CARMEL, Ind. — When Walmart chose Fort Wayne for its first dairy processing facility, Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Ted McKinney said the company cited infrastructure in Indiana, as well as the state’s favorable business climate, as pluses for doing so.

 

State government and agriculture organizations and businesses want to build on advantages like these to expand the ag industry in Indiana – desires that are behind the 10-year Indiana Agriculture Strategic Plan unveiled at an event in Carmel on Monday morning.

It’s been 11 years since the last long-term plan was put forth, McKinney said. “We may drive down that same road or have the same crops and the same production, but my, things have changed in this state (since then),” he noted.

For one, the technology sector in Indiana is growing exponentially compared to 2006. Agriculture is diversifying – sure, there are still plenty of corn, soybeans, wheat, hogs, dairy cows and other staples of food production, but vertical farming, for example, is starting to take hold, to maximize smaller and indoor spaces. There have also been changes in food productivity and processing.

Too, Indiana is attracting more businesses like Krone, which is moving its North American equipment manufacturing headquarters here; pet food manufacturers such as Blue Buffalo; food companies such as Ken’s Foods salad dressings; and more.

So, for the last 18 months nearly every state commodity group, universities, businesses and state and federal agencies have allocated representatives to a committee to develop the Plan. Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron explained all this happened over 22 listening sessions (and an online survey for stakeholders who couldn’t attend) and multiple committee meetings, “to put together a plan that truly does speak to our future of Indiana agriculture.

“We’ve done our planning,” he said of the document, spinning a farming metaphor at its June 26 debut. “We’ve selected the seeds, and in some cases we’ve already started doing a little bit of planting.”

The Plan is comprised of many smaller action plans that serve seven basic priorities:

•Economic and community development

•Natural resources stewardship and environment

•Education and career development

•Public relations and outreach

•Leadership development

•Infrastructure

•Food and agricultural innovation 

 

After all, he said, farming has traditionally been “a playground” where many people who went into these industries later in life had their first education in one or all four subjects. Gov. Eric Holcomb also spoke briefly, saying the Plan is intended to help attract large industries to the state, but also to help family farms thrive by making Indiana agriculture more known and accessible to the rest of the world. The text of it can be read online at http://in.gov/isda/3547.htm