Davids prepares for work on House Ag Committee through listening tour

.S. Rep. Sharice Davids admits she's negotiating a steep learning curve as one of the newest members of the House Agriculture Committee.

Davids was appointed to the committee last summer at a time that practically coincided with new boundary lines drawn in her district – Kansas' 3rd District of the U.S. House of Representatives. The new district split Wyandotte County along Interstate 70 and still included Johnson County in its entirety, but also added Miami, Franklin and Anderson counties to the mix, making it decidedly more rural.

As the House Ag Committee prepares to work on the new Farm Bill, Davids is conducting a listening tour throughout her district to learn as much as she can about what policies and programs are working for local farmers, producers and ag leaders and how restrictions or changes could help or hinder their efforts. Davids was in Ottawa Wednesday to conduct a roundtable discussion at the Ottawa Cooperative Association with local producers, co-op employees, members of the Franklin County Farm Bureau, Franklin County Conservation District, Farm Service Agency and the Kansas Cooperative Council. They discussed key topics in this year's Farm Bill, including protecting crop insurance policies and supporting Market Access Programs so state producers can get their products to global markets.

"From yesterday's stop at Bauman's Cedar Valley Farm to the Ottawa Co-op today, I'm visiting with folks all across the district on this listening tour to make sure I'm prepared for the upcoming Farm Bill discussion in Congress," Davids said. "I'm hoping we will find common ground to pass a Farm Bill that supports our entire food system and economy. That starts with an understanding of where Kansans' priorities are, from all corners of our district."

Every five years, Congress passes federal legislation, establishing agriculture, nutrition, conservation, crop insurance and other ag-related policies, known as the Farm Bill.

As a member of the House Ag Committee, Davids serves on two of its subcommittees, including the General Farm Commodities, Risk Management and Credit Committee and the Conservation, Research and Biotechnology Committee. She is also serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and the Small Business committees.

Although she isn't considered a freshman member of the Ag Committee, Davids said she knows she has a lot to learn.

"It would impossible for me to learn the things I need to learn in a 45-minute session because I feel I could probably spend a month with you and still not learn everything I need to learn when it comes to the Farm Bill and of course, ag," she said.

Davids said she got lucky when one of her colleagues resigned, giving her a chance to elbow her way in. It made it easier, she said, to remain on the committee this year.

"We just finished getting everyone onto the ag committee," she said. "There were three slots and 15 people trying to get on…The committee has a lot of new members, maybe they're not new to the (House of) Representatives, but they're new to the Ag Committee. Twenty-four democrats and only six have previous experience on the ag committee. Twenty-eight Republican members and only nine have previous experience working on the Farm Bill. There's probably a lot of challenges that come along with that, but also opportunities."

Davids said the challenges she worries about are the issues she fears will pop up and will be unaware of. She encouraged those sitting around the table to call her office if they hear anything that could be a concern.

"It's the federal government, so it's hurry up and wait, so I'll have a bunch of meetings and listening tours and have some hearings and then feel like nothing is happening for a while because they're drafting up the language," she said. "And then you guys will hear some rumblings that this member is trying to cut this out, or this member is trying to put this in. One of the things I'm hoping to get out of this is starting to build rapport and relationships and lines of communication so that you know me."

Davids will serve on the House Ag Committee with fellow Kansan U.S. Representative Tracey Mann, while U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall is on the Senate Ag Committee and Jerry Moran is serving on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Both Marshall and Moran represent Kansas on the Senate side.

"It's like Kansas has this really strong presence on some of the most key committees in this legislative cycle," she said. "And so, we've already sat down with Tracey Mann for an extended meeting. We've texted each other, and we're really wanting to work to present a united front for Kansas."

From what she's witnessed so far, Davids is optimistic the Farm Bill will be finished on time.

