More than 300 Kansas farmers, ranchers, business owners, educators, leaders, and policy makers from across the state of Kansas came together on Aug. 14 at the 10th annual Kansas Governor’s Summit on Agricultural Growth.
The day offered several opportunities to reflect upon the 10 years of this event, which aims to provide direction to the Kansas agriculture industry through discussion, collaboration and networking.
“The partnerships throughout all sectors of agriculture and across all corners of the state are at the heart of the success we have seen over the last decade,” Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam said. “I appreciate the contributions of all those who spent the day with us as we focused on the issues that will be key to agricultural growth in the future, especially the needs that exist for research and value-added opportunities.”
Governor Laura Kelly kicked off the day by celebrating the importance of agriculture in Kansas.
“The health of our agricultural sector is crucially important to the health of our economy as a whole,” she said. “That’s why here in Kansas, we develop and update comprehensive strategies to implement emergency response preparedness and resilience, promote agricultural research, ensure Kansas retains sufficient water resources, and support business and workforce development.”
This year’s Ag Growth Summit featured Tanner Ehmke as the keynote speaker to share an agricultural economic outlook. Ehmke is the lead economist for grains and oilseeds at CoBank, and a native Kansan and Kansas State University alumnus. He spoke about some of the challenges being faced by Kansas agriculture, especially related to changing demographics, labor shortages, and uncertainty about trade policies.
Attendees also heard comments from Marshall Stewart, K-State executive vice president for external engagement and chief of staff, who offered updates on the K-State ag innovation initiative, and from Jackie McClaskey, president and CEO of the American Royal, who gave a current status report on the new American Royal project.
For more about the 2025 Kansas Ag Growth Summit and the full Ag Growth Project—including information from previous Ag Growth Summits—go to www.agriculture.ks.gov/GrowAg.
