Central Indiana farmer followed unusual paths, unique experiences to leadership 

By Dave Blower Jr. 

Chris Cherry is a multi-generational farmer in Hancock County, Ind. He farms with his brother, an uncle and a long-time employee who is more like family than an employee. They raise corn, soybeans and wheat on both owned and rented land. Cherry has a variety of ag-related businesses that supplement his farm income. 

He cares about his industry and has served in many volunteer capacities – currently as a board member and past president of the Indiana Corn Growers Association (ICGA). 

On the surface, he sounds like a fairly typical Hoosier farmer. On the other hand, he’s experienced something much more rare than lightning striking the same spot twice. Thirty years ago, Chris and his wife, Cristi, became parents of identical twin daughters – Caitlyn and Cassidy. That’s rare, but not too surprising. Then, a little less than two years ago, Caitlyn became the mother of identical twin daughters – Wrenly and Evelyn, who will celebrate their birthdays in July. 

According to research by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, there’s less than a 0.4 percent chance of a twin daughter having twin daughters. This research said there is no hereditary link for identical twinning, and it is considered a spontaneous event that does not run in families. 

Regardless of the odds, the Cherrys’ three children – including youngest daughter, Claire – and their two granddaughters are the delights of their days. 

“Cristi finds it funny that on the days that she is watching the twins, I tend to come home early,” Cherry quipped. “Many days I don’t get home until 5:30 or 6 (p.m.), but on the days she is watching the twins, I come in the door at 4 o’clock. I walked in the house the other day, and they saw me and said, ‘Poppa, Poppa.’ They wanted me to pick them up, so I did and carried them around for a while. It’s just great.” 

He added that both Caitlyn and Claire are married and beginning their lives, and Cassidy is getting married this August. Beyond the farm, beyond the work with ICGA and other farm groups, family is a priority for Cherry. “I’m pretty selfish about my time with Crisiti and the girls,” he said. 

That is partly why he doesn’t live on the farm where he works. 

“I guess we’re unique because we live in a subdivision in New Palestine, about 25 minutes from the farm,” Cherry explained. “A lot of people want to live on the farm; I grew up on this farm, and I think it’s great. But we found this house in the subdivision and fell in love with it. We agreed that it was a great place to raise the kids. They could have streets to ride their bikes on in a quiet and comfortable, nice neighborhood. So, we just stayed there. 

?My 25-minute drive to and from the farm has been good. I had an uncle who drove from here to Kokomo for work, about an hour and 15 minutes every day for 25 years. For me, the drive allows me to decompress each day. If I’ve had a bad day, it allows me to leave it in the truck before I get home.” 

Building a diversified business 

Cherry said he comes from farm stock. He is a fifth-generation farmer on his father’s side and a seventh-generation farmer on his mother’s side. His parents also farmed on the same 80-acre spot near Greenfield, Ind., that he and his brother, Jeff, own and operate today. In addition to the farm, Cherry owns Cherry Ag Service, which offers several different farm products. 

Yet, most farmers don’t have a college degree in journalism from Franklin College. An excellent high school athlete, Cherry was recruited to play basketball and tennis at Franklin, which is where he met Cristi. They enjoyed their time at Franklin, but Cherry thought the call to the farm might bring him back. 

“Journalism was my degree, but it was really focused on marketing and advertising,” Cherry explained. “I would say that I use those skills today in marketing the different aspects of our ag retail business.” 

Although he grew up on the farm and always worked on the farm, Cherry didn’t join the farming side of the business until 2016. To make it work, he established several small businesses. 

“Along the way, you learn that you need to start accumulating small piles; and if you get enough small piles, then the overall pile gets large enough to live off of and feed your family,” Cherry said. “I’ve been a Pioneer seed rep for 29 years now. In 2006, I became a licensed crop insurance agent. I’ve sold seed tenders for the past 15 years, and four years ago I picked up a Shurco dealership to sell tarps and equipment for grain trailers. Every farmer has a grain trailer; tarps will wear out, so we stock parts for them. We are very diversified. If you add these small piles up, it hopefully is enough to provide.” 

