Kansas Ag Connection - Kansas Sorghum, Wheat Farmers Testify Before Senate Ag

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Kansas Sorghum, Wheat Farmers Testify Before Senate Ag
Kansas Ag Connection - 07/26/2017

At the invitation of U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, sorghum farmer Dan Atkisson, of Stockton, and wheat farmer David Schemm, of Sharon Springs, Tuesday offered their separate testimony on the value of risk management to their individual operations and on behalf of the National Sorghum Producers and the National Association of Wheat Growers, respectively.

"I was pleased to have Dan's testimony about the importance of sorghum to our economy. He offered good suggestions for commodity programs and how they can be improved for sorghum producers," Roberts said. "Dan also testified about damages from the sugarcane aphid, about eliminating regulatory burdens, and improving and strengthening crop insurance. His firsthand accounts and depth of knowledge will help us as we craft the next Farm Bill."

"David offered valuable testimony to our Committee, powerfully conveying the value of crop insurance, especially given the blizzards, freeze, hail, and disease in western Kansas and the low price of wheat," Roberts said. "He also suggested improvements to crop insurance and other commodity programs. As we begin to write the next farm bill, his insight will prove to be very helpful."

Atkisson stressed the importance of a good risk management safety net for producers in his opening testimony: "We have witnessed time and again how a struggling farm economy is left ailing for too long without a prompt and effective mitigation effort through farm policy. And, without exception, the problems that could have been fixed fairly inexpensively early on mount and mount and so does the cost of repair. When it comes to economic trouble in farm country, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure."

Schemm said in his opening remarks, "Wheat farmers across the nation are experiencing the toughest economic conditions they have faced since the 1980s, and many of the previously mentioned projections don't show potential for a quick upturn in the farm economy. This next Farm Bill will be critically important to farmers. The political and policy dynamics facing Congress this year are much different than the process to write the last Farm Bill. A strong safety net and risk management system is needed now more than ever. Each year, farmers face unpredictable risk when they plant crops in the ground and they rely on an effective risk management system and safety net to offset the inevitable weather disaster or price drop. Crop insurance and Title 1 programs have proven to be effective and good policy in general."

The hearing, titled, "Commodities, Credit, and Crop Insurance: Perspectives on Risk Management Tools and Trends for the 2018 Farm Bill," was the Senate Agriculture Committee's latest Farm Bill hearing in the 115th Congress. The Committee heard from agriculture producers, general farm organizations, crop insurance professionals, as well as agriculture lenders on what is working and what needs to be changed in the upcoming Farm Bill reauthorization.

Atkisson, farms with his father and his wife, Amanda, where they grow sorghum, wheat, and forages to support herds of commercial and registered black Angus cattle. He is chairman of the National Sorghum Producers (NSP) Legislative Committee and vice chairman of the NSP Board of Directors.

Schemm and his wife Lisa own Arrow S Farms where they raise wheat, corn, and grain sorghum. Schemm is president of the National Association of Wheat Growers.

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