Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch released the following statement on Monday.
“As I travel the state, I’m hearing growing concerns from farmers and other constituents regarding the loss of farmland in the LEAP district in Boone County and in other parts of our state.
“Today, in addition to inventorying farmland lost from 2010 to 2022 (per HEA 1557), I’ve asked the Indiana Department of Agriculture to conduct an economic analysis of lost farmland to determine its value to local and state economies.
“Let me be clear, I am not opposed to the LEAP district or others like it. I applaud the investment and jobs it will bring to our state. As the eighth largest farming state in the country, agriculture contributes more than $35 billion to our economy. State leaders must carefully consider the impact of lost agricultural production and, as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, I will ensure this happens.”
The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Indiana Senate, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, chairs the Indiana Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Task Force & Indiana Roundtable on Mental Health, and oversees four state agencies.
Confined Animal Farm organizations are not farmers and are big air and water polluters in Indiana. Let’s get rid of them and bring in technical jobs in Boone County which will probably double the income for the state with manufacturing as it used to have been. Farmers are also polluting with no till and weed killers in our water. If you want to get elected you better get on the right side of the track.
Is doubling the income from Boone County’s technical development worth using 150 million gallons of water a day? Our under ground aquifer will disappear.