The farm produces non-GMO soybeans, mostly for the soybean protein market, and corn for ethanol. They also usually plant wheat or double-crop soybeans. 

“We generally raise wheat for better soil health,” Cherry said. “We didn’t raise wheat this year, but we usually do because of the soil health benefit. Over the last five years, I’d say every farm that we farm has had wheat on it. Many farmers don’t grow it anymore because they see wheat as more of nuisance than as a value crop.” 

The value of conservation 

Like most multi-generational farmers, maintaining good soil health is a responsible way to prepare for the future. That has been an important principle on the Cherry farm. 

“My dad and brother started going no-till back in the mid-90s, and we’ve carried that through the years,” he said. “At first, it was no-till soybeans, but then in the 2010s, we went to no-till corn. Now, we pretty much no-till everything – not quite everything, but we’re working toward that.” 

As a result of his many ag supply businesses, Cherry has met many farmers and frequently travels around the state. He has observed that Indiana farmers have adopted many conservation practices that growers from other areas have not. 

“For a lot of guys, no-till has been considered farming ugly; and now with a cover crop, it’s like really ugly,” Cherry said. “Cover crops are something we decided to do, and we think it’s been a good thing.” 

He added that 20 or 25 years ago, the idea of no-till and cover crops were radical, and sometimes it required explanation to some of the landlords. 

“I had to go talk to some of our landlords and tell them that we were going to plant cover crops, just so that they weren’t caught off guard,” Cherry said. “I would explain that we would kill that cover crop after we planted it. I do care a lot about what our landlords think. I want them to be happy with the job that we’re doing on their land. I don’t think that’s unique; I think every farmer wants their landlords to be comfortable with the job they’re doing.” 

Walk the walk; Talk the talk 

Cherry is known as an advocate for the ethanol industry. In fact, he serves on the National Corn Growers Association’s (NCGA) Ethanol Action Team. He has campaigned for year-round E15 for several years. 

This year, he is seeking to become the second Hoosier farmer on the NCGA’s National Corn Board. J.R. Roesner, a farmer from Ferdinand, Ind., is on the National Corn Board. The board election will take place during NCGA’s annual Corn Congress in Washington, D.C., in July. 

“I’ve been asked several times about what I’d like to accomplish if I were on the NCGA board. I’ve been so ethanol focused, and that’s a big part of what I want to do, but it’s not my only focus,” Cherry said. “Expanding opportunities for ethanol has been my passion to this point, but I’m also very interested in finding new products made of corn and finding new export markets. To me, it’s all about moving the pile. I don’t care whether we feed it, eat it, burn it or wear it. As long as we’re using corn, I’m for it. There’s a new Lycra-type clothing made of corn that’s coming out soon. I think that’s pretty cool. I think we’ve got to keep searching for things like that.” 

He is closely watching the Farm Bill 2.0 debate in the U.S. Senate, and he is campaigning for year-round access to E15, a blend of 15 percent ethanol with 85 percent gasoline, also known as Unleaded 88, which will be included in the final legislation. 

“We’ve been trying to get E15 legislation through Congress since 2011,” Cherry said. “Obviously we’ve ramped up the discussion during the past few years, but I’m hopeful that we’re finally getting close. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins is a strong advocate for it; President Trump said he is for it, and House Ag Committee member Rep. Jim Baird (R-Dist. 4) is for it. I think there is support for it on both sides of the aisle. We have great support from our Indiana delegation, in fact (U.S.) Rep. Frank Mrvan, a Democrat from northwest Indiana, has been positive about it.” 

In recent years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has offered a waiver allowing summer sales of E15, but that doesn’t provide the retail fuel industry the assurance it requires to invest in the product. 

“If we don’t have year-round E15 on the books, then retailers will not make the investment to put in the tanks and pumps necessary to make Unleaded 88 available to consumers,” Cherry said.