HANCOCK COUNTY — A Hancock County farm family has been named the Indiana Farm Family of the Year by Beck’s, the largest family-owned retail seed company in the country.
The company, along with Indiana AgriNews, shared that Bruce and Linda Muegge and their family “represent the dedication and service the award represents in a farm family.”
The entire family was honored Dec. 15 at the 2023 Indiana Farm Bureau Convention in Ft. Wayne.
As shared in a recent press release, “the couple spearhead their family’s cattle and grain operation, while their three children, Carli, Cari, and Chris, their spouses, and Bruce’s mother are also vital contributors to the success of the family farm.”
For the past 26 years, Beck’s and Indiana AgriNews have honored one Indiana farm family for their work on the farm, service to their community, and the agricultural industry. The award aims to increase awareness of the important contributions farm families make.
“While agriculture continues to evolve, the resilience of farm families does not,” said Scott Beck, president of Beck’s. “The Muegge family represents an unwavering dedication to their hometown and Indiana agriculture that we are proud to recognize.”
Both the Muegges and their children have been heavily involved in various organizations that serve the Hancock County community.
“Helping others is what’s most important,” said Linda Muegge. “We’ve worked hard to instill that in our children and our grandchildren.”
Bruce has served on the Hancock County Co-Op Board and the Indiana Cutting Horse Association. Linda has served the Community Foundation of Hancock County for 14 years, and has served as a president of the Morristown Chamber of Commerce and a board member for the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce. She’s also served as a board member and treasurer of the Blue River Community Foundation.
All three of their children are heavily involved in various community organizations, including FFA, Indiana Farriers Association, Once Upon a Prom, Leadership Hancock County, Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation of Hancock County’s Women’s Fund, Indiana Farm Bureau, Hancock County District and more.
In 2021, the Muegge family hosted their first M5 Farm to Fork Market, dedicated to bringing together local producers of food, crafts and woodworking. Their mission is to drive local production and purchasing and bring people together through monthly gatherings.
For 20 years Bruce and Linda Muegge have been active members of the Walnut Ridge Friends Meeting, for which Linda currently serves as the monthly meeting clerk and trustee.
Their family’s farming success, coupled with their unwavering devotion to community, is why they were chosen as this year’s Indiana Farm Family of the Year.
Beck’s — a fifth-generation family-owned seed company based in Atlanta, Ind. — said it strives to recognize those farm families which honor the same values it was founded upon in 1937: “faith, family, and farming.”
