INDIANAPOLIS – As the Indiana Farm Bureau’s (INFB) new executive director of public policy, Katie Nelson said it’s her job to manage the public policy team that organizes and implements the policy priorities of the organization’s members.

Nelson said the organization is in the process of determining those policy priorities for next year. INFB creates its public policies beginning at the grassroots level in the state’s 92 counties.

“I think our 2025 priorities of taxes and water will continue being priorities moving into the next year, but following our delegate session that just wrapped up in August, our team has been crafting the policy priorities that were most prominent in the discussions our members had to then present to our board of directors for approval,” she said. “After that, we’ll finalize our strategy to advocate for agriculture in 2026.”

While her team’s lobbyists push through state legislation, on-the-ground teams assist individual farmers with local concerns, noted Nelson, who started her role at INFB in August. Staff, leadership and volunteer members also advocate in Washington, D.C., to make sure federal policy favors farmers and agriculture, she said.

“The respect that INFB grassroots have at the Statehouse is so essential to getting anything done in legislation,” Nelson explained. “We know that when there are questions or issues that impact agriculture, our elected officials will come to INFB for advice on how to move forward. We don’t take that responsibility lightly and we’re grateful to have a pretty ag-friendly legislature here in Indiana.”

She replaced Andy Tauer, who left for a vice president position with the National Pork Board.

Nelson most recently served as deputy director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). She was previously program manager for policy and regulatory affairs, and legislative affairs director. Nelson joined ISDA in 2017.

A lot of what she was responsible for at ISDA is similar to what she’ll be doing at INFB, Nelson pointed out. The priorities of both organizations go hand in hand, Nelson said, adding she’s excited to have a more focused role in managing the public policy initiatives for the largest general agriculture organization in the state.

“Through my role at ISDA, I had always maintained great relationships with INFB staff since we worked together on a lot of issues impacting Hoosier farmers throughout the year, so joining the organization in this role has felt very natural,” she said.

Nelson grew up on a fifth-generation corn, soybean and beef cattle farm in Missouri. She said she also always had an interest in politics and government.

While in college, she interned with the Missouri House of Representatives, where she had “a front row seat to legislators setting policy that would ultimately affect farmers like my dad and grandpa. It was sort of a light bulb moment when I realized I could pair an industry I’m passionate about with my interest in government.”

Nelson has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri.

She said her experience on the farm helps her relate to INFB members and provide valuable context to lawmakers as they make policy decisions. Her grandfather and great grandfather were county farm bureau presidents in Montgomery County, Mo.

“Farmers face more and more challenges to their livelihoods every day that it’s hard to even keep up,” Nelson said. “Indiana Farm Bureau members know that the priorities we focus on at the local, state and national levels are voted on by all 92 of our counties, so they can rest assured we’re advocating for the issues that are most important to them.

“As the average person gets farther and farther away from the farm, it becomes increasingly important that our members have a voice in the policies that impact them. We truly are a member-led organization, and I’m proud to be a part of the future of farm bureau.”