Since the beginning of the 21st century, the U.S. has lost millions of acres of farmland to development, and Indiana lawmakers want to know how much farmland the state might be losing and why.
The Indiana Senate will consider House Bill 1557, authored by Rep. Kendell Culp, which instructs the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to conduct an inventory of all the farmland lost in Indiana between 2010 and 2022 and identify the cause of the loss.
The bill has already passed the Indiana House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
“I think we all know in Indiana the importance of agriculture. It’s a real economic driver, not only to our state’s economy, but it’s crucial to the economy of our rural communities,” Culp testified. “I realized that we really needed the data to see how serious this issue was, if it was a serious issue at all.”
Agriculture contributes about $31.2 billion to the state’s economy. According the ISDA, about 80% of all the land in Indiana is devoted to farms, forests and woodlands.
Indiana farmlands can help combat climate change. They emit much less greenhouse gases than developed land overall and can prevent tens of millions more metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere through no-till farming and the use of cover crops.
A 2022 study by the American Farmland Trust found that the U.S. lost 11 million acres of farmland, or about 2,000 acres of farmland and ranchland a day, between 2001 and 2016.
About 7 million acres of farmland was converted to low-density residential areas, or areas with single-family homes or buildings with a small number of units. The remaining 4 million acres of farmland were lost to the construction of commercial buildings, industrial sites and other urban growth.
The group warns that without better planning at the local level, the U.S. could lose another 18.4 million acres of farmland by 2040.
Former ISDA director Bruce Kettler, who now serves as CEO of the Agribusiness Council of Indiana, said an inventory would help determine whether the farmland lost in Indiana was adding value to the state’s economy or hurting it overall.
“If we step back and look from a business perspective, it might be good. Maybe we’re able to bring in businesses and know what they can do. They can add value to the products that our farmers are producing,” Kettler testified.
Record high farmland prices, inflation-boosted prices for fertilizers and pesticides, higher fuel costs and other financial considerations have made life difficult for farmers, and about 82% of farm household income now comes from off-farm sources.
Within a one-year time frame, prices for farmland that is transitioning out of agricultural production has increased by 36.5%, potentially convincing some farmers to sell their farmland to developers.
Farmers have for years backed legislation that whittled down state and federal regulations on wetlands in order to make it easier to develop farmland or make the farmland more lucrative for sale to developers.
In 2021, farmers backed Senate Enrolled Act 389, authored by Sens. Chris Garten, Mark Messmer and Linda Rogers, members of the Indiana Builders Association also serving as state senators. SEA389 removed state protections for half of the state’s remaining wetlands and weakened the few protections that were kept in place.
The wetland protection rollback may have aided the purchase of thousands of acres of Boone County farmland containing wetlands by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The IEDC is establishing the LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District, a 9,000-acre corporate and manufacturing megasite.
The full Indiana Senate could vote on the bill later this week.
Culp has also introduced another bill, House Bill 1132, which would establish a land use task force to examine growth trends in the state and what communities can do to attract economic development. That bill will be heard later this month by the Senate Committee on Commerce and Technology.
