U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall welcomed the vice chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee to the Sunflower State to visit with farmers and ranchers and to see the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.
John Boozman, R-AR, wanted an opportunity to hear from producers and see research facilities, said Marshall, a Kansas Republican and member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
A busy day included a private tour of NBAF, which will have a ribbon cutting on May 24, Marshall said. NBAF will provide research to protect livestock and the nation’s health and food supply, he said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will oversee NBAF when it is in fully operation, he said.
As a result, the Senate Agriculture Committee will also have oversight on operations. The $1.25 billion project is the nation’s only large animal facility built to handle pathogens that do not currently have treatments or countermeasures and it will open adjacent to Kansas State University and near Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Boozman has been a participant in past farm bills and asks thoughtful questions, Marshall said. A recent tour on April 28 started in Kansas City where Boozman and Marshall could meet with various representatives in the agricultural business arena where High Plains crops and livestock are marketed.
At the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center, representatives from the wheat, corn, sorghum and soybean industries could give an update and their perspective on the ag industry, Marshall said.
“It was a proud day for K-State and to have the vice chair of the ag committee here to see the best of agriculture and the best of Kansas agriculture made it a special day,” Marshall said.
The day finished with a conservation tour and listening panel with producers, he said. Producers also expressed concern about complicated processes to enroll in farm programs that USDA has made more difficult in recent years and it is not unique to agriculture.
Crop insurance continues to be the No. 1 priority for producers, Marshall said. He and Boozman agree that former Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, now retired but the former chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, when the 2018 bill was approved, had worked in a bipartisan manner with current Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, to have a program that works for producers.
“No one makes money on crop insurance, but it allows a farmer to plant next year’s crop,” Marshall said, adding it does come at a time when there is much debate on deficit spending. When property values go up on a home so does the cost of insurance.
He reminds people the agriculture production component is about 5% of the expenditures of the farm bill and another 5% is set aside for conservation programs. About 90% of it goes to food programs that include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which have also escalated in costs because of inflation. Marshall said work requirements for receiving benefits based on certain standards does not take away from a safety net. He believed that programs should encourage people to work full time and better themselves as a way to provide dignity.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
