20 MCC Business Directory and Resource Guide
THE ROOTS RUN DEEP
Seven generations of Smith family connect community with agriculture
BY ANDY KNIGHT
The original deed to the farm owned by Neal and Jennifer Smith , signed on sheepskin by President Andrew Jackson , is locked in a safe deposit box at a local bank .
The unique keepsake is not only a family heirloom , but it serves as a reminder that the family ’ s roots in Madison County run deep . The Smiths ’ three sons , Mitchell , Mason and Miller , are the seventh generation to be involved with running the family farm outside Pendleton , dating to the 1830s .
“ We ’ re lifers ,” Jennifer Smith said . “ I married into the Smith family , so they ’ re the seventh generation , but my family was also from Pendleton , so my mother and my husband ’ s mother rode the school bus together . We ’ re very connected to the community .”
Mitchell coaches the local FFA livestock judging team , and Miller — currently an agriculture student at Purdue — played football at Pendleton Heights . The Smiths , members of the Indiana Farm Bureau , are also involved with the South Madison Community Foundation , and Neal and Jennifer have each served on several boards over the years .
The family ’ s attachment to the community is a point of pride for Neal , who acknowledged that farms like his — family-owned , with diversified operations in retail , livestock , agritourism and regular crops — are becoming increasingly rare .
“ Obviously it ’ s an honor to be able to continue that and have sons that are interested in that ,” Neal said . “ By no means did we force it on them or tell them that they had to come back home to the farm , but we have one that ’ s home full-time now and one that ’ s at Purdue studying agriculture … he wants to be in the area .”
Several family members also help at The Market , a butcher shop in downtown Pendleton that offers locally produced foods , baked goods and other items . The Smiths opened the store in the early 2000s in response to customers at an agritourism event asking about the availability of fresh meat from the farm . In partnership with Shuter Sunset Farms in Frankton , the Marsh family in Mechanicsburg and others , the store draws customers from all over the state .
“ I hope that the community puts their trust in us to provide them with a really good local product ,” Jennifer said . “ We care about what we do , so I hope there ’ s a sense of connection and that the community sees that we do care about them .”
Some of the store ’ s inventory comes from the estimated 120- 150 head of cattle the Smiths have on their property at any given time . Neal Smith estimates that the farm ’ s staple crops of hay , alfalfa , corn and beans occupy the majority of the approximately 2,800 acres he and his family oversee in southern Madison County .
“ Corn and beans are our cash crop ,” he said . “ They ’ re a significant part of the farm .”
The farm also hosts class field trips from area schools as well as a variety of family-oriented activities in the fall , including a pumpkin patch , petting zoo , hay rides and a corn maze .
The effort to diversify the
Neal Smith of Smith Family Farms poses with some of the 120 to 150 head of cattle the family has on its farm at any given time .
Courtney Smith weighs some steaks for a customer at The Market , Smith Family Farms ’ butcher shop in Pendleton .
farm ’ s offerings and delve into agritourism is a calculated one , Neal said . During the height of the pandemic in 2020 , for example , while bookings for field trips nosedived , the butcher shop ’ s business skyrocketed . “ A lot of businesses are getting more streamlined and more specific , and we ’ ve done the opposite and we ’ ve gotten more diversified ,” he said . “ It seems like we ’ ve got too many irons in the fire some days , but when things happen like ( the pandemic ), it works out because when one piece doesn ’ t do as well , something else does better .”