The small town of Wheatfield is primarily residential in nature with a scattering of convenient services and shops. Most businesses are locally owned, adding to the friendly hometown atmosphere where neighbors stop to chat. Wheat is still one of the crops that are grown in this rural region of Northern Indiana that was once covered by wild rice and swamp grass. Along with conventional farming, this area specializes in such crops as blueberries, asparagus, strawberries, "popcorn"' and Christmas trees. Some of the largest hog and cattleoperations in the Midwest sprawl over the surrounding countryside. Residents are only a 45-minute drive from the main campus for Purdue University - acclaimed as one of the region's most important educational and cultural centers. Several other institutions of higher education are located even close to home, adding opportunities to enjoy visual and performing arts. Residents enjoy all of the tranquility and slower pace of country living in close proximity to some of the finest recreational areas in Indiana, including water sports and boating on Lake Michigan and the pristine Indiana Dunes environment and its surrounding attractions.