Nearly two-thirds of Indiana’s 23 million acres are farmlands. Five of the state’s 92 counties have more than 90 percent of their land area used for agriculture. Only six counties have less than one-third of their areas on farms. 

According to National Resource Conservation Service estimates, approximately 53.4 percent of the total land area in the coal mining region of Indiana is considered “prime farmland.” This prime farmland is also often located in the suburban and exurban counties of metropolitan areas, which are also highly desirable for development. 

As a large percentage of the loss of farmland tends to occur at the periphery of urban areas, intense debates have occurred about the effects of urban sprawl and the inefficient land use pattern associated with urban growth and development. A proposal hopes to stop farmland from disappearing in Indiana. 

The American Farmland Trust says more than 500,000 acres of farmland in the state were developed over the past 30 years. The bill would direct the Indiana Department of Agriculture to create a program to let farmers preserve their agricultural land and keep it from being developed into a subdivision or for industrial use. State lawmakers have talked about putting more manufacturing (including tech companies) near the Michigan-Indiana border, considered prime farmland. 

As costs to begin a tech start-up soar in traditional tech hubs such as silicon valley, tech companies are looking to start their businesses in more affordable places, such as Indiana. With the cost of living and taxes low, limited government control, and a steady and rising rate of qualified applicants locally, tech startups would profit well in Indiana. 

Additionally, the Cyberstates 2019 report says Indiana added more than 3,400 tech jobs last year, and the tech sector had an estimated $16 billion impact on the state's economy. This positive impact of developing farmlands in favor of tech companies would have monumental effects on Indiana’s economy, revenue, jobs, and overall welfare of Indiana’s residents.

The debatable question remains, should Indiana get rid of farmland to become more tech-company friendly?