With agriculture accounting for only 3% of Indiana’s average annual water use, the Indiana Farm Bureau aims to protect the state’s farmers and their rights to water. In the 2025 legislative session, advocating for water quantity policy will be top of mind.

INFB President Randy Kron shares that they want to protect more than just irrigation. Although most may think only farmers with center pivots need protection, Kron says that this topic extends to livestock producers and food processing as well.

“We think irrigation all the time, but you also have to think about livestock facilities,” Kron says. “So, it’s broader than irrigation, and sometimes I think we forget that. Food processors use a lot of water, too, so we want to help protect all of those.”

Indiana Sen. Sue Glick is currently working on legislation that would protect high-capacity water users if their well runs dry due to the actions of another high-capacity user. Glick is proposing that the state step in and aid the affected party in the investigative/procedural process, rather than the courts, if that situation were to arise.

Kron and Caitlin Smith, associate director of public policy at INFB, both share more about this proposed legislation and their plans for water quantity policy.

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INFB is supporting legislation authored by Indiana Sen. Sue Glick. What are the details of her proposed bill?

Smith: It really provides proactive protections to farmers. Right now, if a project goes in and their well runs dry, there’s no recourse for them. The only avenue for them to take is to sue. They must go to court, and that’s costly and timely. We believe that if the state is incentivizing economic development in areas where the resource may not be as plentiful, the state also should play a role in helping navigate the instance where the well runs dry. We hope that it doesn’t have to be utilized. And our language doesn’t really get involved in the priority use discussion, so it really puts everyone on the same playing field. Anyone who has a high-capacity well is now afforded a recourse through the state if their well runs dry.

What are you hoping comes out of this legislation?

Kron: It’s protections for agriculture on water use because we’ve made capital investments. And it’s not fair, not right, to have made those investments and then suddenly you flip the switch on your irrigator and no water comes out of it.

How soon could we see those protections put in place?

Kron: It depends on if we can get this bill passed. Then, it would be effective July 1. But we must get the bill across the finish line, and that’s a heavy lift. It’s going to take a lot. It sounds easy, but getting through the legislature, they have a lot of priorities this year. And the budget is going to take the front seat. We just must make sure we don’t lose focus on this. That’s where it’s going to take our members to help remind legislators this is important.

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Does INFB’s stance on this issue affect its stance on projects like LEAP?

Kron: There’s a whole different land-use issue there, but we’re not against development. It just needs to be smart, and they need to look at what resources they need and locate in places that have those resources. What sparked this water-protection discussion was the LEAP district, and there’s not a lot of water in that area. They’re short already, and so they were wanting to pipe it there. Then, you have winners and losers. We’re not anti-development by any means, but we need to be smart and thoughtful about where we’re picking locations and pick the right places.

Smith: I think LEAP really sparked the fire. We are hearing from our members that there are data centers popping up everywhere, and they’re all heavy water users. They’re mostly in rural Indiana. So, I think LEAP was a big issue, but we’re not solely focused on that project.

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What could a potential water-monitoring system look like?

Smith: There’s an existing well network, with 50 wells funded federally through the U.S. Geological Survey and 50 wells that the state Department of Natural Resources is monitoring. We want to see the state well network expanded and get some good, real-time data across the state. The DNR is working on a dashboard that any Hoosier can log into and see the water resources in that area as they ebb and flow. We want to see that initiative funded appropriately, and that’s what we’re going to be asking for in the legislative session.

Kron: Long term, we want to see a monitoring system put in. Then, we can understand what is going on underground because right now, we’re not sure. It allows us to be proactive. If an aquifer is not being recharged each time, then we can act early and not when we’re back to the crisis point. It lets us use the resource more wisely and know what we have.

For more information on INFB’s stance on water quantity policy and agricultural protections, visit infarmbureau.org.