Stay Informed

When Indiana Farm Bureau announced its 2021 legislative priorities last fall, one of those focused on improving the transparency and functionality of the Indiana Grain Buyers and Warehouse Licensing Agency (IGBWLA). House Enrolled Act 1483, which addresses these issues, was successfully passed by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by the governor.

“More than 150 agricultural entities, many of those being family farms, were impacted by the failure of Salamonie Mills and AgLand Grain,” said Randy Kron, INFB president. “The vast majority were blindsided and left with limited options. For this reason, INFB led the initiative to support Hoosier farm families by improving the IGBWLA to protect farmers who might be impacted by future grain elevator closures.”

HEA 1483 creates new procedures, flexibilities and requirements to help the IGBWLA detect the financial stability of grain elevators before a failure occurs. The law:

• Requires a performance review of the IGBWLA audit procedures, once every five years, to ensure that they meet modern grain marketing practices.
• Allows the agency to accept third-party audits to lighten their workload and spend more time on licensees that need their attention.
• Requires deferred price accounts to be priced by the end of each USDA crop marketing year to prevent those accounts from running beyond the 15-month indemnity coverage period.
• Provides additional enforcement for minimum net worth deficiencies.
• Raises the IGBWLA’s administrative expenses account to have access to more funding for its duties.
• Creates more information sharing between the agency and the Grain Indemnity Board relating to risks in the grain market.

“Although we had to make some compromises to the bill as it moved through the legislative process, the final version creates the necessary framework for the IGBWLA to identify issues earlier so farmers aren’t left hanging after an abrupt closure of a grain elevator,” said Andy Tauer, INFB executive director of public policy.