We also sell to a local elevator where it is sold to become animal feed or any variety of uses,” Josh explains. They plant Pioneer hi-oleic soybeans which can be used for a variety of products from food-grade cooking oil to chocolate to fire foam.
Driving by one of the Chism fields may look peaceful and “easy” from the highway, but Josh reinforces that farming is risky business. “Many in the general public don’t realize how many experts we work with to manage the risk, to both yields and prices,” he points out. “There is so much to manage as we work to get a good average yield of our crops. Due to weather and so many factors, we can’t hit a home run every year, but need a good average to make it work over time.”
The Chism family is incredibly involved in advocating for agriculture and want to help dispel misconceptions often held by those not familiar with farming. For example, there is confusion over family farms being corporations. “Most farms are family farms but need to be incorporated as that structure helps with tax and business planning,” Josh explains. “Just like the shoe store or local grocery in town, we need a business structure that allows us to have success and that can pass along to future generations.”
Josh is President of the Howard County Farm Bureau and has served on many state and federal level committees. Beth and Josh strive to be a part of helping consumers better understand farming in Indiana, starting at an early age. “There are Ag in the Classroom programs and projects at farmers’ markets where we educate on various topics and crops. Each participant is encouraged to join in hands-on activities and a taste test or a project to take home.”
Education efforts extend all the way to the Statehouse where Josh and fellow farmers interact with legislators and candidates to help them understand issues impacting agriculture. “Everything from zoning and land prices impact our farms and can make a big difference for young farmers trying to transition into farming,” he says. Josh’s mother-in-law Isabella recently retired as the Second Vice President of Indiana Farm Bureau and still serves on the Women's Leadership Team of the American Farm Bureau.
Along with the major crops, the family raises sweet corn as a family project. “When the kids were small we started raising sweet corn as a way for them to be able to do work on the farm. It’s a project they can run with as they get older, picking the sweet corn and selling it at farmer’s markets and at a roadside stand,” Josh says. “For about five weeks a year it is an everyday activity, and our friends and family also pitch in to pick and sell.”
The land is a treasured resource, and the family emphasizes that the things they do are focused on preserving and building soil health. “Soil is precious and if the land isn’t healthy we would not be profitable,” Josh says. “We live and eat here and wouldn’t have our kids out there playing in the dirt if it wasn’t healthy.”
The family’s love of the land, farming lifestyle and community is clearly stated on the family farm website. “Our vision is to be an agricultural enterprise that focuses on being profitable, progressive and sustainable. The agriculture industry is rapidly changing. The past several years have yielded enormous technological advances in equipment, seed, information gathering and marketing. We embrace these new technologies when they meet criteria for cutting costs, generating new market potential or efficiencies, or adding an environmentally-sound practice.”
Josh sums it up this way: “We try to make the choices we feel are best for today, and tomorrow.”