INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Randy Kron is climbing the ladder at Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB) – the 55-year old Evansville area grain farmer was elected the ninth president in the history of the lobbying group during the IFB’s state convention Nov. 17.

He replaces Don Villwock as of Jan. 1, 2016, who in June chose not to seek reelection after 14 years at the helm. Villwock, 65, a farmer near Vincennes, announced two weeks later he was running for president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“He has the experience and a deep passion for serving agriculture and Farm Bureau members,” said Villwock in praising Kron, his vice president at IFB from the beginning of his own presidency.

Elected to succeed Kron as vice president was Kendell Culp of Jasper County.

Kron said his first priority is strengthening Farm Bureau branches at the county level, calling them the bedrock for agriculture, while farmers “working together with a unified voice” also ranks high on his to-do list.

He said agriculture represents less than 2 percent of the population so it can’t afford to be divided on matters that come up in the state legislature or in Congress. “We can’t be divided and carrying different messages. To me, it’s key to being effective at the statehouse or the courthouse, or at the White House.”

Kron said other top priorities are continuing to push for property tax reform and further restrictions on annexation that can threaten the ability to farm. “Those things are very critical to agriculture,” he explained.

He is the Farm Bureau representative to the U.S. Grains Council, serving on the Biotechnology Advisory Team, and also the voice for IFB on the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. He previously served as director of IFB District 9, which encompasses Posey, Gibson, Pike, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Dubois, Spencer, Orange, Crawford and Perry counties.

Kron also was president and vice president of the Vanderburgh County Farm Bureau and chair of the IFB political action committee for Congressional District 8. He and his wife, Joyce, raise yellow corn, white corn, soybeans and wheat on 2,000 acres.

He got his start with the Farm Bureau as a Young Farmer representative to his county board. Eventually, he served on the state Young Farmer Committee for two years in the late 1980s and he and Joyce were winners of the state Young Farmer Achievement Award.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University in 1983.

According to Villwock, one of the biggest challenges for his successor is continuing to ease tensions created from residential development into rural areas through education.

IFB over the years has become more aggressive in reaching out with information about agriculture so fewer people, when they move from the cities, are not surprised by things like foul odors that go along with raising farm animals, or tractors being out late at night when the window for harvesting is narrow.

“Just helping the consumers understand what we do – that is a challenge,” agreed Kron.