Blue Yonder Organic Farm

Sara Creech Goes Into the Wild Blue Yonder to Start Organic Farm

Zero. Nothing. Zilch. That is how much Sara Creech knew about farming. The surgical nurse who joined the Air Force after 9/11 did know she needed a change after several major life events. Sara turned to farming and her story is one of determination and community on Blue Yonder Organic Farm in Hendricks County.

After being deployed, injured and medically discharged in 2007 as part of her military service, Sara struggled. Suffering from PTSD, it was hard to go back to nursing. Her husband, Chuck, was a huge support during those rough years as the couple lived in Florida. “Then Chuck was diagnosed with colon cancer, and everything changed,” Sara says. The couple doubled down on how to improve their health to help improve his treatment. “We started learning about the importance of food, health and nutrition and how these factors impact how a body heals,” Sara recalls. Their eating habits did a 180 and they started going to farmers markets when in Texas for treatments, enjoying their conversations with the farmers.

The chemo was exhausting to Chuck so the couple spent time driving around Texas, looking at farms, visiting with farmers and buying their food directly. “We fell in love with farming and said that after we get through this, we’ll farm on our own,” Sara says. Sadly, her husband died before that joint dream could become reality.

Devastated by his loss and with family scattered across the U.S., Sara was in a dark place, no longer wanting to be a nurse. Months of despair led to a phone call with her sister who lived in Indiana who prompted “OK, now what?” The “now what” turned into buying a foreclosed farm in Indiana, sight unseen, which was near her sister’s young family.

The 43-acre farm in North Salem “felt right,” Sara recalls. As she moved to Indiana over Christmas of 2011, she had her work cut out for her with broken down fences, a burned horse barn and farmhouse in complete disarray. Sara, who took a medical case management job in Indianapolis to pay the bills, jumped into farming. She remembers watering 100 raspberry bushes and getting chicks at the local farm store as part of her start on the farm. She grew plants in the house and got three bottle lambs along the way.

“That first year, I tried so many things,” Sara recalls, also pointing out that there was scant start-up information available for small farms back then. Fortunately, she discovered the “Armed to Farm” program that educates veterans on small-scale farms. Sara attended a one-week program in Arkansas and immediately felt a connection with fellow veterans who wanted to farm. The week included tours to a variety of farms, showing numerous crops and livestock options.

She was all in. Her parents, Jim and Sandy Lanning, moved to Indiana to be with her in the farmhouse, and Blue Yonder Organic Farm became her calling. She formed a village, including helpful staff from the Natural Resources Conservation Service who said, “we can help you with your organic farm,” as well as people she met at Purdue’s Small Farms Conferences. “All the pieces came together to have a community built around the farm, all my friends have to do with farming, I’m not alone,” Sara says.

Today, built on countless hours of effort, the farm produces pasture-raised meat and a variety of organic fruits and vegetables plus honey and maple syrup. Sara sells directly off the farm, at farmers markets and even via email subscription.

Paying forward her veteran farming experience, Sara is a leader in helping other veterans. She started a state chapter – Veterans IN Farming – that is an affiliate of a national group and secures grants to help Indiana veterans farm. Sara is always in motion as she leads conferences, helps establish farms for veterans and does training programs on a variety of farm topics around the state. Plus, she continues to hold a work-from-home job in the insurance industry helping coordinate medical evacuation overseas. Sleep is sometimes optional! Her passion for helping other veterans start farming has also come close to home as her nephew, Ja’Shaun Dickman, is now out of the Marines and joining her on the farm.

As she thinks about her farm and talking to consumers, Sara has a key point to make. “The main thing I wish consumers would realize is that farmers across the board farm because they care about land, animals and raising food,” she says. “We protect the land, knowing there are 100 ways to do it so there is not a right or wrong way, we are doing the best we can with a lot of hard work.” From keeping baby lambs in the bathtub to chickens in the garage, farmers must be flexible and solve problems.

“I think consumers would be surprised at all farmers know. Farming is kind of like the military in that you have to know everything and be able to pivot quickly,” Sara says. “Farming is a huge risk – riskier than the stock market – and it would be wonderful to see compassion, support and education for farmers.”

As she looks to the future, Sara hopes to help her nephew learn to make a living on the farm and have a good life as she helps other veterans step into the wild blue yonder of farming.