To make sure you receive future emails,
please add ppt@infarmbureau.org to your address book or safe list.
Click AgriAdvocate18 to view this as a webpage.

Policy Recommendations Due
Indiana Farm Bureau members have been engaged in their county and district policy development meetings thinking of how policies can work to improve agriculture and rural Indiana. As those meetings come to an end, remember that all policy recommendations for 2014 are due to the home office on Friday, June 21, 2013. If you have any questions about submitting your policy recommendations online, please contact Wanda Hunter at whunter@infarmbureau.org or 317-692-7812. You can find the submission form HERE. 

Candidate Surfacing
The current session of the General Assembly will soon be history and it is time for county Farm Bureaus to consider turning their attention to candidate surfacing for the 2014 election cycle. It may seem early to think of the 2014 election, but county Farm Bureaus can start looking for opportunities for change. Some districts will have vacancies due to natural attrition or the current official seeking another opportunity. The spring and summer of 2013 is the time to work with those who would be good candidates in the 2014 election.

Many of you may be satisfied with your current crop of county officials and school board members, but there are always opportunities where a county could be better served. Opportunity exists almost everywhere for the local Farm Bureau leaders to be instrumental in choosing those candidates/elected officials who have an understanding of the importance of agriculture within their local economies and communities. In a non-presidential election year, county sheriff and prosecutor races often lead the ticket. However there can always be a hot button race in any county, and we hope to give you the tools for Farm Bureau to lead an effort to make government better and seek ways to improve the local landscape for agriculture.

This is the time for a healthy preliminary discussion for county boards regarding the 2014 election. Even if you decide that no action is needed, the discussion process will assist in making good decisions regarding current and future elected officials.

For further assistance in these discussions contact Pete Hanebutt at phanebutt@infarmbureau.org or 317-692-7811.

Local Policy Action Committee
An essential goal of the local policy action committee should be to follow the actions of the county council and county commissioners. Both bodies meet regularly but don’t necessarily advertise regular meetings in a legal notice. If you are not sure when these bodies meet, you can call the county auditor for dates, times and contact information. The county auditor serves as the secretary to both the county commissioners and county council. Have you identified one or more people to attend at least one meeting of each group? One committee goal could be to have someone there regularly.

When attending a commissioner or council meeting you don’t have to have an agenda or feel like you have to say something. As the Farm Bureau representative, listening and learning could be your most important role. You will learn a lot about county government and the challenges the people in those elected positions face. Your willingness to invest time to understand what they have to deal with will probably cause those elected officials to be more interested in what you have to say. This can help establish you as someone who wants to help find reasonable solutions to problems and will immediately separate you from those who just come to the meeting to complain.

The Indiana Farm Bureau County Government Statistical Report is a great resource to help you be well informed. People often refer to the detailed information in the county specific data that begins on page 48 of the 2012 report but the general information on pages 1 to 47 can be very useful in learning about county government structure and operation. A committee meeting to discuss the report could also be very useful. As you use the county statistical report, make notes of what information you would like to see included in this publication and offer those ideas to the Public Policy Team.

