The Kansas State Fair brought members of the Kansas congressional delegation to Hutchinson, Sept. 9 to speak at the annual Kansas Farm Bureau Agricultural Leaders Breakfast.

Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall, both R-Kan., were joined by Reps. Tracey Mann and Ron Estes, both R-Kan., at the morning event that brought farm and rural leaders from all corners of the state together. Here are highlights of what they said.

Moran. In the midst of yet another water fight between the federal government representing the interests of Quivira Wildlife Refuge and surrounding farmers who irrigate, Moran explained the Kansas delegation is taking a bipartisan approach. The Republican delegation reached out to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, asking her to engage with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the administration in the hopes that she might be able to gain greater cooperation between USFWS and the Groundwater Management District 5’s irrigators.

“The economic consequences of irrigation going away in the Rattlesnake Creek Watershed is an estimated $1 billion,” Moran said. Compare that to the $2.5 billion economic impact of the new Panasonic plant that the state spent $898 million to attract, he added.

“We ought to spend a lot of time and effort to make sure we don’t lose an existing business contributing one-third of the economic benefits of one plant,” he said. “We want to grow, and we want the Panasonics to come to Kansas, but we can’t forget our roots. Agriculture is where our future lies. There’s not a Panasonic in St. John, or in Stafford. But there are farmers who earn a living and pay taxes” that support communities and families.

As for the farm bill, Moran told farm leaders he will work to improve Title I — commodities and assistance programs for the farmers who grow them; and in particular price loss coverage, or PLC.

“Input costs are not what they were the last time we passed a farm bill, and those reference prices need to be changed to take into account changing economic circumstances,” he said.

And following another multiyear drought that hammered Kansas farms and ranches, Moran said he will raise yet again the prospect of putting into the farm bill a consistent disaster relief program, as opposed to the ad hoc programs that currently exist.

“We have this conversation every year, and we recognize the value in having something in place beyond crop insurance — and especially with multiple years of poor yields where the crop insurance alone doesn’t meet the needs of farmers in Kansas,” he said.

Marshall. Marshall, a physician, sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“This is only my second farm bill, and I know a lot more about obstetrics than I do a farm bill, but if the farm bill were one of my patients, gosh, it feels like she’s a week overdue and we should induce her,” he told the breakfast.

Marshall told the state fair audience at the WIBW radio Ag Issues Forum later in the morning that he estimates a text of the farm bill will be available to the House around Thanksgiving, and on average eight months after that, a bill could be passed. That timing puts the passage of a farm bill right around the 2024 election.

“I don’t think we’ll see an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill until December, and it will probably be a yearlong extension,” Marshall said. “It’s Sen. [Debbie] Stabenow’s last year, and I think she’d like to see it done before she leaves.”

At issue on the Senate side, Marshall told the audience, is the budget of the farm bill. “In 2018, it was suggested that we spend $65 billion a year on food programs,” he said. However, the bill wound up spending $180 billion on food programs — much of that expenditure was during the pandemic.

“This new bill is budgeted at $120 billion for food programs,” Marshall said. “It’s hard for me as a business owner for that to add up to me.” The national debt of $33 trillion, for which Americans will pay $700 billion in interest just this year, is a challenge for senators and representatives trying to put together a farm bill.

“The ability of Congress to fund the government and keep it open and find long-term solutions to the national debt has an impact on us more than anything,” Marshall said.

Marshall wound up his speech by asking farmers to be good neighbors and look out for their neighbors who may be suffering mental health issues. He encouraged them to reach out and say something if they see something that worries them.

He also reminded farmers of the fentanyl problem in rural Kansas. “Every day, we lose a young adult life to fentanyl in Kansas,” he said. “It’s cheaper to get one pill of fentanyl than pizza delivered to your home.” He encouraged them to speak with the young people in their lives, and to be mindful of their prescription drugs at home.

Mann. Representing the First District of Kansas is a big responsibility, but with redistricting it’s become an even greater responsibility, Mann told breakfast attendees.

Sitting on the House Agriculture Committee, Mann remarked that the First District is the No. 3 agricultural producing district by dollar amount in the country — generating $12.5 billion in agricultural products in the last year. Of the 435 congressional districts, the “Big First” leads the way in beef, wheat and sorghum production in the U.S., he added.

“We have to keep in mind that this bill expires Sept. 30, and that they’re five-year bills for a reason,” Mann said. “They are long enough to provide certainty, but short enough to reflect the times of agriculture. The economy of 2018 is not the same as we see in 2023.” Input costs have risen, and farmers are still facing weather uncertainty.

Mann said his priorities on the committee are to:

Overall Mann echoed the sentiments of others about the timing of the farm bill.

“I share the frustration with how slow the process is taking,” he said. “But we need to get this done on time, and we need to be hyper-effective. We have to get the policy right.”