2023 Annual Conservation Tour
Friday, September 22 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Tour Agenda
9:00 am Registration & Refreshments at Living Word Apostolic Church
9:30 am Kaiser Pickle Plant
Kaiser Pickles is a family-owned business. It was founded in the year 1920 in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1990, they opened their first pickle processing facility, producing around 18,000 bushels of pickles. The company produces a full line of pickles, peppers and relishes. Currently, the company produces over 90 million pounds of pickles and peppers each year and has approximately 150 employees. Kaiser Pickles established its Aurora operations in 2017 with one production line at the company’s existing 46,000-square-foot facility on U.S. 50. The operation has since expanded to four production lines and a second shift to meet increased demand.
10:45 am Scenic View Farm
Owners Mary & Wes Booker have lived on their 97-acre farm on Scenic Drivefor 52 years. They raise and sell Balancer breed, which is a cross of Gelbvieh/Angus. They run approximately 22 brood cows, 6 bulls, 33 feeder calves, and 27 fat cattle on the 97-acre farm. The bulls are also rented out for breeding. The Booker’s do prescribed grazing which includes pasture rotation. The acreage is divided into 8 sections, with alternative watering systems and heavy use area protection pads installed, which prevent erosion and runoff from entering into the nearby streams, which the cattle are excluded from. Besides cattle and pasture on their farm, they also raise 75-80 acres of hay at other locations, for their own use and sell.
12:00 pm Lunch at Eight Top Grill Restaurant
1:15 pm Hall Farms
Hall Farms is a family- owned business. It was founded in the year 2011 on the family farm in New Alsace, IN. The company is a manufacture /direct supplier of soil erosion control products. Their product line includes straw blankets, straw wattles, geo textile fabric, compost filter socks, hardwood wood stakes and all installation tools needed, and ships products nationwide. In 2019 the company built a new facility (60,000 sq. ft.) on Hwy 46, St Leon, IN tripling their production. The company includes family members, Mark, Connie, and Chris Hall, with 16 employees.
2:15 pm Lobenstein’s Farm
A 5th generation family farm, Lobenstein Farm is a 380-acre operation in Saint Leon, IN and is home to one of Southeastern Indiana’s largest pumpkin festivals. The annual festival is held the first three weekends in October and draws about 30,000 people annually. Free range beef, pork, lamb, eggs, and a variety of produce from A to Z are raised on the farm. There are 5 cold frame greenhouses which enables an extended growing season. Organic methods are implemented with minimal fertilizers and organic sound pest management. Products are not only sold on the farm, but also at Farmers Markets during the summer months. Also, participates in the Southeastern Indiana’s “Farm to Table” program.
Please note: $20 registration fee includes lunch and transportation
Thank you to our 2023 Annual Conservation Tour Host
Dearborn County Soil and Water Conservation District
What is the Conservation Tour?
County conservation districts of the OKI Regional Conservation Council take turns sponsoring the Annual Conservation Tour. This event offers narrated visits to well-planned and wisely managed places that demonstrate successful conservation practices. In the late summer or fall, Annual Tour patrons have visited gardens, croplands, orchards, vineyards, pastures, hayfields, green houses, dairy barns, pig pens, chicken coops, parks, fairgrounds, nature preserves, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, a river boat, canoes, historical sites, field research facilities, woodlands, wastewater treatment plants, small businesses, farmers’ markets, construction sites, and food processing industries throughout the Tri-State.
While show-and-tell education is the primary goal, the Annual Conservation Tour is not above enjoying a tasty lunch or identifying large cylindrical hay bales as “cow cocoons.” It’s easy to strike up conversations and take photos while seeing a bit of our world on the Annual Tour. A modest registration fee may apply to tours that rely on charter bus service.
Browse the gallery below to see where we’ve been.
