ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Earlier this month, nearly 400 Kansas Farm Bureau members gathered in Manhattan for the organization’s 106th annual meeting, and the three-day event kicked off with “A Night in Vegas” as part of the KFB Foundation for Agriculture’s Annual Meeting Fundraising Event.
This featured the ever-popular Dessert Dash and guests diving into the excitement of Las Vegas with gaming, bingo, mini-golf and relaxing in the lounge while being serenaded by an Elvis impersonator, allowing everyone to fully experience the Vegas glitz.
Guests were likewise asked to dress to impress in their Vegas vacation wear. The fundraising event raised more than $21,000, which benefits the End Hunger campaign.
The second day of the meeting brought informational workshops, trade show vendors and a silent auction open to attendees. Workshop topics included technology in agriculture, biosecurity, succession planning and mental health. The silent auction was hosted by KFB’s Women’s Leadership Committee and raised more than $6,000 for mental health resources.
Those in attendance for Sunday’s portion of the annual meeting also heard from Massachusetts-based anti-hunger activist Diane Sullivan and Brian Klippenstein, a former senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, as they discussed the importance of maintaining freedom to operate on farms and ranches, emphasizing how restrictive policies can negatively impact low-income farm families.
KFB Ninth District Kori Davis was on hand for the meeting, and she said in addition to the other workshops, one workshop dealt with Medicare. Information was likewise available about some of Farm Bureau’s leadership opportunities.
Davis said some of the information in agricultural technology workshop was in regards to communities and how to keep them thriving and going, and she added the trade show featured several of KFB’s benefit providers.
“Members were able to go around and talk to representatives,” she said.
The final day saw voting delegates debate and adopt policy statements for 2025. Policies adopted at the annual meeting will now become a road map for KFB for the upcoming 2025 legislative session. Topics of discussion included water, animal health and energy, and Davis said other than those issues, there were not a lot of changes within Farm Bureau’s policies.
“I know specifically for Farm Bureau, we are making some changes to our membership dues, but that won’t be in effect until the fall of 2025,” she said. “That was a discussion on how the organization as a whole moves forward on the financial end of things.”
For the upcoming year, Davis said KFB’s primary focus will be water and the impact it has on life in the state. She did say, though, some attention will be paid to wind energy as well.
“It’s not really a concern but something to stay on top of and keep an eye on as that continues to build in the state,” she said.
Elections for KFB president and board members from even-numbered districts also took place. Wilson County farmer Joe Newland was re-elected as president, and those elected to the board of direcotrs include:
• George Pretz of Miami County
• Steve McCloud of Harvey County
• Doug Zillinger of Phillips County
• Joe Jury of Gray County
• Caleb Mattix of Thomas County
First District Congressman Tracey Mann, KFB staff and American Farm Bureau Federation staff provided updates on the 2024 election and the outlook for the coming year, and county Farm Bureaus and volunteers were recognized for their 2024 achievements.
Overall, Davis said the three-day annual meeting went quite well.
“We had good attendance,” she said. “It’s good that people took the time to attend meetings to stay engaged and involved in the policy process. As always, people want more moisture and better prices, but I think for our area moisture wise, we’ve pretty fortunate this past fall. There’s always concerns and the unknowns – better prices, less input. The cost of everything is going up, and that’s always a concern – how to budget everything to get a good bottom line.”
