Rural broadband access, preserving Indiana’s most fertile cropland, and sustaining the farm for the next generation- all topics important to Hoosier farmers that were discussed Tuesday morning in Tipton County with Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch at an ag roundtable she hosted. Crouch also serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Tipton County Commissioner and Indiana Soybean Alliance director Nancy Cline told Hoosier Ag Today that high-speed internet access to rural communities was a hot topic at the roundtable.
“Especially as technology advances, I mean, you know how fast technology advances, we need to be looking ahead to make sure that what we do will meet the needs not only now, but five years down the road.”
As a county commissioner, one of Cline’s concerns is how to grow appropriately yet still preserve Indiana’s top cropland, especially given the booming interest in solar farms. She says the solutions surrounding that will need to be creative.
In a follow-up conversation with an Indiana State Senator, they wondered, “should we be, as a state, looking specifically of ways to keep that best crop-growing ground for agriculture production and looking at using the nominal ground for solar? However, that becomes challenging because, as you know, solar farms have to locate near a substation. So, they’re limited to where they can locate.”
Cline says the roundtable was a great opportunity to share thoughts and have important conversations regarding agriculture.
“I so appreciate Bruce Kettler, our director of agriculture in Indiana, and I so appreciate Lieutenant Governor Crouch. She’s always so good to listen and try to help find solutions, and she really cares about the state. I just appreciated the opportunity so very much.”
Crouch will continue to hold ag roundtable discussions around the state.
