meet our growers
Ryan & Whitney, a seventh generation farming family
Ryan and Whitney are the current generation farming at Rippy farms. Their family's story begins in 2004, while Ryan & Whitney were classmates at Southmont High School. True to his profession, Ryan was passionate about his studies and 4H, and Whitney loved to perform in show choir. It was a perfect match made when their friends set them up on a blind date, and the rest is history. The couple was married in 2011 and welcomed their first child in 2015, a daughter named Reagan. Their son, Oliver, was born a few years later in 2018 and completed their family. Ryan is the seventh generation to farm in the heartland of Indiana, where he and Whitney raise their two children. They spend their evenings together, often going on walks around their farm to inspect the fields with their "firstborn", Jake, a 10 year old black lab.
Ryan & Whitney work hard to ensure that this farm becomes a gold standard legacy for their children, grandchildren, and many future generations.
Both sides of the Ryan Rippy's family farming history is a unique one of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and hard work. Ryan's father's side of their farming history started in Indianapolis in the 1940’s when Carlen and Myrtle with a 40 acre truck farm in what is now downtown Indianapolis, growing fruits and vegetable farm for local markets. The pair worked hard and dedicated their lives to the farm. They never owned anything new or took vacations, but had to sell their their farm for development of Indianapolis in 1953 and planned to purchase more land, but Myrtle was tragically killed by a drunk driver when they went on first trip ever, leaving behind her husband and 3 children. Carlen and Myrtle’s youngest son, Howard Sr., had always wanted to become a farmer, but without land to inherit or a farm to return home to, he had to build one of his own. He went to work for local co-op and started renting farmland around Indianapolis to get himself built up and became the largest grower in Indianapolis farming what is now Eagle Creek Reservoir. He raised dairy cows in the area as well with his state of the art milking parlor where Rick’s Boatyard currently stands. In the 1960’s the Eagle Creek land sold for development of reservoir, and Howard Sr. used the opportunity to purchase his homestead land of 120 acres in Ladoga for the future of his wife and three children. Howard bought his first new tractor in 1988, an Oliver tractor that is still used today.
next >>
Howard and Fern’s youngest son, Howard Jr. (Howdy), went to Purdue to study Agriculture Economics and graduated in ’79 and started to farm alongside his father. Howard & Howdy farmed together for 31 years and grew the Ladoga homestead farm from the original 120 acres to 800. While at Purdue, Howdy met his wife, Mary Lee Kirkpatrick, who also was raised in a farming family, were wed in 1981 and raised two children together, Ryan and Rachel.
Ryan's mother, Mary Lee's, side of the family begins way back in history. The Kirkpatrick's family farming history began back in 1848 with Alexander Meharry, an immigrant from Ireland who brought his family to America during the Irish potato famine. One of Alexander’s sons, Thomas, eventually settled in Wingate and purchased 80 acres of farmground in 1848. The farm grew as well as their family, and Thomas gifted a portion of the farm to one of his daughters, Ellen, when she married another local farmer John Martin. The pair grew their family and their farm together and then the farm was passed down to their daughter, Ida, and her husband, (another farmer in the community) Edwind Kirkpatrick. After Edwind's passing he gave each child 80 acres to start their own farm.
<< previous
next >>
Charles Kirkpatrick inherited the land that Ryan & Whitney currently live on, and began building a house for his family. While building the home he stepped on a nail and contracted tetanus and tragically died, after only being married a short time. His wife, Fronie, was pregnant at the time with their son, Charles II, named after his father before him. Their family stepped in and helped take care of the farm after Charles passed away.
Charles II grew up in Wingate on the family farm. His senior year of high school his mother, Fronie, remarried. Fronie was a pillar of hard work and a good steward of what she had, and during the Great Depression and as a single parent saved up enough money to buy her husband land to farm on his own that they called the Jackson farm. Charles II lived at the Jackson farm until he graduated from Purdue. When he finished his degree the Wingate farm that his father was given, was finally his. He also farmed his Aunt Ruth’s land, which eventually was passed down to him.
<< previous
next >>
In the mid 90’s Charles II Kirkpatrick, Mary Lee’s father, and Howdy Rippy agreed to farm together and merged the two family farms into one. When Charles passed away in 2007 his daughters, Mary Lee and Joanie each inherited the land that their father had worked. Ryan began farming with his father, Howdy, after he graduated from Purdue in 2010. Ryan was the third generation of men to be a part of AGR at Purdue, an elite social professional agricultural fraternity, after his father Howdy, and his grandfather Charles II. Ryan and Howdy currently farm a combined 1600 acres between the Ladoga and Wingate Farms. Their goal is to continue to grow the farm just as their ancestors have so that future generations to come can continue the legacy.
<< previous
The Rippy family has always held a standard of excellence in their farming practices since the farm's beginning like using conservation practices and using some of the most cutting edge technology. These practices and technologies not only improve the health of the soil but also the health of the environment. Land O’ Lakes took notice of this and approached the Rippy family about partnering with them to use a new platform called Sustain™. The partnership with Land O’ Lakes lines up perfectly with what the Rippy family is trying to accomplish by constantly refining and bettering their practices and sets their future generations up for success.
Land O’ Lakes has come up with is an innovative way to bridge the gap between producers and consumers with the The Land O’ Lakes Sustain™ technology. It identifies exactly what farmers doing well and as the areas that could use improvement so that they are performing at their maximum efficiency. Land O’ Lakes advocates on farmers’ behalf to show the public that although there are a lot of things that get presented as bad press, there are a lot of things that farmers do daily that are truly good and environmentally sound. Because a win for the environment is a win for everyone.
Pioneers in
sustainable agriculture
Here at Rippy Farms, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to provide their families with the highest quality meat while simultaneously supporting many other local businesses all at a cost-effective price. We do that by working with and connecting families who are in need of fresh meat with one of the best local meat processors, This Old Farm. When you place an order for beef, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase a fourth, half, or whole beef and list cuts, fat content, and packaging preference on a personalized questionnaire. The total cost for the beef is determined by the market price the day the beef is delivered to the processor and the cost to process each animal. Once the beef has finished processing, you’ll receive notification for pickup and you’ll have the highest quality fresh meat to feed your family.
This service is offered every six months, once in the summer and in the winter. Interested in making the choice to feed your family local, sustainably fed meat? Fill out the contact form below and we’d be honored to help you feed your family better.
just like it should be.
