Orr Farms

Orr Farms was established in 1987 with the marriage of Clint and Marianne (Smith) Orr.  Although Clint was raised on a farm and had various livestock projects, grain farming did not actually commence until 1989.  Marianne was raised on a farm south of Frankfort, but her parents were not actively involved, choosing to rent their ground to a neighbor.  Starting out with just over 200 acres of tillable land, the farm grew steadily.  During this time, Clint and Marianne both worked several off-farm jobs, and ran detasseling crews until 2010.  One significant milestone occurred in 2003 with the addition of John and Tom Kramer’s ground.  That addition moved the operation from part time to full time status.

We primarily farm in Clinton County with some additional acreage and custom services in the surrounding counties.  We pride ourselves in being a regenerative operation.  All of our acres receive cover crops and are no-tilled or strip-tilled and by using manures, variable rate technologies, reduced soil compaction, intensive soil testing, and various conservation practices, we strive to be one of the most environmentally conscious operations in the Midwest.  One of our primary goals would be to improve the land that we farm every year, whether we own it or not.  We are quickly moving toward being a soil regenerative farm.

We are proud to say that 82% of our farm and household electricity is generated by on-site solar panels.

We were recognized in 2011 as the Conservation Partner of the Year by the Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District.

In 2013 we received the River Friendly Farmer award.

In 2015 Clint was elected to the Soil and Water Conservation District Board.

In 2018 Clint was confirmed to the Indiana State FSA Board and served in that position for four years.

In 2022 Orr Farms was a host farm for the Purdue Farm Management Tour.

In 2023 Clint began serving on the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture Advisory Council.

Clint is a regular panelist for Soil and Water Districts throughout the state and has spoken on behalf of the Nature Conservancy an international organization.

We currently farm over 3,600 acres in cropland.  We raise waxy corn for Primient Grain, white food grade corn for Cargill, and seed beans for Pioneer.  We raise beef cattle and partner with chicken and hog operations in the use of their manures for natural fertilizer.  Custom services we offer include strip-till, corn and soybean planting, harvesting, and grain storage. 

We currently utilize five grain facilities.  Our newest facility is located at the intersections of SR 28 and SR 29.  Our other facilities are located near Forest, Scircleville, and Kirklin.

Mutually Beneficial Relationships.

It’s no secret that farming today is very capital intensive.  For that reason, many farmers including ourselves, partner with land owners to hopefully achieve a mutually beneficial relationship.

On this page we would like to demonstrate land ownership as an alternate investment as compared to more traditional investments.  Some potential investors shy away from land ownership because they feel it is not liquid enough.  In our experience, buying the right piece of property does sometimes require patience, but normally, selling that property can be accomplished in a relatively short time frame.  One simple way to look at land ownership as an investment would be to compare it to owning stock in a company.  The annual increase in the land’s value would be the equivalent of the stock’s gain in value.  The annual cash rent payment less property taxes would be the equivalent of a dividend on a stock.

As you can see from the accompanying chart, the S&P 500 total return since 1990 has been 9.74%.  By combining the cash rent minus taxes to the land value appreciation, farm land in Indiana has had a return of 12.32%.  This would also compare to a corporate bond return over the same time frame of 6.34%.   Obviously, C.D. returns over the same time period have been far less.

By drawing on our thirty plus years of farming experience, we can offer advice on purchasing farm ground in North Central Indiana.  We work with two different agronomists, allowing us to blend productivity indexes, soil test results, expert opinions, and real world knowledge, to achieve a fair estimate of a tract’s worth. The benefit of working with us is that at the end of the process, you would already be partnered with an established, financially stable grower/lessee that would have you and your land’s best interest in mind.  The benefit to us is having a larger land base to spread out our fixed costs and increased scale for purchasing and merchandising.  We also wish to grow our business to allow any of our children who want to farm the ability to do so.