To market his pasture-raised cows, hogs and poultry, Michigan City farmer Pete Scherf counted on local farm stands and neighborhood word of mouth.

Starting early next year, Scherf will reach out to consumers across the country.

Scherf became one of the first Indiana farmers to register this month on Indiana MarketMaker.

The free, online interactive mapping system will locate businesses and markets for agricultural products in the state.

"It will help link producers to consumers and consumers to producers," said Maria Marshall, the Purdue University Extension small business development specialist who is coordinating the project.

Indiana MarketMaker is expected to become active early next year and will be part of a nationwide MarketMaker system. Illinois was the first site to go active, Marshall said.

The Indiana site hopes to launch with about 150 producers, she said.

Already 25 farmers and six wineries have signed on, Marshall said.

"It's another opportunity to get your name out there," said Scherf, whose stock usually includes about five beef cattle, up to 20 hogs, 20 to 30 turkeys and about 1,000 chickens, on about 100 acres.

Scherf got his start raising organically grown animals the old-fashioned way.

"I basically just started out like my grandfather, who had cows on pasture out in the sunshine," he said.

"Selling meat wasn't our only objective," Scherf said. "Our goal was to be a sustainable farm."

Only after he'd started did he realize, "we were growing something to a trend," he said.

Rising consumer interest in locally grown and organically grown foods should generate interest in the Indiana MarketMaker Web site, he said.

"It connects the farmer and the consumer who are both interested in raising animals in that environment," Scherf said.

Producers who register on the Web site will be able to not only research demographics, but also to search for specific business records and contact information to reach buyers and network with restaurants and specialty processors.

Organizers are collecting data and encouraging producers of edible products, including meat, fish, fruits, nuts, vegetables, to register.

To register, producers need to visit http://www.inmarkeetmaker.com.