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Indiana Farm Bureau President discusses legislative successes

The 2022 Indiana legislative session ended last week, and Indiana Farm Bureau is celebrating some successes.   

INFB President Randy Kron says members helped advocate for the agriculture industry throughout the session.  

“I’m excited that members were able to be back in the statehouse and have face-to-face discussions with the legislators,” he says. “…That’s the grassroots flexing its muscle and doing a great job in making sure agriculture is represented. They understand what’s important to those of us engaged in agriculture.”

He tells Brownfield one of the most controversial bills – Senate Bill 265 – was a carbon sequestration pilot project that would involve drilling wells and injecting carbon dioxide into the pore space.

Terre Haute-based Wabash Valley Resources is the company seeking approval for injecting CO2 underground.

“We weren’t opposed to what they wanted to do, it was how they were doing it and not recognizing private property rights,” he says. “Indiana Farm Bureau, for its entire 100 years, has been a strong supporter of private property rights.”

INFB says its members helped stop SB 265 and House Bill 1249 and ultimately protect property rights for landowners’ future use of their property below the surface. Kron says members supported House Bill 1209, which would have set up a framework for pilot projects and acknowledged private property rights.  

He says it’s a huge win for farmers and landowners.

“It’s not right for somebody to use your property, whether it’s on the surface or 8,000 feet underground, without your permission,” he says. “And then there is a liability issue. If they pump CO2 underground— who is liable and what happens? There needs to be a contract.”

Kron says INFB was also pleased to see legislation pass that will provide relief for taxpayers.

Some of the bills the organization supported included:

-House Bill 1002 repeals and amends certain provisions concerning excess state reserves, among other tax matters.
-Senate Bill 119 makes new farm equipment and new agricultural improvements eligible for local tax abatement.
-Senate Bill 145 sets out regulations for commercial real estate property and includes the “dark box” fix that INFB’s public policy team has been working on for five years.

He highlighted home-based vendor legislation that passed in House Bill 1149. The legislation specifies the requirements for the preparation and sale of food products as a home-based vendor.

“We were excited. there are a lot of farms that weren’t allowed to sell or deliver some things from their home. There were a lot of things that prohibited expanding a business and this will lift some of those things,” he says. “It’s a step forward, but it also makes sure we have safe food. We don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes the safety of the food. This was a good compromise to try to help some small, home-based vendors expand.”

Other bills supported by INFB include:

-House Bill 1148 combines the Indiana Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the Indiana Board of Veterinary Medicine into one entity.
-Senate Bill 129 and House Bill 1147 requires the state seed commissioner to charge fees for testing seed for purity and germination that are commensurate with fees that are standard in the seed-testing industry.

Audio: Randy Kron