Moran appointment further boosts Kansas’ ag influence

A year after five of six members of the Kansas delegation voted against a farm bill, an Agweek headline this week observed: “Senate ag now controlled by Kansas.” That’s because the Senate Agriculture Committee chairman is now Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and also because Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., is newly chairing the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. As Agweek noted: Moran’s appointment, announced last week, is a “major boost to the Midwest and the Plains states, which have lost representation on the House Agriculture Committee, as members from some of those states have chosen other committee assignments.” – Rhonda Holman