WATCH: Davids Questions USDA Secretary on Supply Chain Issues and Mental Health Care Access
At a March House Agriculture Committee hearing, Representative Sharice Davids questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack on the USDA's efforts to solve domestic supply chain challenges affecting Kansas farmers, ranchers, and producers. Davids also asked how the Department is supporting the mental health of Kansas' agriculture community, as farmer suicide rates are two to five times higher than the national average.
"I've been traveling to all corners of the Third District, speaking to our state's agriculture professionals, and many of them have shared they're still dealing with supply chain issues and lack of mental health resources that were exacerbated by the pandemic," said Davids. "I was glad I could share their thoughts with USDA Secretary Vilsack and ask what his Department is doing to address these concerns."
Watch: Davids asks USDA Secretary Vilsack to provide an update on USDA's work to improve supply chain resiliency and support of mental health programs for Kansas farmers.
"My district is actually really interesting. We have quite a range of folks – medium-sized family farms, urban areas, rural areas. We have everything ranging from hobby farms to poultry producers, specialty crops, and some row crops. And the Kansas City region also happens to be home to some really key intermodal hubs that our Ag economy across the country uses to move their products to feed our country and feed the world," said Davids during her questioning.
This year, to prepare for the House Agriculture Committee's consideration of the 2023 Farm Bill, Davids is on a Farm Bill listening tour, traveling to all corners of Kansas' Third District to listen to the priorities of Kansas' agriculture professionals. Davids previously visited a poultry and meat farmin Anderson County, a co-opin Franklin County, a no-till farmin Miami County, an organic vegetable farm in Johnson County, and an educational community farm in Wyandotte County.
Last year, Davids hosted U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretaries Jennifer Lester Moffitt and Xochitl Torres Small for visits to the Third District to learn about the area's meatpacking and dairy industries, respectively. She was also named a Friend of the Farm Bureau by the Kansas Farm Bureau in 2022.