Indiana corn and soybean farmers will get an update on future regulations being talked about in Washington DC when meetings are hosted this month by the Indiana Soybean Alliance Membership & Policy Committee and the Indiana Corn Growers Association.
Staff at ISA and ICGA will update growers on policy issues like the farm bill, sequestration, and transportation infrastructure. ISA director Joe Steinkamp from Evansville, who also serves on the board of the Soy Transportation Coalition, says it’s important to address the infrastructure issues.
“The Soy Transportation Coalition is a group of 11 soybean states that are interested in moving forward on transportation issues that affect all farmers and soybean farmers in particular. The goal of the group is to improve our infrastructure, roads, bridges, locks and dams, and the rail system inside the United States, because transportation is the lifeblood of the soybean industry. We know that soybeans are one fourth, over 25% of all of our soybeans go to China, and over 50% of all soybeans go export. So everything that gets grain from our farm to the export market is important in our business.”
Those at the meetings will get an update on the current condition of Midwest infrastructure.
Gary Baise, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who specializes in Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act, as well as agricultural corporate governance issues is the featured speaker. He was the first Chief of Staff to the first U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and later was director of the EPA’s Office of Legislation.
The first meeting is in Pierceton just east of Warsaw Wednesday, March 13 at The Old Train Depot. Then it’s on to the Beef House in Covington Monday, March 18.
Both meetings start at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. Pre-registration is requested to Katie Thomas at kthomas@indianasoybean.com or 317-664-2797.