Kansas Farm Bureau is the Voice of Agriculture during the legislative session in Topeka, where staff follow the grassroots policies adopted by members to improve farming, ranching and rural living for all Kansans.

According to the organization, here are are five ways they used member-directed policy to advocate for agriculture in Topeka this legislative session:

Water

KFB supported the transfer of an additional $35 million from the state general fund for the state water plan and the establishment of a water technical assistance fund and a water project grant fund for infrastructure projects. KFB also advocated for allowing certain water rights holders to participate in multi-year flex accounts on a temporary basis. KFB supported legislation requiring groundwater management districts to focus on conservation in priority areas of concerns while maintaining local control and report progress to the legislature annually.

Cotton Bale Exemption

KFB helped pass a law allowing cotton producers to avoid onerous secured load requirements when hauling cotton bales from the field to a storage facility or market. Trucks, trailers and semitrailers must be equipped with cradles and stakes or sideboards that are at least one foot high.

Rural Housing

KFB supported the expansion of Kansas Reinvestment Housing Incentive District to include certain cities in developing housing projects. Additionally, the law will allow developers to use proceeds from special obligation bonds to pay for renovation or construction of residential dwellings in select locations.

Lesser Prairie Chicken

KFB supported a resolution that disapproved of U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s listing of lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species in Kansas.

Energy

KFB advocated for legislators to spend more time discussing the energy needs of Kansans with a special focus on landowner rights, transparency in planning electric transmission lines and providing a forum for a comprehensive review of energy issues facing communities across the state.