Property tax reform and biofuel tax credits are among the hot topics discussed during the latest episode of the Agbioscience Podcast—Presented by AgriNovus Indiana and hosted by their President and CEO Mitch Frazier.
This week’s special guest is Hoosier Ag Today President Eric Pfeiffer.
“It’s going to be another tough year,” says Pfeiffer. “Farmers are aware of that. They’re trying to figure out what can we do? How can we diversify? What can we do to get up over that mark?”
He says the number one piece of ag legislation this session at the Indiana Statehouse impacting Indiana’s farmers and farmland owners deals with property tax reform.
“Senate Bill 1 talks about property tax reform, but even now when you when you look at State Rep. Kendall Culp, who has put forward a bill (House Bill 1192) that’s talking about how they assess farmland values and trying to recalculate that formula. It would be too difficult for me to try to explain all the formulas and everything here.
“Ultimately for farmers—63 percent is what the assessed value [of Indiana’s farmland] has gone up in just the past three years! That’s the burden that farmers have taken on in the way of taxes,” he says. “How are we supposed to hand down farms to the next generation when that’s the burden being placed on this generation?”
Pfeiffer adds that two other bills—one in the Indiana House (H.B. 1127), the other in the State Senate (SB 254)—would provide a huge boost to the state’s biofuels industry by offering tax credits to gas stations that offer more ethanol and biodiesel at the pump.
“It would be a $15 million investment, but we’re talking about returns back to farmers of $117 million annually. We could add $104 million to Indiana’s annual GDP. What we’re talking about $11 million plus and savings to Indiana’s consumers and fuel costs,” says Pfeiffer. “There are so many things that we can do on these ag bills that aren’t just related to farmers, they’re huge wins for Indiana consumers as well.”
Pfeiffer also “gives his two cents” on ag policy in Washington, D.C. including the need for a new Farm Bill and President Trump’s tariff plan on the latest episode of the AgBioscience Podcast—Presented by AgriNovus Indiana. You can hear the full podcast below!
