By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) is giving the state legislature high marks on its work this year, particularly for starting the process of extending broadband to more rural areas.

Access to high-speed internet for unserved areas was a top priority for INFB during the 2018 legislative session that ended March 14. The group considers access to broadband critical not just to farmers but schools and businesses in rural communities because of how the worldwide economy and learning revolve around technology.

Randy Kron, INFB president, called passage of House Enrolled Act 1065 “a constructive step,” but one that requires more work by policymakers and service providers to meet the needs of rural Indiana. The bill starts the process for exploring what outside sources of revenue are available to go with state dollars for filling coverage gaps.

Justin Schneider, director of state government relations for INFB, said state funds are limited and other resources such as federal monies will be necessary because of numerous areas lacking sufficient broadband, and the high cost of reaching them.

Unfortunately, he said, it’s not going to happen overnight. “Within five years, hopefully we can get a lot of it done. It’s not really something we like, but I think that’s reality,” he said.

Another major success cited by INFB was stopping a proposal to eliminate more than 300 township governments by merging townships with a population of fewer than 1,200. Concerns include the financial impact on landowners from townships with tax rates lower than townships they would join.

Schneider said he was not convinced by the evidence presented that merging townships would save money and maintain the current level of local government service.

 “If you’re really not going to have efficiencies, then you don’t take this step,” he said.

He said another major victory was failure of two House measures that would have kept new livestock and poultry farms no closer than one mile from the nearest residence. He said a better option cited by a legislative study committee is to provide more resources to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to enforce current regulations governing those operations.

Among the disappointments cited by Schneider this year was the failure of bills that would have voided annexation remonstrance waivers and allowed farmers under a pilot program to grow industrial hemp.

In exchange for city services, some property owners agreed years ago not to fight any future attempts by the municipality to annex their land. In many cases, those properties now have new owners unable to fight annexation because of the waivers tied to the properties.

“Individuals and farms don’t necessarily want to be part of a city or town. They want to be in the country. This was just an opportunity for those landowners to have a say,” he said.

Schneider said growing industrial hemp for various products would give farmers an opportunity to diversify their production – and producers in other states like Kentucky are already allowed to take advantage of it. He said the push to allow Hoosier farmers to raise hemp will continue.

Despite these setbacks, INFB expressed great satisfaction with the 2018 legislative outcome. “We have to feel pretty good about what we were able to accomplish this session,” said Schneider.