Bill would let landowners donate farmland conservation easements; committee advances measure

Representative Culp presented House Bill 1234 to the House Agriculture Committee, saying, “This bill creates a framework for willing farmland owners to donate their conservation easements, if they choose to protect their farms for future generations to utilize to grow food.”

The bill would establish an agricultural land protection program that allows landowners to donate or bequeath conservation easements and authorizes the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) to accept and hold those easements. Representative Culp said the proposal asks for no state appropriation to purchase easements and instead creates eligibility to apply for federal funds and private matches.

Chris Reynolds, Midwest regional director for American Farmland Trust, told the committee he “express[es] my strong support for House Bill 1234,” saying the measure would let Indiana join other states that use easements to slow conversion of productive farmland to non‑agricultural uses. Reynolds cited the ISDA inventory showing the state lost roughly 345,000 acres of farmland from 2010–2022 and said the bill would create an Ag Conservation Easement Fund to leverage federal, state, local and philanthropic dollars.

Caitlin Smith, representing the Indiana Farm Bureau, also supported the bill, describing the easement as a voluntary option that “gives insurance to that farmer that the land will continue to be utilized for production.” David Harden, a sixth‑generation farmer who testified in support, said easements could be a tool for estate planning to keep land in agricultural use for future generations.

Quentin Hayes, legislative director for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said ISDA would implement the program “in coordination with the newly created protection board” and would assist counties acquiring easements, but noted the agency would need “additional staffing and resources” to carry out those responsibilities. Hayes also said the bill’s framework does not itself appropriate funds and that many land trusts could hold easements instead of the state.

Toby Day, sustainable agriculture director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, explained how easements affect land value: “Pretty much we’re selling off the development rights to that land. The land owner still retains possession of that land. They can still farm it … it’s just that conservation easement stays with it throughout the life of the parcel.” Committee members asked about implementation without state funding; witnesses repeatedly said willing landowners or local land trusts could initiate easements and that federal programs and matching funds would be needed to scale purchases.

The committee recorded a motion to move House Bill 1234 forward. The roll-call record in the transcript shows multiple affirmative votes and several members explaining a present “no” vote for now; the committee did not announce additional appropriations in committee.

The committee’s next steps include refining board membership language and potential technical amendments before the bill proceeds to second reading.