Farmers, Legislators Discuss Power Lines, Crop Transportation

Current agricultural bills working their way through the Indiana legislative session aren't the only issues farmers have been discussing with their state legislators this year.

"This has been a positive year," said John Newsom, a regional manager for Indiana Farm Bureau. "They're working on legislation that will show favor to ag, but we don't have a red-light emergency that we're working on" as in some years.

Newsom and several Indiana Farm Bureau representatives from Marshall County were in Indianapolis last Thursday to talk with their legislators, not only encouraging them to vote in favor of several agricultural bills, but also talking to state leaders about an how NIPSCO power lines connecting substations in Reynolds and Burr Oak and near Topeka could negatively affect farmers in those areas. Indiana Farm Bureau regularly arranges for county representatives to meet with state legislators.

Marshall County's Farm Bureau board members said that fields where the power lines would run would prevent irrigation systems from properly and evenly watering crops; prohibit the aerial application of fungicides; create safety issues for farmers using tractors and heavy machinery near the towers, and take away from a farmer's overall yields from decreasing the number of crop-producing acres.

NIPSCO has decided on the final route for the Reynolds-Topeka power lines and states on its website that the power lines will create local jobs, increase the property taxes NIPSCO pays to local governments, improve the reliability of its electricity, provide anticipated cost savings to customers because of access to lower cost energy and improve the access to wind and solar renewable energy sources.

NIPSCO plans to begin construction of the power lines later this year, finishing the project with the new power lines and towers in use in 2018.

Marshall County's Farm Bureau board members said the legislators they spoke with at the Feb. 20 meeting understood what farmers' issues were with, not only the power lines' construction, but also with agricultural bills making their way through the state Senate and House.

"They really respond to us and understand what we want," said Charlie Houin, Indiana Farm Bureau's Marshall County board president, "and we appreciate what they're doing for us down here (in Indianapolis)."

Marshall County's meetings with their legislators coincided with an event put on by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Corn Growers Assn.

The soybean and corn groups annually bring together farmers and a variety of agricultural groups' leaders to talk with state senators and representatives as they enter the Statehouse.

While some talked about bills, the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers Assn. also provided information on Indiana county's roads and bridges, drawing attention to how the state needs to maintain its infrastructure to allow farmers to continue to efficiently and safety transport crops.