"I really think we're going to be able to get the Farm Bill done," she said. "I actually think having the composition of the House right now, it's a very narrow majority, and I think that the consequence of that is going to be that we've got some people on the Ag Committee who are truly committed to getting the Farm Bill done on time so that nothing lapses, and that's on both sides of the aisle. I think that when it comes to the Farm Bill, we'll actually see some positive movement… I'm not anticipating a 2012 situation or any stuff like that. I think at least, the short time I've been in the Ag Committee room, it doesn't feel like one of those places that's like that people are putting on a show…it seems like everyone is there trying to do the work."

With a pen in hand and a new legal pad, Davids began jotting down notes as initiated the conversation, asking about the consequences of federal legislation where policies limited or restricted operations. Mike Beying, an Ottawa Co-op staff member and local farmer, told Davids how the availability of programs and having the technical assistance to apply for those programs had been fantastic.

"The availability to partake in those programs for farmers in our area, and not just in our area, but for myself and my family included have been tremendous in helping young farmers start, and I think they'll be several people in here that would also echo their satisfaction with how those resources are brought to us on the farm. It's something that must stay in the Farm Bill."

Beying said that from his perspective if there were revisions in or reductions in Title V Farm Ownership loan limits, it would make it difficult for new farmers to either transition out of their family farm or to their own operations.

"Those would become very difficult," he said. "If you look through CSP (Conservation Stewardship Program) or Eqip (The Environmental Quality Incentives Program), you can cost-share some of those programs to make your farm more stable, more profitable or just fix some of the neglect that's happened prior to your ownership of that farm. This is where those programs come into play to assist our young farmers or transitioning farmers."

Lisa Rivers, Franklin County Farm Bureau Association's county coordinator, relayed member concerns to Davids, such as leaving crop insurance intact and not placing additional restrictions on conservation compliance.

"There's so many restrictions already," Rivers said. "For certain, having more conversations with those on the front lines with those doing all these things, having to meet these requirements and how restrictive that is and then the impact it has; the ripple effect that those restrictions have."

Among recent positive changes, Beying said, was the ability to insure double-crop soybeans following wheat harvest.

"Now, why that is so important is it allows for the farmers to grow wheat as part of their planned rotation, which trickles into positive effects in the following crops," he said. " but now wheat has been one of those commodities that's been hard to positively return to the farm just because the input dollars it takes to grow it. With our yields for this area plus market price the last few years, it was almost eliminated from our rotation here. But now that we can grow double-crop beans behind that and insure those, it gives farmers the risk-management tool that they need in order to do both things at the same time, which trickles down into positive impacts from one step to the next. And so it keeps a positive return on the farm."

Beying said even little modifications, such as changing the planting dates, have been significant for Kansas farmers, who routinely deal with extreme weather.

"It could be really wet and shut us out of the field for three or four weeks, and then one, hot windy week, we're too dry to plant, which is the case we had last year," he said. "We had a six-day window to get the crop planted in ideal conditions, and then you get on either side of that, and you start to see stands starting to dwindle down and adverse effects that just kinda stack on each other. We have the freedom to plant a little later in the year. There's some drawbacks to that, but at the same time, you can plant when conditions are better. Multiple pieces go with that. Having a bigger planting window makes a difference."

"Crop insurance is a big deal," local farmer and Farm Service Agency Committee Member John McFarland said.

"It's our safety net for everything," Beying added.

"I'd rather have crop insurance than have the ARC/PLC (The Agriculture Risk and Price Loss Coverage) programs other than you still don't have a safety net without that," McFarland said.

Following the hour-long roundtable discussion, Davids toured the co-op facilities.

"We are grateful to Rep. Davids for coming to Franklin County to discuss the importance of the upcoming Farm Bill to Franklin County farmers and ranchers," Franklin County Farm Bureau Association Advocacy Committee chairmen Aaron Dunbar and Matthew Rossi said. "This legislation is vital to providing a safety net for production agriculture, implementing conservation practices and offering nutrition assistance for urban and rural residents. We look forward to working with Rep. Davids to create the best bill possible to support agriculture locally and across the country. And as Rep. Davids continues to serve on the House Agriculture Committee, we look forward to being a conduit for her agricultural inquiries going forward."