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Broadband tops the list of priorities for Indiana Farm Bureau in 2021
Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron says improving and expanding broadband will be the top priority guiding the organization in 2021.
“We used to say we want coverage to unserved areas but now we’ve realized there are a lot areas with coverage, but they’re underserved,” he says. “It’s not adequate bandwidth to run zoom calls or team meetings or whatever we’re doing. Also, there are a lot of uses for broadband with ag technology and it’s not a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity.”
He tells Brownfield the organization will work during the general session to advocate for additional funding to improve broadband in rural communities.
He says increasing meat inspectors to help expand processing capacity is another priority.
“We need to look for funding from board of animal health so we can have some more meat inspectors because some of them are telling us their limiting factor is they may only have an inspector there one day a week so that limits what they can do,” he says. “We’re going to be trying to watch those things, look at budget, and try to add more meat inspectors.”
Indiana Farm Bureau will also be seeking to protect K-12 education funding.
The 2021 legislative session is a budget year for the Indiana General Assembly. Kron says requesting funds for various rural issues is challenging during a normal budget year, but the coronavirus pandemic has made it more challenging.
Audio: Randy Kron talks with Brownfield about the INFB virtual convention, accomplishments in 2020, and goals for 2021
