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Indiana Farm Bureau touts legislative successes that will benefit farmers, rural communities

After advocating on behalf of Hoosier farmers throughout the 2023 legislative session, Indiana Farm Bureau is pleased with several legislative successes that will benefit producers and rural communities.

Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron says he’s thankful for the effort put in by members and staff.

“Our membership showing up makes a big difference. Our staff is there every day, but our members showing up, building relationships, and talking to (legislators) strengthens the position of Indiana Farm Bureau and allows our staff to continue the dialogue,” he says. “I can’t put a price on our members. Whether it’s here at the State House, back home in Cracker Barrels, or in Third Houses, what they do is priceless and it’s what gives us our clout at the statehouse. I am very proud of our members and the engagement and advocacy they do on behalf of Indiana agriculture.”

He tells Brownfield the organization is pleased to see several priorities make it into the budget bill that was crafted during the session.

At the top of the list, he says, is an increase in public health funding as requested by the Governor’s Public Health Commission, including $225 million to prioritize rural local public health departments.

“A lot of that money will go to rural counites with populations less than 50,000,” he says. “That’s going to be a boost.”

Other items INFB supported as part of the budget were: restored Career Technical Education as a categorical grant; funding for three poultry veterinary positions for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health; an increase for the Clean Water Indiana program at $6 million per year; funding to upgrade Purdue Extension County staff; and Indiana Grain Buyers and Warehouse Licensing Agency’s first dedicated line item.

Other bills supported by Indiana Farm Bureau include House Enrolled Act 1557, which will direct the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to create an inventory of farmland lost in the state from 2010 to 2022.

“We talk about this, we see solar farms going in, we see all the industrial development that looks like we’re losing a lot of farmland. We can talk about it, but we need an inventory to really know what happened and where and what it has gone to,” he says. “This will inventory what use it went to. So, we want to thank Representative Kendell Culp for that because that will help the starting point for the land use task force, which was in Bill 1132, a companion bill that Representative Culp had. Then they can dig in a little deeper and have more in depth discussions about development land use— are we using the right ground? Is development going on the right farms or the right soil types and quality of land. It will lead to a lot more in-depth discussion, but those are two very important bills looking forward for agriculture and staying viable long term here in the state of Indiana.”

Kron says a contested issue that was back in statehouse this year was carbon sequestration.

“We did get a compromise that gets those landowners an annual payment. Also, it has a five year sunset. If they don’t have their permits and if they aren’t up and running within five years, all that special legislation goes away,” he says.

Senate Enrolled Act 451 involves a pilot project to construct, operate, or use no more than two carbon dioxide pipelines and maintain operations in Vigo and Vermillion counties.

Other bills supported by Indiana Farm Bureau include:

*House Enrolled Act 419, the agency bill for the Department of Revenue provides additional tax options for INFB Health Plans. The organization says it will bring cost savings, and clarify that sales tax on ag equipment is exempt if predominately used for ag purposes.

*House Enrolled Act 1454 – The Department of Local Government Finance bill helps taxpayers filing assessment appeals, adds tools to fund local EMS, creates more transparency on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district reporting, and requires monitoring on residential TIF.

*Senate Enrolled Act 325 updates the homestead standard deduction and gives more flexibility on detached buildings.

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Audio: Randy Kron