BY STEVE HOWELL, Senior Director for Industry Affairs
Each year, the Indiana Soybean Alliance’s Membership & Policy Committee (M&P) and the Indiana Corn Growers Association (ICGA) host Coffee Shop Talks with members of Indiana’s congressional delegation while Congress is on recess.
This is an opportunity for a small group of local farmers to meet with their own congressional representatives and senators to discuss issues facing soybean and corn farmers. This small-group approach is important as it gives more opportunity to delve deeper into the impact various national issues have on corn and soybean farmers.
This year, M&P and ICGA hosted two Coffee Shop Talks: one with U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Dist. 5) and another U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Dist. 9).
On March 14, ICGA and M&P staff organized a Talk with Rep. Spartz in Pendleton, Ind. with local farmers to highlight the need for adequate safety net programs within the 2023 Farm Bill and to discuss burdensome regulations like the EPA’s latest Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.
M&P and ICGA met with Rep. Houchin on April 6 at the Rose Acre Corporate Headquarters in Jackson County, Ind. Area farmers highlighted many vital agricultural issues important including biofuels, trade infrastructure and the reauthorization of the farm bill.
The meeting at the Rose Acre facility provided a perfect backdrop to explain how corn and soybeans move as livestock feed and highlight the importance of infrastructure, ag labor and how the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program work to open new markets for commodities and, specifically, corn and soybeans through poultry product exports.
The Houchin Coffee Shop Talk was sponsored by First Farmers Bank and Trust.
