The Agribusiness Council of Indiana held their annual Statehouse Day and Annual Meeting on Wednesday. President & CEO Bruce Kettler says the big bill at the Statehouse for ACI this session is the grain indemnity bill.
“A lot of the ag groups worked together to try to make sure we took away some of the discretion that that was in the case of grain buyers agency that they had. We tried to improve and strengthen. I think we’ve done a really good job as a group to strengthen some of the financial needs and commitments for licensees. And of course, a lot of licensees are members of ACI.”
House Bill 1184 is another bill that Kettler and ACI have been keeping an eye on. The bill proposes a move for employees of the Office of the State Chemist from Purdue to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
“We think that bill may be dead, but we don’t know for sure,” Kettler says. “We’ll continue to watch and see what plays out because a lot of our members work with the State Chemist’s office, whether it’s on crop protection, fertilizer; we have very good relationships.”
A bill from Rensselaer farmer Rep. Kendell Culp, HB 1219, would provide a sales tax exemption for equipment used in storing, drying, moving, removing, and handling agriculturally cultivated grain crops.
Kettler says, “that could affect our members because it allows commercial entities to consider that and look at that as well.”
To hear more about that bill from Culp, tune in to the latest Indiana Ag Policy Podcast. Hear the full HAT interview with Kettler below.
