INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Farm Bureau set its 2021 policy priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
“Issues pertaining to rural broadband, livestock processing facilities and supply chain were the focus of many of the policy discussions,” said Randy Kron, INFB president.
“INFB’s policy priorities for the coming year, even in the midst of a pandemic, demonstrate our farmers and ag professionals’ ability to identify the most pressing issues facing agriculture.”
The policy priorities for 2021 include:
• Expand broadband to the unserved and underserved to support education, telehealth, remote work and ag technology.
• Fund local meat inspection and kindergarten-12 education.
• Increase flexibility for Home Based Vendors local food processing and marketing of value-added products.
• Improve transparency and functionality of the Indiana Grain Buyers and Warehouse Licensing Agency and the Indiana Grain Indemnity Fund.
• Regulate uniformity of agricultural and renewable assessments.
The policy creation process begins with each county Farm Bureau, with counties making policy suggestions for the upcoming year, said Andy Tauer, INFB director of public policy.
“Those recommendations are then brought before a resolutions committee to be considered before they are discussed by the INFB delegate session, which was held on Aug. 29 and consisted of 230 members,” Tauer said.
After the delegate session, the INFB board of directors identified the key issues INFB members and staff will focus on at the Statehouse when the General Assembly reconvenes.
Rural broadband will be a key focus this year. Having access to fast internet is important for farmers to use on-farm software and modern equipment.
“As more and more farmers utilize drone technology, being able to download the imagery, upload it into decent software so you can make decisions on the farm — it can’t be done without broadband,” Tauer said. “To be able to fully utilize the suite of software available to farmers, we need high-speed broadband in the rural community.”
Broadband access is also necessary for telework, telehealth and education from home.
Funding for local meat inspectors will also be a priority. When the pandemic started this spring, major pork processing plants were backlogged.
“One of the bottlenecks, currently, is for inspectors to be able to cover more ground at those local processing plants so they can move more head of hogs and cattle through those systems,” Tauer said.
INFB supports legislation for more inspectors and a healthy budget for the Board of Animal Health.
Tauer also highlighted the need to improve transparency of the Indiana Grain Buyers and Warehouse Licensing Agency and the Indiana Grain Indemnity Fund.
“What we’re really trying to get out with this priority is making sure the agency has all the tools at its disposal to be able to serve the farmers and the elevators effectively,” he said.
“It’s about making sure that agency has the resources it needs for increased staff training, and maybe increased farmer awareness about what the fund does and does not cover going forward.”
Learn more about INFB at www.infarmbureau.org.