NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) delegates discussed such topics as renewable energy, drones and preserving farmland during a recent meeting designed to determine the organization’s policy priorities for next year, according to Randy Kron, INFB president.

“Over the next few weeks, the INFB board of directors will determine the priorities for the 2026 state legislative session,” Kron told Farm World. “Federal priorities are set at the AFBF (American Farm Bureau Federation) level based on input from all state farm bureaus. Now, the INFB public policy team will work with regional managers, district directors and county farm bureau members to decide which priorities will set the stage for the organization’s efforts at the Statehouse and in Washington, D.C.”

The delegate session was Aug. 16 in Noblesville.

The 226 delegates talked about the location of renewable energy projects, Kron said. They also discussed making nuclear energy a priority, especially in investing research and money into creating small modular nuclear reactors at existing or decommissioned energy producing facilities, he said.

“Energy is always a widely discussed issue among our membership,” Katie Nelson, INFB executive director of public policy, said in a release. “We also heard many comments this year from the delegate floor about the importance of preserving prime farmland and incentivizing future projects to be on non-productive ground.”

Kron added, “(The delegates) also supported new home-based vendor language to make it easier to produce and sell locally grown food, while also ensuring food safety.”

He said INFB was anticipating some discussion on drones, though that is a topic the delegate body really hadn’t previously talked about.

“Earlier this year, we heard concerns from several members in Jay and Randolph counties about spotting unauthorized drones flying close to livestock barns, especially during the time when avian flu was going around.

“Delegates voted to approve policy language to implement civil and criminal penalties for nefarious unmanned aircraft systems being used over agricultural land and facilities,” he said.

As for taxes, Kron said they’re usually brought up every year, but this year when the new property tax language came up, there was virtually no discussion because INFB members are pretty well aligned that some tax relief for landowners is needed.

Delegates voted to oppose any tax on and to freeze property taxes until they are eliminated, the release noted. The approved language suggests that property taxes be replaced from income or sales tax services, with exemptions for agriculture, medical and business to business, the release said.

Farm bureau’s grassroots approach is “the foundation of our organization,” Kron said. “INFB’s policy development process begins at the local level. Each year, all counties can make policy suggestions or edits, and this year we received about 600 submissions. Then, those suggestions are debated by a resolutions committee before being brought to the full delegate session. The grassroots structure is vital to ensuring that INFB members can voice their opinions.”

Kron said farm bureau officials are able to work with lawmakers.

“Farm bureau is widely recognized at the local, state and national level as a trusted source for information on policy impacting agricultural issues,” he explained. “Legislators know how involved our grassroots are at creating these policies every year, so they take our recommendations to heart.”