Tom’S PRIORITIESRural Development
Rural Indiana is a special place to all Hoosier families and we need to protect and preserve our small towns and rural farmlands. There are over 55,500 farms in Indiana, with nearly 15 million acres of farmland. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll work hard to support our farm economy with a farm bill that strengthens the safety net for farmers and invests in conservation programs. I believe farm communities need a strong and fair safety net to protect against market failure and the ever-increasing extremes in our weather patterns. We need a strong crop insurance program and we need to continue to fully fund the permanent disaster program for livestock producers. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll work to open up markets for Indiana producers, exporting our agriculture products.
Having a healthy farm economy is good for small town and rural development, but we can do more – and that starts with dramatically strengthening broadband coverage across every corner of Indiana. It also includes protecting rural hospitals and health care, better housing and a small business economy that works.