Committee advances bill directing ISDA to build one-stop online portal and five-year farmland inventory

Committee members advanced House Bill 1149 on a 9-0 vote after lawmakers and agency staff described a proposal to create a centralized online portal for farmers and a recurring inventory of land converted out of agriculture.

Representative Culp, sponsor of House Bill 11 49, told the committee the bill “directs the Department of Agriculture to create an online portal which would be similar to 1 stop shopping for farmers and rural communities to easily search for information for funding opportunities or other information that's available on the web.” She said the site would include links to state and federal agencies, a public comment forum for federal notices and five‑year updates to the inventory of lost farmland.

Supporters said the portal is intended to reduce the time farmers spend tracking permits and programs spread across multiple agencies. Quentin Hayes, legislative director for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, told the committee the proposal is a governor priority and that ISDA envisions the site as a trusted launching point linking ISDA, DNR, IDEM, the state chemist's office, the board of animal health, health, EPA and USDA resources. Hayes said fiscal impacts were "undetermined" and ISDA is working to fit the work into current appropriations.

The bill would require ISDA to update an inventory of lost farmland every five years. Hayes and Representative Culp said the inventory will rely on data sources such as the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) property-class codes and the Census of Agriculture. Representative Culp referenced the initial inventory release covering 2010–2022 and said it showed a net loss of about 345,000 acres during that period.

Committee members pressed staff on limits and accuracy. Senator Yoder asked whether the inventory would capture causes of land use change; Representative Culp said the first report used DLGF data to show acres converted to non‑agricultural uses and the category of the new use. Senators and staff also discussed county‑level classification differences and an earlier county-by-county map that ISDA later corrected after a coding error.

Several witnesses described how a portal would help small and diversified farms. Mike Hoopengardner of Redbud Farm said his operation spent months navigating multiple permits and registrations and called a consolidated portal “a huge, huge game changer for small farms.” Adam Novotny of the Indiana Farm Bureau said his group supports the bill and urged ongoing improvements to data accuracy.

The committee approved the bill by voice and roll call; staff recorded nine yeas and no nays. The bill record shows the committee moved to pass the measure and sent it forward with a 9-0 roll call.

If enacted, ISDA would build and host the portal and publish the five‑year farmland inventory. Hayes told the committee ISDA would also publicize the portal with press releases and community outreach if the law passes. Committee members asked ISDA to provide corrected maps and data copies to legislators and to continue coordination with county assessors and other state agencies.