Working on the farm, at the bureau

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Balancing farm life and Indiana Farm Bureau responsibilities is a daily process for Kendell Culp, vice president of INFB.

He recently toured several Indiana farms and agribusinesses with American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.

“We took him to the CountryMark refinery, which is the smallest American-owned oil refinery in the country, located in Mt Vernon,” Culp said.

“That was something he hasn’t seen before. We took him to an ethanol plant, Valero, as well. We visited a farm that raises a lot of specialty crops — pumpkins, melons, gourds. Then we saw two more multi-generational family operations, including a sawmill and a meat company.”

INFB leaders are also gearing up for their policymaking process.

“Our resolutions committee sorts through all of the policies that have been submitted from county Farm Bureaus,” Culp explained. “We will meet Aug. 2-3. I have the privilege to be the chair of that committee.

“Once they adopt the recommendations for policy, it goes to our full delegate body, which is made up of members from each county. We’ll meet in Hendricks County to adopt our official stance on those policies for 2023.

“We’re in the thick of policy season here at Indiana Farm Bureau. I’m anxious to be a part of that and see where it takes us. We’ll establish our legislative priorities for 2023, and we’ll be off and ready for the start of the General Assembly in January.”

On The Farm

Back on Culp’s farm, the family is busy taking care of cattle and hogs.

Culp’s wife runs a retail meat sales business. They sell product at a farmers market and supply a few meat cases.

“Demand has been really good,” he said. “All through the pandemic, demand has been high for that. We had never witnessed empty meat cases at the grocery store. It’s helped direct farmer-to-consumer sales.

“That’s continued on past the pandemic. I think consumers have seen the value of locally sourced food. That’s been a positive thing, as well.”