LaGrange County's roots lie in the agricultural industries. Being a rural county with plenty of farmland makes agriculture and food processing an industry that is essential to LaGrange County. Northeast Indiana is home to almost 20% of the farms in Indiana, while being comprised of only 12% of the state’s land mass. Not only is there plenty of farmland in Indiana, but the state also ranks 10th in the U.S. for low cost energy rates and has abundant access to water, with available water capacity ranging from five million to 25 million gallons per day. LaGrange County’s 67 freshwater lakes are a key component to this figure.
From having the largest number of certified organic farms in Indiana to our commodity production, LaGrange County is synonymous with agriculture and food processing. According to the
USDA-NASS 2007 Census of Agriculture, LaGrange County had 161,709 acres of farmland, of which 127,142 acres is devoted to crop productions. Our average farm size is only 107 acres, which gives food produced by LaGrange County farmers more of a local feel and our producers a real connection to thier craft. Our 2007 market value for crop and livestock sales totaled just over $171,221,000. LaGrange County also has arguably the most diverse crop production in Indiana, producing amongst other things feed corn, sweet corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, oats, cucumbers, and gladiolas.
Lord's Seed/Lord's Grain , a large agricultural operation based in northern LaGrange County accounts for approximately 1% of all of the seed corn raised in teh United States. Additionally, LaGrange County is the second largest producer of ducks in the nation, and is the largest horse producer in the state.
Gunthorp Farms supplies meat to some of the finest restaurants in the midwest,
Guggisberg/Deutsch Kase Haus cheeses are recognized worldwide for their high quality,
Snax in Pax produces carmel corm and fudge that rivals your grandma's, and
Yoder Popcorn produces old fashioned popcorn the way you remember it, and are amongst our many agricultural and food processors. Additionally,
Abbott Laboratories has a large manufacturing plant that produces both Similac baby formula and Ensure beverages amongst other products just north of our community of Howe (in Sturgis, MI, about 3 miles from the state line).
Our workforce is ideal for companies in the agricultural and food processing industry because of the hard-working and attentive values found amongst the citizens of LaGrange County.
Click
here to see a profile of food processing/agri-business in LaGrange County.