By RICK A. RICHARDS
Indiana Correspondent

BREMEN, Ind. — Ryan Mishler says his biggest asset as a state senator is his ability to listen and learn.

He’s going to need all of that ability when he takes over as chair of the newly-created State Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee when the Indiana General Assembly convenes in January.

Mishler, a Republican from Bremen in the lakes area of northern Indiana, doesn’t have a farm background. He owns funeral homes in Bremen and Milford, and is aware of that shortcoming. He has already started his homework by talking with farmers in his district and meeting with officials at the Indiana Farm Bureau.
First elected to the state senate in 2004, Mishler starts his seventh legislative session in 2011. His late father, Greg, was a member of the Indiana House during the 1980s.

“I’m going to meet with (state) Department of Agriculture officials and see what the administration is working on,” said Mishler. “I’m going to talk to some of my larger farmers, but most of my farmers are smaller and their needs are different. I’m going to rely on my friends here and ask them what issues they have.”
Getting involved with agriculture was something Mishler never expected. In fact, he never expected to be in Indiana. After growing up in Bremen and graduating high school there, he left for California where he attended the University of Southern California. It was there he became a big fan of beach volleyball.

“When I was out there, I didn’t want to come back to Indiana,” said Mishler. “It was nice and warm.” He knew if he returned, he’d be involved with the family’s funeral business, where the hours are pretty much around the clock. But when the family needed him, he came back to Indiana and took over the funeral business.

Today, he’s president of Mishler Funeral Homes and president of Bremen Monument Company.

It wasn’t long after that when a vacancy opened up in the state senate because of a retirement. Members of the Republican Party were impressed with Mishler’s business ability and how comfortable he was with the public, so he was asked to fill the spot. He agreed and ever since, has been elected on his own merit. Mishler’s district includes all or parts of Kosciusko, Marshall, St. Joseph and Elkhart counties.

“Until you do it, you don’t see all the work that takes place,” said Mishler. But for the first couple of years, it was difficult not only learning how to be a legislator, but coping with a new family and running a business.

“Two weeks after I was elected, my wife had a baby. Those first two years, I didn’t have a balance of what was needed. By my third year, I figured it out. Now, I have good help and I’m confident in my employees. We have good communication.”

Even though more senior members and leaders of the senate are assigned seats at the front of the chamber, Mishler maintains his seat at the rear of the chamber in case he gets a phone call from his funeral home. That way he can slip out into the hallway and take the call.

More importantly, Mishler says he always finds time for his son, regardless of what is happening at the legislature. During last year’s special session, which ran into June, Mishler drove two hours from Indianapolis to Bremen to be at his son Grant’s T-ball games, and then return to Indianapolis in order to take care of legislative business there.

“This year, when it was learned I’d be on the ag committee, some wondered if I even owned a pair of overalls,” said the 42-year-old Mishler, who dresses impeccably in pinstripe suits. “I live in a farming community. I have a lot of people I can turn to for help.”

So far, he said, he isn’t aware of any major issues coming to his committee for a hearing.

“One thing I have learned is that most agricultural issues are on a federal level,” said Mishler. “I’ve talked to the Farm Bureau about a sheep checkoff issue and farmers are complaining about how the state plates their trucks. If you haul grain for yourself, you can get a farm plate, but if you haul for someone else, you need a truck plate. That’s something we could look at. And, of course, there are tax issues affecting farmers that are always come up.”
Mishler also talked about issues like concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) that were before the General Assembly last session. “I have a big breeder in my area. I visited in the Milford area and I thought it was a nice, clean operation.”

He said he’s aware that some ag issues like CAFO are targets of environmental and animals rights organizations.

“What we did was come up with regulations breeders could live with. The problem is, those against confined feeding don’t want to see any animal penned up.”

Mishler also is meeting with officials with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to learn about hunting and fishing issues that could come before his committee.

“The first word I learned when I went to the legislature was compromise,” said Mishler. “In business you want everything just so, but it doesn’t work like that in the legislature. You have to work with both sides. Everything from property taxes to farm issues there are two different sides. What I do is bring them into my office and try to come up with solutions.”

Mishler said that in the previous six sessions in which he’s participated, there hasn’t been any divisive issue that separated the state’s large farming operations from the small ones. “One issue is sales taxes, but that’s more of a business issue than an agricultural issue.

“Right now, anything in agriculture used in the production of livestock or crops is tax exempt,” said Mishler. “But if you put tile in your field, that isn’t. It seems to me like that helps produce a crop so we probably need to clarify things like that.”

One wish Mishler has is for the General Assembly to be more proactive in order to head off controversies and complaints. “The problem is, a lot of times we don’t even know it’s an issue until it comes up and we’re reacting to it.”

Another frustration is what Mishler calls legislative short-sightedness. “Government doesn’t look ahead. If you come up with a plan that costs $3 million now, but saves $10 million over five years, that’s a no-brainer for business. But government is trained to do things for two years at a time because that’s the budget cycle. State government under this administration has become more business-like and it has changed a little, but not enough.”

Mishler isn’t concerned about his lack of a farm background. He said it’s important that he knows what the issues are, who the people are that can help and that he is able to bring people together to intelligently discuss the issues. In addition to any agriculture or natural resource issues, Mishler will be involved in crafting a two-year state budget, as well as issues involving education and Medicare funding.