Agriculture, and a spot on the House Agriculture Committee, were at the forefront again Monday in the primary race for the 1st Congressional District of western and central Kansas.

Primary challenger Roger Marshall hosted a media conference in Salina, announcing his “Farm Team”. Among those at the event were representatives from the Kansas Farm Bureau, and from the National Sorghum Producers, both officially announcing their organizations’ endorsement for Marshall. Several area farmers also spoke in support of Marshall.

A hot issue in the race has been incumbent representative Tim Huelskamp’s removal from the House Agriculture Committee after he clashed with former Speaker John Boehner.

Marshall, a physician from Great Bend, has previously positioned himself as a “peacemaker” and did so again on Monday.

At a recent debate in Hutchinson, Huelskamp blamed the former House Speaker for Kansas not having a spot on the committee. Huelskamp said he anticipates returning to the Agriculture Committee if re-elected.

Huelskamp,who was raised on a family farm near Fowler, has been the representative for Kansas’s 1st congressional district since being elected in November of 2010.

Marshall said that he also has rural roots, working on his grandparents’ farms while growing up in El Dorado.