New Faces at the State House an Opportunity for Indiana Agriculture.rap
There are many new faces in this year’s General Assembly, and, after the fall election, there may be even more. This presents an opportunity for Indiana agriculture says Katrina Hall with Indiana Farm Bureau, “There are about 14 seats where there will be a new person running for the first time or a completely open seat.”
Hall says this is an unprecedented opportunity for agriculture to tell its story, “Sometimes we start to tell our story, but that person already has their mind made up. But with a new person, you start with a clean slate. It is an opportunity to get the story of agriculture told and make a good first impression.” She added new people can also bring some new perspective and new ideas that can benefit agriculture.
As a result of these changes, the chairmanships of many key committees may also change. Hall is optimistic that the work Indiana Farm Bureau members have done in the past has helped tell the story of agriculture to the right people, “Many times, when a new person moves into a new committee chairmanship, they are looking for new ideas and will turn to organizations like Farm Bureau for help.”
But the election this fall is likely to bring many more new faces to the State House. Hall says it will be important for farmers to tell their story, “This election cycle will not be the same old same old, there will be a lot of new dynamics out there that will be good for us.”
Indiana Farm Bureau has a new political action committee that will be involved in supporting candidates for state office who strongly support agriculture.