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Legislation would inventory lost farmland in Indiana

Legislation being considered by the Indiana Senate would direct the state department of agriculture to conduct an inventory of farmland lost in the state from 2010 to 2022.

Indiana Representative Kendell Culp, a farmer from Rensselaer, authored the bill. He has said the state must take stock of and protect valuable farmland.

Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron says having an inventory of farmland losses would be beneficial.

“If we’re going to try to fix the problem, we really need to have an understanding of where it’s going and what are the uses. Before you can try to move forward on it, we have to have a little better understanding of what we have. House Bill 1557 will do that and we’re glad that Representative Culp carried the bill.”

According to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), a total of 831,000 acres of farmland has been lost in Indiana since 1982.

House Bill 1557 was passed unanimously by the House and is now being considered by the Senate.