INDIANAPOLIS (WANE) — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a bipartisan bill Tuesday, giving the green light for the development of an online portal that will assist farmers in the "successful navigation of agricultural or related topics among various federal and state agencies." The signature on Hou se Bill 1149 approved the creation of the online portal. So now, work has to be done to develop it before it's actually able to be accessed by users. "Hopefully they'll start working on developing this later this spring [or] summer," Andy Tauer, executive director of public policy for the Indiana Farm Bureau, said. "Hopefully here in the coming year, the service will be available on the State Department of Agriculture's website." Once launched, the portal will provide "regulatory checklists" for farmers and aid in the navigation of certain rules so farmers can avoid situations that may result in punishments before they arise. Developer secures $2M to fund project at former site of historic Auburn Hotel "This is a conversation that has been churning here at the farm bureau for a while," Tauer said. "How do we streamline that process and provide that one-stop shop for farmers to be able to navigate the host of regulatory permits and things they would have to have?" The webpage will also provide a single source for users to access agricultural funding opportunities, a searchable database of available federal and state grants with information on eligibility and deadlines, and updates on changes to federal and state funding opportunities. "It will help them speed up the process between the concept of an idea of expanding their operation to be able to get to the finish line," Tauer said. "It will reduce the volume of phone calls [to] state agencies or organizations like Indiana Farm Bureau." Tauer said once the portal is launched, he anticipates the Indiana Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Farm Bureau will promote it to farmers to let potential users know when it's available. In addition to the services the portal will provide, HB 1149 also said there will be a way on the site to collect comments "regarding federal regulations impacting Indiana's rural economy." Users will also be able to give reviews and feedback regarding the usefulness of the portal. "I do believe that this will be something that's not static," Tauer said. "It will be ever-evolving as things change and new opportunities come alive." The Indiana Department of Agriculture will likely work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Labor throughout the portal's development. Federal agencies, particularly the USDA, have seen impacts from federal funding freezes imposed by the Trump administration during the last two months. "I think as the administration continues to work through this we are cautiously optimistic that many of the grants that were frozen will open back up for farmers and members to be able to access," Tauer said. ...read more read less