Master Farmer Maurice Robeson of Flora recently was presented an Indiana Master Farmer Award at a program at the Purdue University Agronomy Center. Comet photos by Jennifer Archibald The Carroll County farming community has long considered Maurice Robeson a master farmer. Now he has state recognition as such.

He recently was presented the Master Farmer Award, given by Indiana Prairie Farmer magazine. The award program is co-sponsored by the Purdue University College of Agriculture.

This year four Master Farmers and one honorary recipient were selected throughout the state.

The Master Farmer Award is recognized as one of the highest honors a farmer can receive in Indiana. It is based on farming skills and accomplishments, along with community activities and public service.

Ask local farmers and community members about Robeson and the same descriptive words keep coming up: hardworking, efficient, an innovator, good business sense, fair-minded, generous, and a behind-the-scenes mentor and supporter.

Janalie and Maurice Robeson First 24-row planter

"Many in our county have said they just should have tried to make the same decisions as Maurice over the years, but it is the combination of hard work and decision making that has made him successful," said local farmer Bill Pickart. "He has built a farm unit of about 5,000 (mostly owned) acres, all in Carroll County, which is one of the most productive and competitive areas of Indiana. In the 1970s, he engineered the first 24-row corn planter by putting four sixrow planters together. This is just one example of his ingenuity. If he needs it and cannot find what he wants, he will build it!"

Robeson's 24-row corn planter is legendary because at the time, it was one of only a few in the whole United States. Among other things, Robeson and his employees also built a 24-row cultivator and a 24-row rotary hoe - before such equipment was being manufactured.

For many years, Robeson was one of the leaders in hog production in Carroll County. In the mid 1970s, he came up with the idea of woven wire floors in hog buildings, resulting in less clean-up. The Robeson operation was said to be the first in the U.S. to use this.

Robeson said after taking care of hogs for 50 years (since he was 10), he decided to get out.

"I raised hogs until 1997, and hogs crashed in '98," he said.

Since then he has focused on corn, beans, and wheat.

In 2001, Robeson designed and built, with the help of his crew, a new, highly efficient grain handling and storage system. They can unload a semi in three minutes and load one in less than two minutes.

"In farming, Maurice is right on the cutting edge," said longtime friend Richard Hicks. "He thinks outside the box and has a gift for engineering. He's thorough in business and in everything he does." Hicks added that Robeson is a leader in his church and is "a man of strong faith."

Paul Marcellino, former Carroll County Extension Educator, commented on Robeson's accomplishments, and also on his willingness to help others.

Community mentor

"Maurice accomplished all he did on his own efforts; no silver spoon was handed to him," Marcellino said. "It was all done by hard work, strategic planning, and a little luck. However, he will spend hours and hours to help young families in trying to start their own farm operations or businesses, and share the knowledge and experience that he has gained through the years."

Several people in the community also commented that Robeson has helped struggling farmers and businesses get back on their feet.

Robeson is a friend to the Carroll School Corporation. School board president Sam Zook said Robeson has saved the corporation a lot of money through loaning his equipment for various projects and in emergencies.

"He'll respond in a minute's notice," Zook said. He further commented that sometimes it's a team effort, with school board member Dave Lambert providing the labor and Robeson providing the equipment.

Lambert remembers one time when the corporation was having septic system problems, and both he and Robeson volunteered their equipment. One board member estimated that the pair saved the school corporation about $20,000, that time alone.

Helped form Ag Association

Robeson has always been a behind-the-scenes man, working individually to help out where he can. A couple of years ago, he saw the need for a larger group to band together. He and a few others were instrumental in forming the Carroll County Ag Association. He is proud of what this group has accomplished in a short time - helping support community projects, acting as first responders in agriculturerelated emergencies, promoting and protecting the farming industry, and promoting good farm management practices. Robeson is treasurer of the CCAA and on the board of directors.

Robeson said farmers naturally help each other and share ideas. He said he was fortunate to be given opportunities by his father, LeRoy Robeson Jr., and by his uncle and grandfather, Charles Yeager and Jesse Yeager. He also said that good, long-time employees help make a successful operation, pointing to his own experience.

Robeson grew up on a farm north of Deer Creek. He graduated from Flora High School in 1959, and furthered his education by taking the Purdue Short Course in agriculture, ranking at the top of his class.

Robeson started farming in 1960 and married Janalie Smith in 1963. They designed and built the house they are currently living in, northeast of Flora, in 1978-1979. They have two daughters, Michele Robeson Howard, and Miriam Robeson, both of whom are involved in the farming operation. The Robesons have three grandchildren that they keep busy, too.

Daughter Miriam said her dad gives generously of his time to family, church, and community. She said he is respectful of others and thus has gained respect and trust in the community. She has worked with her father on various projects, and she said one of the things he says most often is, "We need to do what is fair."

His respect in the local farming community was demonstrated when he was named to the Carroll County Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2004. Now he is one of 200 who have earned the title Indiana Master Farmer since 1968.

Master Farmers from Carroll County

The first class of Indiana Master Farmers was in 1928 and included Claude Wickard of Carroll County, who later became U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

The awards program started by Indiana Prairie Farmer discontinued in the mid-1930s, presumably because of the Great Depression, but started up again in 1968.

Carroll County recipients of the award since then include the following:
1970 - John McCormick
1990 - William Pickart
1992 - Fred Wise
1994 - Bob Mills
2000 - David Minich
2009 - Maurice Robeson