Don Villwock says strides have been made in recent years at easing conflicts stemming from people moving from cities to encounter odors and other things they might find offensive that simply go along with agriculture.
Nevertheless, the retiring president of Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. said more work needs to be done and a further calming of those tensions from urban sprawl through education is one of the biggest challenges facing his successor.
"Those outreach efforts, I think, do pay big dividends, but we got a long way to go,'' said Villwock, who's been at the helm of Indiana's largest farm organization for the past 14 years.
An election in November will determine his successor who'll take over the seat on Jan. 1.
Villwock said friction stemming from a growth in residential development in rural areas started becoming a major issue in Indiana about a decade ago.
In response, he said Indiana Farm Bureau has become more aggressive in educating the public about agriculture to avoid the element of surprise from city folks relocating to a farm community then later discovering a hog farm nearby or something else they find concerning like odors that go along with raising farm animals.
Another strategy of Indiana Farm Bureau has been a concerted effort to inform the public about the advancements in technology that have minimized odors from large farm animal operations and other techniques that have greatly reduced chemical runoff into local ditches and streams.
Villwock said attempts are also made to give elected officials a quick lesson in agriculture by allowing them to see the latest developments that have made for cleaner operations whenever a member of a county commission, county council or county zoning board attends a cookout or some other special event hosted annually on farms throughout the state.
"The environmental impact by hog producers, in particular, or poultry farms is less today than it was when grandpa farmed and the pigs were in open lots and waded through the streams and creeks,'' said Villwock.
Indiana Farm Bureau has also stepped up its longstanding effort at educating the public on where food comes from and the process involved in food reaching store shelves so more citizens have a better understanding of agriculture before moving to a rural area, he said.
Other efforts aimed at narrowing urban sprawl divide include farmers being asked to reach out to their neighbors whenever they have an expansion of their operation on the drawing board before any public notices of such construction are distributed to surrounding residents.
"Really, it's about relationships,'' said Villwock.
Villwock said the outreach efforts have helped combat the scare tactics opponents of agriculture resort to as they attempt to influence public opinion, but now a major challenge is presented by social media, which allows misinformation to circulate quickly.
"I do think social media and the Internet have poured gas on that fire and some of the activist organizations use that to spread misconceptions about modern agriculture,'' said Villwock.
Besides education, Villwock believes the slow-down of new home construction after the economic downturn hit in 2008 has also had some calming effect by slowing the spread of urban sprawl.
Villwock turns 65 in December. With his current three-year term due to expire, Villwock, instead of running for reelection, felt it was best to make way for new leadership.
"I'm just thinking, well, it might be time to let some new blood come in and get some new ideas and vitality into the organization," said Villwock, whose decision reflects his belief that changes in leadership are good to keep things from becoming stagnant.
Villwock, a third generation farmer near Vincennes, said he has no specific future plans except getting back to his wife, Joyce, and raising the white corn he sells for use in making tortillas on more of a full-time basis.
Some of his attention has been taken away from his farm because of the two-hour one way commute to Indianapolis, where he has lived in a hotel part-time to limit long drives to and from home.
He's also looking forward to becoming a grandfather for the second time in November and hopes to eventually continue with his work in developing policy for agriculture in some capacity.
"That's been really my life's work and mission to do that," said Villwock.
Much of his white corn is delivered to a tortilla/flour processing plant in Evansville and the remainder travels on barges in the Ohio River before arriving in countries like Mexico and Japan.
His farm also produces soybeans for four different companies and, in lesser amounts, products like popcorn, he said.
Vilwock said one of his biggest achievements is his work in holding down increases in property taxes, which he believes are stlll too high for Indiana farmers, and leading the charge to create a state department of agriculture.
Indiana was just one of two states when he took office not to a have such an agency.
He also was influential in establishing the Indiana Grain Indemnity Fund, a farmer-owned insurance account that helps in the recovery of losses stemming from grain elevator failures and other mishaps.
Villwock said he's most disappointed, perhaps, that permanent property tax relief has not become reality yet, but vowed the fight will continue once he steps down.
Villwock, a 1972 graduate of Purdue University with a degree in agricultural economics, is leaving with a long list of credentials that include being the state executive director of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for four years starting in 1989 and serving as a liaison for U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R) Indiana to the national Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture in 1997.