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Indiana Farm Bureau’s priorities for the 2022 Indiana General Assembly will focus on three general topic areas: rural viability, energy policy and taxes.

During previous General Assemblies, INFB’s priorities were generally very specific and very tactical, said Andy Tauer, INFB executive director of public policy. The goal this year is to be more strategic and to take a longer-term look at priority areas that impact INFB members.

“The public policy team and our members have been very successful at getting some really big legislative issues through the Statehouse,” Tauer added. “This approach gives us an opportunity to look at some of these overarching issues.”

 The priorities, which were identified by the INFB board of directors following the August delegate session, are:

Rural viability – Finding ways to keep rural communities prospering even as more people migrate to suburban and urban centers.

]The focus here, said Tauer, is working with members in rural communities to help find solutions to many of the challenges facing rural Indiana, such as lack of or insufficient broadband, need for increased workforce development and improved rural public health.

“For example, broadband is essential to rural communities for many reasons,” such as education, early career development opportunities and utilizing the latest precision agriculture technology, he said. “We need to collaborate with groups looking to solve these challenges for our rural communities."

Energy policy – Working to find an all-of-the-above energy and climate strategy for Indiana in terms of carbon markets, electric generation and liquid transportation fuels.

INFB members are used to having conversations about renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, but the issue “will become a lot more complex as we move forward,” Tauer said.

With the growth in electric vehicles, farmers also need to make sure liquid transportation fuels are part of the conversation.

“What’s needed are conversations and policies that keep Hoosier grown liquid fuels at the forefront,” he said.

As part of the overall decarbonization and climate discussions that have a lot of impact on the overall energy conversation, INFB also needs to be discussing the evolution of carbon markets. It will continue to be important to find ways for all farmers adopting conservation and innovative farming practices to participate in carbon markets.

Tax policy – Finding tax policies that are fair and equitable for all INFB members.

Currently we have a lot of the focus on the federal tax policy, such as protecting the step-up in basis, capital gains and estate tax exemptions, Tauer said. At a state and local level, he said, INFB really has to think about the best way to continue to fund rural schools, fire protection and other safety issues that are important to members.