Happening Right Now

1. County Council and County Commissioners
   1. HIGH PRIORITY: Wheel and Surtax - The Senate version of the next state budget was presented on April 4. It included road funding provisions that reward/penalize your county if it has not adopted the wheel and surtax, and if they have not adopted at the maximum rate. If you don’t have wheel and surtax, would the county council consider adopting those? Would the county commissioners support such a move? If not, why not?
   2. Relay the CFB’s county government budget priorities to the county council and explain why they are priorities – county council.
   3. SB 475, which started out as a single county executive for Allen County, stalled in the House of Representatives and was amended to assign a legislative study committee the topic of the General Assembly allowing counties to change the executive and legislative structure of county government by placing: (1) all executive powers in a single county executive, instead of a board of commissioners; and (2) all legislative and fiscal powers in a county council. Local policy action committees are urged to consider these alternatives and discuss them with your county commissioners. Submit policy recommendations as appropriate. This will be an area where the CFB can submit their findings as a policy research survey referred to in the county recognition program.
2. Farmland Assessment - County Assessor
   1. Have you changed the classification of land previously assessed as farmland to other classification with a higher value? If so, please explain how often that occurred and why.
   2. Ask the county assessor to attend a board meeting to discuss the impacts of the most recent general reassessment.
3. Annexation
   1. If you know of annexation efforts in your county, please email Katrina Hall at khall@infarmbureau.org as soon as possible with a few details. Annexation is occurring in many areas as a way for cities and towns to expand their tax base and overcome revenue loss that is resulting from the 1-2-3 circuit breakers. There are multiple pieces of legislation moving in the General Assembly that deal with annexation and a study committee on the topic is possible so it would be helpful to know how widespread this is occurring.
4. Local Government, Planning for the Future
   1. Plan now for summer conversations with county councils. Shift gears to county budget priorities that are important to the county Farm Bureau.
   2. If you had to make a 60-second radio spot about Indiana Farm Bureau policy, what policies would you pick? Always start with thanks, but which priorities are on the tip of your tongue?

State Policy Action Committee
This session of the Indiana General Assembly doesn’t end until late April. It is important for state policy action committee members to stay informed and engaged. The weekly Dispatch should help you stay informed.

To stay engaged your committees are encouraged to:

• Have county Farm Bureau members attend local third-house meetings with legislators.
• Host or collaborate with other organizations to host a post-session third-house meeting.
• Host a thank you meeting with your legislators and your committee (maybe a breakfast).

Please use third-house meetings as an opportunity to ask two questions that will complement legislative activities. Here are two specific suggestions:

1. The state budget that passed out of the House of Representatives includes an additional $250 million in funding for state and local roads. The Senate version includes $100 million. Ask your legislators how much money is coming back to your county.
2. Ask how much more funding your local schools are receiving in the state’s budget.

National Policy Action Committee
Many national policy action committees have been working hard to build relationships with members of Congress. Members in the second congressional district participated in farm tours setup by Congresswoman Jackie Walorski and several county Farm Bureaus have been to Congresswoman Susan Brooks’ office to make introductions. These are just a few of the activities members have been involved in this month. These are great opportunities and a wonderful way for members of Congress to connect to agriculture issues. When you are planning a visit with a member of Congress think about the following, so you get the most out of your visit:

1. Could this meeting be hosted with another county Farm Bureau (congressional districts are large enough that this may work better for the congressman’s schedule)?
2. When will the meeting work best for the congressman’s schedule?
3. Are there other events that county Farm Bureaus are planning to invite them too? They want to meet with you, but if everyone asks at the same time it could be challenging.
4. What do we want to let them know? What is our message?
5. Contact Indiana Farm Bureau (Megan Ritter, mritter@infarmbureau.org) for information and talking points on issues. (If you want an IFB staff person to come, please let us know in advance.)
6. Report back to your regional manager or Megan on what issues you talked about and what you learned.

Please contact BJ Fields (317-692-7834 or bfields@infarmbureau.org) if you need the name of the congressional office district director or other information about their offices.

Food Safety
FDA has issued two of the five proposed rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was passed by Congress in January of 2011. FDA has held several listening sessions around the country and many produce organizations have been holding discussions regarding these proposed rules and the potential impact on the industry. There are certain exemptions based upon monetary figures and there are producer timelines to phase in implementation along with certain coverage limitations. If you are considering diversifying into produce production or expanding your current vegetable production, these proposed rules will likely have an impact on your operations. IFB is continuing to work with various Indiana organizations and AFBF on submitting comments to FDA.

For further information on this, contact Bob White at bwhite@infarmbureau.org or 317-692-7823.

ExampleEMarketingForwardLink
MPP