Indiana couple’s farm wins top rural preservation award
FLORA, Ind. (AP) – A central Indiana couple has won a statewide rural preservation award for their farm featuring a century-old English-style barn.
Tim and Beth Sheets received the Arnold Award for Rural Preservation on Thursday during the Indiana State Fair from Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Farm Bureau.
The couple own Heritage Farm in Howard County, where they raise Suri alpacas for fleece that’s made into clothing.
Tommy Kleckner of Indiana Landmarks says the Sheets’ farm is “wonderfully picturesque” and has enjoyed the care of “wonderful stewards.”
Beth Sheets’ parents, Bob and Nelda Lovelace, bought the farm in the 1950s and used its red 1911 English-style barn for raising Hereford cattle. They restored its now 150-year-old farmhouse and moved a log cabin to the farm and restored it.