Tangu mwanzo wa karne ya 21, Marekani imepoteza mamilioni ya ekari ya ardhi ya kilimo kwa maendeleo, na wabunge wa Indiana wanataka kujua ni kiasi gani cha ardhi ya kilimo ambayo jimbo hilo linaweza kupoteza na kwa nini. Seneti ya Indiana imependekeza sheria ya 1557 ya Bunge, iliyoandikwa na Mbunge Kendall Culpe, ambayo inaagiza Idara ya Kilimo ya Jimbo la Indiana kufanya orodha ya ardhi yote ya kilimo iliyopotea huko Indiana kati ya 2010 na 2022 na kutambua sababu ya hasara. Muswada huo tayari umepitishwa na Bunge la Wawakilishi la Indiana na Kamati ya Seneti ya Kilimo. Nadhani sisi sote tunajua katika Indiana umuhimu wa kilimo. Ni dereva halisi wa kiuchumi, si tu kwa uchumi wa jimbo letu, lakini ni muhimu kwa uchumi wa jamii zetu za vijijini, "Culp alitoa ushahidi. """Niliona kwamba tulihitaji data ili kuona jinsi suala hili lilivyokuwa kubwa, ikiwa lilikuwa tatizo kubwa kabisa,"" alisema, akisema, ""Kulima huchangia karibu dola bilioni 31.2 kwa uchumi wa jimbo hilo." Kulingana na ISDA, karibu 80% ya ardhi yote ya Indiana imejitolea kwa mashamba, misitu na misitu. Mashamba ya Indiana yanaweza kusaidia kupambana na mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa "Hizi hutokeza gesi za chafu kidogo kuliko ardhi iliyotengenezwa kwa ujumla na inaweza kuzuia mamilioni ya tani za kaboni dioksidi kutoka kwa kutolewa katika angahewa kupitia kilimo cha ""no till"" na matumizi ya mazao ya kifuniko." Utafiti uliofanywa na shirika la American Farmland Trust uligundua kuwa Marekani imepoteza ekari milioni 11 za mashamba, au ekari 2,000 za mashamba na mashamba ya mifugo kwa siku, kati ya mwaka wa 2001 na 2016. Karibu ekari milioni 7 za mashamba zilibadilishwa kuwa maeneo ya makazi yenye wiani mdogo, au maeneo yenye nyumba za familia moja au majengo yenye idadi ndogo ya vitengo. Maeneo mengine ya kilimo ya ekari milioni 4 yalipotea kwa ajili ya ujenzi wa majengo ya kibiashara, maeneo ya viwanda na ukuaji mwingine wa mijini. "Kama hakuna mipango bora ya eneo hilo, Marekani inaweza kupoteza ekari milioni 18.4 za ardhi ya kilimo ifikapo mwaka 2040. """ Mkurugenzi wa zamani wa ISDA Bruce Kettler, ambaye sasa anatumikia kama Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Baraza la Biashara ya Kilimo la Indiana, alisema orodha hiyo itasaidia kuamua ikiwa ardhi ya kilimo iliyopotea huko Indiana ilikuwa ikiongeza thamani kwa uchumi wa jimbo au kuumiza kwa ujumla. <unk>Kama sisi hatua nyuma na kuangalia kutoka mtazamo wa biashara, inaweza kuwa nzuri. Labda tunaweza kuleta biashara na kujua nini wanaweza kufanya. Wanaweza kuongeza thamani kwa bidhaa ambazo wakulima wetu wanazalisha, <unk> Kettler alitoa ushahidi. "Hata hivyo, ""mauzo ya ardhi ya kilimo, bei ya mbolea na dawa za kuua wadudu, gharama za mafuta na mambo mengine ya kifedha yamefanya maisha ya wakulima kuwa magumu na karibu asilimia 82 ya mapato ya familia ya kilimo sasa yanatokana na vyanzo vya nje ya shamba.""" Katika kipindi cha mwaka mmoja, bei ya ardhi ya kilimo ambayo inageuka kutoka kwa uzalishaji wa kilimo imeongezeka kwa 36.5%, na uwezekano wa kuwashawishi wakulima wengine kuuza ardhi yao ya kilimo kwa watengenezaji. Kwa miaka mingi wakulima wamekuwa wakitegemeza sheria ambazo zilikata marufuku sheria za serikali na serikali juu ya maeneo ya mvua ili kuwezesha maendeleo ya mashamba au kufanya mashamba kuwa yenye faida zaidi kwa waendelezaji. Mwaka huu, wakulima wa Marekani wameunga mkono sheria ya Seneti ya 389, iliyoandikwa na Seneta. Chris Garten, Mark Messmer na Linda Rogers, wanachama wa Chama cha Wajenzi wa Indiana pia wanaotumikia kama seneta wa jimbo. SEA-389 iliondoa ulinzi wa serikali kwa nusu ya maeneo ya mvua yaliyobaki ya jimbo na kudhoofisha ulinzi wachache uliobaki. Mipango ya kuondoa ardhi ya mvua iliweza kusaidia ununuzi wa maelfu ya ekari ya mashamba ya Kaunti ya Boone yenye maeneo ya mvua na Indiana Economic Development Corp. IEDC inaanzisha Wilaya ya Uvumbuzi na Utafiti ya LEAP Lebanon, eneo la ekari 9,000 la ushirika na utengenezaji. Baraza la Seneti la Indiana linaweza kupiga kura juu ya muswada huo baadaye wiki hii. Culp pia amewasilisha muswada mwingine, Muswada wa Nyumba 1132, ambao utaanzisha kikosi cha kazi cha matumizi ya ardhi kuchunguza mwenendo wa ukuaji katika jimbo na kile jamii zinaweza kufanya ili kuvutia maendeleo ya kiuchumi. Muswada huo utasikilizwa baadaye mwezi huu na Kamati ya Seneti ya Biashara na Teknolojia.