KSA steps up to bat for soybean growers

Just as Spring Training sets baseball teams up for success during the season, KSA’s advocacy sets growers up for a successful growing season.

Supply chain challenges are top of mind for many of the KSA policy committee members.

“Several of our association members have had trouble getting herbicides, fertilizers or other crop products,” Scott Gigstad, Atchison County director, explains. “We want to encourage policies that ease those supply chain issues.”

Many of the supply issues are due to constraints on the market and cannot necessarily be remedied by policy. There are, however, a few areas where policy efforts can move the needle on challenges. ASA has expressed support for the bill that would eliminate countervailing duties on certain imported fertilizers.

Kansas’ ASA director Charles Atkinson visited state representatives in Washington, D.C. to discuss Title I of the 2023 Farm Bill. The visit concurred with the ASA board of directors’ business meeting March 1-3. ASA president Brad Doyle, Arkansas, testified during the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee’s hearing.

The success of putting beneficial policies in place depends largely on having a good relationship with legislators. KSA joined the Kansas Ag Alliance in hosting a breakfast January 25 at the Kansas Capitol. KSA partners with other associations in the state as part of the Kansas Agriculture Alliance in order to amplify policy efforts. The KSA board hosted a legislative lunch February 10 as an additional networking opportunity.

“Like with any business, relationships are key,” Gigstad, who attended the breakfast, says. “While the refreshments we provide at such events do not amount to much in monetary value, the show of solidarity helps us get key legislation passed. We gain respect from legislators.”

The agricultural community had such a robust outreach effort to eliminate stepped-up basis from the Build Back Better plan that it was removed from the language.

“We’ve had some curveballs thrown at us,” Andy Winsor, policy committee chair and ASA director, says. “KSA and ASA have been there to help growers field them.”

There’s always plenty to do when legislature is in session. Spring is a particularly busy time as both the state and national house and senate are actively policymaking, and the American and Kansas soybean associations have been with them every step of the way.