Business Development in the Crossroads of America

• Agriculture is a priority for Indiana
  • By statute the Lt. Governor is Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Indiana and oversees the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. ISDA Director Bruce Kettler, reports administratively to Lt. Governor Crouch, is a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, and was appointed by the Governor
  • ISDA is not focused on being a regulatory agency, which gives us the bandwidth to focus on economic development specific to agriculture
  • We do this by connecting farms and other agricultural business' to opportunities for grant funding, making connections within the industry, and connecting to state and local economic development agencies
• Indiana’s agriculture is very diverse and highly productive
  • The state consistently ranks in the top five of most key sectors for crops, livestock, and food products. This occurs even though Indiana is the 10th largest state in terms of land area. Indiana also provides a close and consistent supply of products for input into the ag supply chain (80% of Indiana land is devoted to farms and forests)
  • This allows ISDA/Indiana to compete for value-added opportunities for food and agriculture markets
  • The Indiana Hardwoods sector alone have over $10 billion economic impact. This is largely due to Indiana’s office furniture manufacturing as well as cabinet manufacturing (Indiana is ranked #1 in both)
• Agriculture is part of the state’s culture and a sustainability focus allows our agriculture to thrive
  • ISDA Division of Soil Conservation works with farmers and landowners to conserve resources that leads to less nutrient runoff,  cleaner water, healthier soils and improved profitability
  • The Indiana State Fair’s mission is to honor and celebrate the history and future of agriculture and food
• We are a connector to key stakeholders of agriculture within Indiana for workforce, entrepreneurial and business development
  • The leadership for Indiana FFA is part of ISDA and works to ensure there is a steady pipeline of students who are aware of job opportunities through the agriculture industry
  • ISDA regularly interacts with educational and rural institutions such as Purdue University's College of Agriculture and the statewide Ivy Tech Community College system
  • Connections with AgriNovus Indiana, Agribusiness Council of Indiana, and key crop and livestock groups allow us to engage with producers and processors of key commodities to grow industry
  • The Dairy Strategy 2.0 is a great example of an industry partnership allowing us to work together for growth