Letter: Farmers against the Mid-States Corridor need our support
Folks, it is not just happening in Southern Indiana. Farmers and their properties are being attacked across the country. One recent example is in Greene County, Missouri where the Department of Transportation is proposing to create the James River Freeway North Loop, which will take away generational farms and acres of farmland. Tennessee is another state losing farmland to the degree of about 10 acres every hour to some type of “economic development”.
Getting back to Indiana, according to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana has lost about 345,700 acres of farmland to “other purposes” between 2010 and 2022. Former Indiana Lt. Suzanne Crouch stated, “Agriculture is, and always has been, the lifeblood of the Hoosier state.”
In another study by American Farmland Trust, the projected conversion of farmland from 2016 – 2040 shows 800,000 acres will be lost and in Dubois County it will be around 12,000 acres. It also states 57% of Indiana’s conversion and 41% of Dubois County’s conversion will be from Indiana’s best agriculture land. Their Farms Under Threat report states that from 2016 to 2040 Hoosiers will pave over, fragment, or compromise 451,100 acres of farmland.
How does this all relate to the Mid-States Corridor? It is projected that over 1,800 acres of farmland could be lost and most likely more will be affected by the land grab. Generational farms, including Hoosier Homestead farms, will be lost. The agricultural business loss will be around $1.4+ billion annually according to their own study. We cannot let that happen.
So why is this land grab happening? It is simple, greedy developers and powerful business owners that don’t understand or care about the value of our farms and agriculture business only want their factories and distribution businesses to prosper.
I am not a farmer. I was born and grew up in a major city, but I understand the importance of farms and agriculture business to our economy and I for one will continue to support the farmers in Dubois, Martin, and Daviess Counties to stop this unnecessary boondoggle of a project.
The farmers need your support. Please reach out to local leaders, state legislators and businesses to let them know it is time to stop this proposed project. Consider helping their legal efforts by donating to their non-profit, The Property Rights Alliance. Donations can be made by check and sent to Property Rights Alliance, P.O. Box 64, Jasper, IN 47547 or by going to the Property Rights Alliance GoFundMe page online.
Mark Nowotarski
Jasper, Indiana
