‘Middleman’: Former Indiana ag director backs removal of LG’s leadership duties

A former leader of Indiana’s State Department of Agriculture says lawmakers should scrap Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s role as agriculture secretary and elevate Director Don Lamb to a cabinet position instead.

“It’s probably time to make that change,” said Ted McKinney, who served as ISDA director from 2014 to 2017. “Why do I say that? We may think that the director has complete autonomy, but they do not. … If you’re looking for efficiency, cut out the middleman. I don’t mean that with any disrespect.”

Indiana legislators made the lieutenant governor the secretary of agriculture and rural development in the same law that established ISDA. Gov. Mitch Daniels signed House Enrolled Act 1008 in 2005.

“Indiana is unique. I respect the heritage of that,” McKinney told a state panel on Tuesday. “… I think it also had a lot to do with the personality that (Lt. Gov.) Becky Skillman was at the time.”

McKinney, who now is CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, most recently was undersecretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs during President Donald Trump’s first term.

He returned to Indiana for the first meeting of the Agricultural Promotion and Regulation task force, one of more than a dozen interim committees studying topics for potential legislation.

The task force was created to examine agriculture-related “gaps and overlaps” between state entities, in addition to other structural questions on agricultural administration, regulation and publicity.

Promotion or demotion?

Other industry groups echoed the suggestion Tuesday, during a meeting focused on “challenges and opportunities” for agriculture, according to the agenda.

“We believe it is critical that the Indiana director of agriculture be elevated to a cabinet-level position with a direct line to the governor — a full secretary of agriculture, if you will — to ensure that agriculture, as a foundation of our state’s economy, has an advocate at the highest reaches of state government,” said Alan Dunn, president of the Indiana Corn Growers Association.

Dunn said the Indiana Corn Marketing Council supported the research of an emerging startup into a corn-based acrylic acid, which is used in adhesives, coatings, paints and more. Despite that Hoosier involvement, Illinois won the pilot production plant.

“While (the council) can invest in research and promotion of new uses of corn, what it can’t do is provide economic development incentives for locating production facilities,” Dunn said. “… This is an example where collaboration at the cabinet level of leadership may have been able to keep this opportunity in Indiana.”

He sought greater “communication and collaboration” across state entities that handle economic development or food safety that can relate to agriculture.

Some pushed back on the idea, however.

Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, said the change would present a “demotion” for the industry.

“Right now, our secretary of agriculture is … our No. 2 elected official in the state of Indiana,” he said. “I would actually view that as demotion, moving into a secretary position.”

GOP legislation removing the lieutenant governor as secretary was introduced last January, days before Beckwith took office. But it was assigned to the Senate Rules Committee — controlled by chamber President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray — and died there without a hearing.

Asked for his opinion, task force leader Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, said panel members hadn’t yet voted to take a position and wouldn’t until the final meeting in the fall. But he said each agency that touches agriculture should have an ag liaison.