LEESBURG – Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman addressed how drought has impacted the state in Leesburg Thursday night.
Skillman was the keynote speaker during Tom Farms Annual Appreciation Dinner.
The event was attended by approximately 400 people.
The purpose of the dinner was to show appreciation to Tom Farms’ landlords, vendors and the community.
Skillman recently honored Kip Tom, managing member of Tom Farms, with the 2012 AgriVision Award at the Celebration of Agriculture event in the Normandy Barn at the Indiana State Fair.
The award, in its sixth year, is given to a Hoosier who has shown leadership in Indiana agriculture.
Tom Farms’ seed corn production operations include those in the United States and Argentina.
Tom serves on the board of directors of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, serving with Governor Mitch Daniels.
He also serves as an advisor to the Indiana Department of Agriculture and is a member of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture Indiana Grown program.
Skillman manages the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the Office of Energy Development, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and the Office of Tourism Development.
During Thursday night’s dinner, Tom introduced Skillman, who spoke about agriculture and the drought.
Tom said Skillman has been a champion of agriculture in rural communities who has brought jobs to Indiana.
She said serving for the past eight years as lieutenant governor and as the first secretary of agriculture, she has enjoyed working with farm families and the agriculture industry.
“Not only is agriculture an important part of our state’s heritage, it’s a critical part of our state’s future,” Skillman said.
“It has been one of the most rewarding experience of my life serving as the secretary of agriculture and Indiana would be a far lesser place if it weren’t for its agriculture roots.”
Skillman said in the Bill of Rights it talks about life, liberty and property.
She said land contributes to one of the state’s economic engines that is the agriculture industry.
“This is an industry that has kept our state strongest these past few years in very difficult economic times,” Skillman said.
She spoke about the drought and said the United States Department of Agriculture has now declared 92 counties as primary or contiguous county natural disaster areas.
She said this means all farmers in Indiana are eligible for emergency low interest loans through the Farm Service Agency.
The state has set up a website for farmers and residents to get information about the drought at www.drought.in.gov
She said if there is a silver lining in the drought, it’s the spotlight that has been on Indiana farmers and the agriculture industry.
She said a few weeks ago she turned on the Weather Channel and saw Tom educating viewers on the devastating effects of the drought on crops.
She spoke about the importance of the Indiana State Fair and it showcasing modern agriculture.
“Agriculture contributes to $26 billion a year to the state’s economy and employs 19 percent of the Indiana workforce,” Skillman said.
She said over the last eight years the state has seen $6.2 billion invested in new food and agricultural ventures and in that period 7,200 new agriculture jobs have been created.
In April she said the state launched Homegrown Indiana, a program that promotes Indiana produce, and a Certified Livestock Producer program for producers who want to be environmentally sound.
Skillman said in 2004 she and Governor Daniels pledged to not only create the state’s first ever state Department of Agriculture, but to include the agriculture industry in the state’s overall economic development plans.
She said while serving as lieutenant governor she led the sixth international agriculture trade mission to China in June.
“In the last 10 years Indiana’s exports to China have increased by 500 percent,” Skillman said. “We take very seriously our ability to help feed the world.”
