Committee focused on success of Indiana farms 

By David Hardin, Indiana Soybean Alliance M&P Chair 

In December, I was elected as the new chair of the Indiana Soybean Alliance’s Membership & Policy Committee (M&P). Before I get too far, I’d like to introduce myself. I am David Hardin a farmer from Hendricks County. My family and I raise soybeans, corn, wheat and have a contract hog finishing operation. 

While I have only had the pleasure of being on the ISA board for a little more than a year, I have been involved with policy work at other farm organizations during the past 20 years. My grandfather taught me that if something has been good to you, it’s your responsibility to give back to it and leave things better than you found them. That’s why I have dedicated the next year to trying to improve the standing of Indiana soybean farmers as the M&P chair. 

The calendar has turned to 2026, and we look forward to the challenges and opportunities this new year will bring. Some are familiar, and we know what to do when they arise. Other challenges, less common, will cause us to pause to collect more information as we search for a solution. 

ISA’s Membership and Policy Committee helps us navigate those uncertain times where government policies could affect our profitability or our license to operate. 

The Indiana Soybean Alliance, the state’s soybean checkoff program, pursues programs that develop new markets and new uses that create value for Indiana soybeans. We also support research to create soy varieties resistant to diseases and pests, so soybeans can be grown with fewer inputs. This is why it is important for us to work to protect ISA’s funding for the future. 

We are operating in an environment of uncertainty when it comes to government regulations or policies both in Washington, D.C. and at the Indiana Statehouse. We don’t know if we could see legislation or executive orders from Washington that would threaten the federal soybean checkoff programs. The M&P committee is working with friendly members in both houses of the Indiana General Assembly to create fallback state legislation that would only come into force if the federal checkoff programs were to cease. 

Indiana is the only major soybean-producing state that doesn’t have fallback state language in law. This would put us at severe disadvantage compared to surrounding states if the federal checkoff act and order ceased to exist. We have crafted the legislation to be similar to the Indiana corn checkoff. 

There are safeguards in the legislation to ensure that funds will be used to the benefit of Indiana soybean producers. The state checkoff would also have a refund provision for those that chose to seek it. 

While those of us on the M&P committee hope we never need to utilize this language, we think it’s prudent insurance to protect the hard-won gains from the years of market development and research. 

I look forward to working for you this next year at the Statehouse and beyond.