DANVILLE, Ind. – More than 230 Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) member delegates met last month to discuss the organization’s policy positions in advance of the 2025 state legislative session.

INFB’s board of directors will now set the group’s priorities for next year’s Indiana General Assembly session, according to INFB. Federal priorities are set at the American Farm Bureau Federation level with input from all state farm bureaus, the organization said.

During the Aug. 17 delegate session at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds, the 233 delegates talked about such issues as water rights and property taxes. They also discussed renewable energy, land use and rural broadband.

“We’ve focused a lot on water quality in the past, but now we want to make sure we’re prepared to handle the water quantity discussions,” Randy Kron, INFB president, told Farm World. “We want to get ahead of the problem here in Indiana before it could potentially become a crisis and impact future generations.”

Throughout the year, INFB’s water task force has met to learn more about water quantity in Indiana, what systems are already in place, and what kind of statewide policy might be needed, he said. The task force is made up of engaged INFB members and experts from around the state, Kron said.

“This was originally spurred on by the LEAP District, an industrial district being developed in Lebanon, that is proposing to move water from Tippecanoe County to Boone County,” he explained. “This has raised concerns around right to water and what protections need to be put in place. Indiana Farm Bureau created the water task force and implemented new policy into our policy book to address many of those questions and concerns.”

One of INFB’s main concerns is the possibility farmers might lose access to water necessary for crops and livestock, Kron said. “This impacts more than just irrigation for farmers,” he said. “It would impact livestock and food processing facilities as well, which are all important to our food chain and food supply. Currently, there are protections around residential wells, but there is no protection around water and ag. So, as of now, a larger user could come in, pump the water out from the farmland, and a farmer could be out of business.”

INFB supports a statewide water monitoring system, Kron said. Currently, there are studies and models, but what’s needed is a better understanding of what the state has in terms of the resource, he pointed out. That would help inform a statewide water policy, Kron added.

There was a proposal in the 2024 General Assembly that would have regulated large groundwater withdrawal facilities, but that bill was not heard during the session, he said.

“Recent studies have shown that water is plentiful in Indiana currently, but the distribution of that water is not even,” Kron pointed out. “Right now, the discussion is about moving water from Tippecanoe County to Boone County, but this could happen anywhere in the state as time goes on. We are thinking about future generations and putting the rules in place now to make sure we aren’t in a water crisis in the next 40 years.”

INFB isn’t against economic development, but water resources need to be used wisely, he noted.

Farm Bureau also has a tax task force taking what Kron called a deep dive into what’s impacting a farmer’s tax burden. He said Indiana’s farmland property taxes rose 17 percent in 2023, and 26.4 percent in 2024. Another 20 percent increase is estimated for next year, Kron said.

The delegates supported a modernization to the farmland formula, as well as a comprehensive review and modification to the tax code and where dollars are being spent, he said.

“Farmers are lucky to break even as it is, and an increase in taxes puts an increased burden on the Hoosier farmer,” Kron noted. “We understand that there will need to be some give and take because property taxes go to local government, not the state general fund. So we need to be cautious and find that right balance between being able to find some relief for our farmers and not shift the burden elsewhere, or be forced to reduce the services that our members have delivered to them in rural communities.”

INFB and its members are committed to these important issues that impact agriculture and rural communities, he said. Next year’s Indiana General Assembly will have a budget session, which means there will be some additional budget requests from state universities that will be considered, Kron said.