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Student-Led Business Superstars

Creek Cattle Company

School-Based Enterprise
Indian Creek High School, Trafalgar

30

Head of Cattle Cared For

Since 2018 Launch

10k

Pounds of Beef Processed

Since 2018 Launch

$15k+

Earned from Outside Retail Sales

Since 2018 Launch

At Indian Creek High School, a student-led business literally puts food on the table.

Once or twice each month, the student body at the Johnson County school dines on beef raised by classmates as part of Creek Cattle Company (CCC), the school’s student-led ag business. In fact, the CCC burgers are one of the cafeteria’s more popular choices, and other menu items based on the program’s ground beef also are a hit.

“They just tried a meatball sub this last time,” says Joe Dunn, the Indian Creek ag teacher who oversees the program. “It went over very well.”

CCC gives students hands-on ag-industry experience through a livestock operation that has cared for more than 30 head of cattle and processed nearly 10,000 lbs. of beef since it was launched in 2018. The business has sold most of its beef to the school at market price to support its operations, but it also offers choice cuts of meat to the public. To date, CCC has earned $15,000 from outside retail sales.

“I would bet that most of the kids that go through the program, they’re going to get offered a job just about every time they interview because they communicate so well.”
Luke Skobel,
Indian Creek Principal

Students have driven the operation since it started, shortly after a school board member saw a similar program at Maconaquah High School in Miami County and suggested that Indian Creek create its own. Dunn charged ag students with getting things rolling, and they responded by putting together a business plan, drawing up a logo and pitching the plan to the administration.

The community provided some start-up funding, with grants coming from foundations and businesses, and local business leaders stepped up to serve on an advisory board, mentor students, provide expert advice and make sure the students’ lessons and experiences align with what they and the marketplace need. For example, Tiffany Ankney, a Senior Account Specialist at Farm Credit Mid-America, gives talks to the students about business finances, farm accounting and keeping good financial records. In the fall of 2025, it had a half-dozen cattle nearly ready to be processed and planned to restock the herd in the spring.

Creek Cattle Company is a full-blown cattle producer with students doing everything from acting as C-suite leaders to providing manual labor.

While Indian Creek ag classes begin in seventh grade, participation in one of its four Agriculture CTE program pathways – Agriscience Animals, Agriscience Plants, Horticulture and Ag Mechanical and Engineering – begins in ninth grade with an introductory-level course. The real hands-on experiences begin in a student’s sophomore year, with succeeding years offering deeper involvement. Indian Creek Principal Luke Skobel says that, while CCC equips students with farm skills, the CCC experience prepares them for the working world in general.

“It lets the kids solve problems and work with other entities.”
Luke Skobel,
Indian Creek Principal

Featured Article

Spend a certain amount of time feeding and caring for the cattle
Order necessary supplies
Create and implement marketing strategy
Work with local farmers to add to the herd
Make presentations for the public
Maintain building structures

Central Intermediaries

Aspire Johnson County

Supports work-based learning by linking schools and more than 165 local employers to create hands-on opportunities that help students explore and pursue regional career pathways.
Counties Served: Johnson
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East Central Educational Service Center (ECESC)

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Counties Served: Bartholomew, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Johnson, Madison, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Union, Wayne
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Counties Served: Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Henry, Jay, Randolph, Rush, Union, Wayne
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EmployIndy

Located in Indianapolis, EmployIndy develops career-connected learning systems in Marion County by coordinating employer engagement, work-based learning programming, and youth career pathways.
Counties Served: Marion
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Greater Muncie Chamber of Commerce

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Counties Served: Delaware
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Hendricks College Network (HCN)

Connects schools, employers, and community partners—facilitating ongoing collaborations, coordinating a range of employer involvement opportunities, and providing support to help schools track and manage work-based learning experiences.
Counties Served: Hendricks
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Invest Hamilton County

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Counties Served: Hamilton
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Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce

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Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce

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Counties Served: Monroe
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Counties Served: Dubois
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Counties Served: Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen, Washington
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Southern Indiana Education Center (SIEC)

Supports educators through training, resources, and collaboration structures that help schools and employers organize work-based learning.
Counties Served: Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Warrick
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Southern Indiana Works (SIW, Workforce Region 10)

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Counties Served: Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Scott, Washington
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Southwest Indiana Workforce Board (SWIN)

Partners with businesses and schools to expand student access to industry-aligned work-based learning programs.
Counties Served: Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick
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Center of Workforce Innovations (CWI)

Coordinates employer relationships, talent programs, and school partnerships to strengthen work-based learning throughout Northwest Indiana.
Counties Served: Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski, Starke
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Grow Allen

Supports work-based learning by coordinating student internships and work-based tours, connecting schools with local businesses, and partnering with community organizations to expand training pathways while collaboratively helping partners strengthen their work-based learning efforts.
Counties Served: Allen
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Horizon Education Alliance (HEA)

Partners with schools and employers to provide high school students with career exploration and hands-on work-based learning opportunities.
Counties Served: Elkhart
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Northeast Indiana Workforce Board (NEINW)

Supports regional talent pipelines by linking businesses with schools and promoting work-based learning as part of workforce development.
Counties Served: Adams, Allen, Grant, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, Whitley
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Region 8 Education Service Center of Northeast Indiana (R8ESC)

Provides training, coordination, data support, and shared tools to help schools implement and scale consistent work-based learning practices across the region.
Counties Served: Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington, Jay, Kosciusko, Madison, Miami, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, Whitley
Supporting: Employers, Schools
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South Bend Regional Chamber

Coordinates employer partnerships, student programming, and large-scale work-based learning initiatives to connect youth with regional career pathways.
Counties Served: St. Joseph
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