A northern Johnson County farm stays particularly busy during the fall.
It is not uncommon. Fall is a busy time for farmers due to harvest. But at the Dougherty Family Farm each fall, people can collect pumpkins and gourds and wander through a corn maze during their well-known harvest adventures.
Part of what draws the massive crowds to the farm is Emily Dougherty’s work. Growing up on a farm, she had a passion for agriculture, but didn’t necessarily want to be a farmer.
While farming plays a significant role in agriculture, there are numerous other career paths that don’t require tilling the fields. In Dougherty’s case, her brothers take care of the farming, and she helps expand the farm’s reach.
The 23-year-old brought her Purdue University communications degree and minor in agricultural economics back to the family farm, where she spends her time promoting it online. Beyond promotions for the fall tourist season, advertising the family farm helps create a personal connection between consumers and where their food comes from, she said.
“Part of marketing is getting customers. Part of farming in our family farm is the ability to tell our story, to share, to put a face to the food you’re eating,” Dougherty said. “When you go to the grocery store, it’s safe and affordable, and that’s the amazing part of the American food supply. Being able to show the faces (of) the people who raise that food is really cool. I love to share that and my family’s story.”
Dougherty previously served as the vice president of the southern region of Indiana FFA. Whether in science, data analysis, reporting or marketing, there is much more to agriculture than just farming, she said.
“4-H’ers may say they don’t want to drive a tractor but they still want to be involved in agriculture. It’s important to follow your passion, whether it’s more on the scientist side, or more boots on the ground, or business management, or communications and marketing,” Dougherty said.
“It’s so cool because we can meet everyone and can work together to provide a safe and abundant food supply for Americans and the whole world.”
Payton Bohler, a 10-year 4-H member this year, graduated from Whiteland Community High School and wants to start his own landscaping company. His passion started with cutting grass and developed when he attended landscaping classes at Central Nine Career Center, he said.
“We learned how to mow commercially and do striping in a yard, and how high and low to cut. We did landscaping, flower beds … We did a project in the winter where we would make patios. The green industry is in such high demand right now. People are wanting to redo their houses and can’t find someone to do it,” Bohler said.
The Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair will feature a roundtable for careers in agriculture at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The roundtable is intended to help broaden the horizons of students looking to pursue careers in agriculture, said Heather Dougherty, 4-H youth development educator with Johnson County Purdue Extension.
“There’s a lot of kids that will become (agriculture) teachers or even 4-H educators,” she said. “I used to be an (agriculture) teacher. It’s very important every kid has their own outlet or areas they’re interested in.”
