know about the animals, and with FFA. you must be able to lead different people and have the confidence to do something in front of people.
“In my Ag classes, I really found a passion for teaching other people who don’t know anything about Ag,” she added. “I also then took that passion and started teaching people at the farm, including all the little kids.”
The Farm Experience
Prior to starting an annual public event at the farm, Amy said she occasionally helped lead field trips and other groups of children around the facility. At that time, the farm also had a dairy enterprise of about 500 cows. However, that side of the business was sold in 2018 due to market changes.
For those field trips, and eventually, for the early farm experiences, Amy said, “We would show them how the cows get milked, and we would take them to the barn and show them how we feed the cows. We would spend time with the baby calves, so the focus was on dairy. But when we decided as a family to sell the dairy herd in ’18, we wanted to continue the ag-tourism business, so we tried to find a way to kind of shift it.
”And now that there is no longer a dairy farm, Amy said, “The focus is way broader on general agriculture. We still teach what we do: we grow corn, soy and wheat, so that is our main lesson. But then we have a barn full of animals where we can teach about dairy, beef, pork, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks.
“It’s a broader picture of what agriculture is,” she continued. “We spend a lot of time talking about how [farming] affects them every day. Whether it’s the food they’re eating, the clothes they’re wearing, or the fuel they’re putting in their vehicle. It’s to help them understand that agriculture touches their daily lives.”
According to Joe, the parents and grandparents of visitors often ask a lot of questions.
“It’s a good opportunity to engage the community,” he said. “Whether it’s the kids that are now a bit more curious about the chicken they’ve seen for the first time and where the eggs come from, or if it’s the mom and dad that are hearing a lot about food production — where it comes from and the technology used for food production.”
During visits this fall, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt inside a seven-acre corn maze; climb Bale Mountain, a giant fort made from about 100 bales of straw; play in the corn crib, a sandbox-like experience of 400 bushels of dried corn kernels; ride the Moo Choo Express; go on a hayride; and hop on The Jump Pad, a giant inflatable trampoline.
They will also have access to a concession stand that will maintain a strong, dairy theme while featuring items such as specialty grilled cheese sandwiches and seasonal milkshakes. In addition, there will be caramel apples, apple cider slushies and other seasonal food and beverages available for purchase.
Plus, a country store, headed by Jenna, will feature farm goods and other locally produced items for sale, including pumpkins.
“We try to create a fun atmosphere for families to come and just relax for a while,” Amy said. “We light campfires, so it’s kind of a nice atmosphere. The way we have the farm set up, families can let their kids run around and just play and be kids.”
Activities taking place in October will have a Halloween theme. But, according to Josie, the scariest thing at the event is the spooky shake, one of Josie’s concoctions. It’s a chocolate shake with a spider-shaped, chocolate cake pop topped with sprinkles in the form of ghosts and other Halloween inspired characters.
“It’s family focused, so the one thing we’ve always stayed away from is the haunted thing,” Amy said. “We don’t do scary. We don’t do haunted. We always joke because a corn field in the middle of the night is a little spooky anyway, especially when it’s out in the middle of the farm. We don’t need things jumping out and scaring people.”
