Indiana Farm Bureau, the main lobbying group in the state for agriculture, has announced property taxes and water rights issues as its policy priorities for the 2025 legislative session, said Andy Tauer, the bureau’s executive director of public policy.
Farmland property taxes had year-to-year base rate increases of 17 percent in 2023 and 26.4 percent in 2024. They are projected to increase another 20 percent next year.
“What we're looking to do is make some adjustments and modernize that farmland formula and see if we can find some relief for our members,” Tauer said.
He also noted that while the issue is important due to declining net farm income, fixing the base rate will be a balancing act.
“Our members live, work and play in these rural communities, and these rural communities depend on those dollars, that revenue through property tax, to provide local services to those members as well,” he said. “We’re going to strike the right balance as we go into the legislative session in terms of the property tax discussion.”
For water rights issues, the Farm Bureau said it will work to ensure accessibility throughout the state through expanded groundwater protection rights. This includes adding language protecting agriculture from the potential negative impacts of water withdrawals by other industries.
“Currently in our state statute, there's some protection for residential, small capacity wells and if the state declares a water emergency, but agriculture isn't included in that,” Tauer said. “So we'd like to see that expanded.”
Public policy is a major driver of the agriculture industry, which contributes more than $35 billion to the state’s economy and employs one in 10 Hoosiers, according to the Farm Bureau. That means changes in agriculture often have ripple effects throughout the economy, the Farm Bureau said.
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