Policy & Legislation
Kansas Farmers Union has a rich history of working to protect and promote the interests of family farmers and ranchers by taking a leadership role in advocating for farming, ranching and agricultural interests across the state.
To be effective on our members’ behalf, it is essential that our members be involved in the organization, become knowledgeable on the issues that impact their work and lives, and communicate their needs to us.
Through grassroots policy and local involvement, our members and staff play a key role in bringing concerns, issues, and needs to the attention of local, state, and national decision makers. KFU’s state and national policy document is proposed, discussed, and ratified each year at our state convention.
2025 Special Orders of Business
Support for Medicaid Expansion
Kansas has a health coverage problem. Tens of thousands of Kansans fall into the coverage gap and don't have access to affordable health insurance. Forty states in the U.S., including all the states bordering Kansas, have expanded their Medicaid program, and it is long past time to act and make sure that Kansans don't get left behind. An overwhelming majority of Kansans agree - it's time to expand KanCare. Expanding KanCare will make health insurance accessible to 150,000 Kansans who otherwise may not have affordable coverage. Expanding KanCare will also: • Reduce health care costs for everyone. When low-wage Kansans can't get health coverage, that means more emergency room visits and crisis treatment for physical and mental health needs. When hospitals and health care providers aren't compensated for services, a portion of those additional costs are passed on to everyone through higher prices, meaning we are all paying more out of pocket and through insurance premiums. • Protect Kansans from medical debt. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Getting access to affordable health insurance protects more Kansans from accruing high medical debt and reducing their risk of bankruptcy. • Support a healthier workforce. Most Kansans in the coverage gap work at least one job but aren't offered employer-based health insurance or can't afford it. Those who are not working are often caretakers or are unable to work because of their own health conditions. When more people have access to the physical and behavioral health care they need, there are more workers healthy enough to re-enter or remain in the workforce. • Keep Kansas economically competitive. Nearly all Kansas industries have employees who would benefit from expansion. Expanding KanCare helps our employers, small businesses, and workforce compete with our neighboring states, who have all already expanded their Medicaid programs. • Preserve and strengthen rural communities. For Kansans in rural communities, accessing health care when and where they need it is becoming a significant challenge. When hospitals in rural communities close, not only do residents struggle to get care, but the community loses good-paying jobs. Expanding KanCare would help ensure rural Kansans get the care they need while also boosting their local economies. • Ensure uniform access to affordable health care for all Kansans. Hispanic and Black Kansans are more likely to live in the coverage gap. Kansans who live in frontier counties and in the southwest part of the state are also more likely to live in the coverage gap. Expanding Kan Care allows all low-wage Kansans access to affordable health care, regardless of their race, how much money they make, or what their zip code is. Kansas Farmers Union has long called for Medicaid expansion in our grassroots, member-driven policy. We renew this call and strongly encourage policymakers to pass a long-term, sensible solution to the health coverage problem during the 2025 legislative session and expand Medicaid.
Medicare Advantage
We call for the discontinuation of the Medicare Advantage program which is the effort to deliberately defraud individuals and the public through the privatization of the Medicare program.
Priorities for the Next Farm Bill
The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30, 2024, and our farm policy is due for important reforms. Farm bill reauthorizations serve as a periodic opportunity to debate and consider the policies that shape our farm economy, food system, and communities. Family farmers, ranchers, consumers, and our communities all benefit from a strong and resilient farm and food system. The farm bill helps to ensure our rural and agricultural economies thrive. The farm economy is cyclical, and commodity price and input cost volatility are among the chief reasons that family farmers and ranchers are forced out of business. Farm bills should be written with tough times in mind so that programs serve as a safety net. Furthermore, farm bills work best when they are forward-looking; lawmakers should ensure the next farm bill anticipates future needs. These needs include strengthening farm bill conservation programs, which play a critical role in helping farmers implement practices that fight climate change, build soil health, and increase resilience. The farm bill is also a food bill. The nutrition title is key to reducing hunger and poverty and improving food and nutrition security. Farm bill programs are primarily implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 2022, USDA had 5,300 fewer staff than in January 2017. Staffing shortfalls impede program implementation and must be rectified. The following policies and provisions should be included in the next Farm Bill. • Addressing the need to reduce greenhouse atmospheric emissions and protect funding that supports practices that mitigate and eliminate such emissions; • Increasing the overall farm bill baseline and funding; • Increasing the definition for beginning farmer and rancher from 10 to 15 years and match veterans returning to farming equally; • Improving access to and addressing the inequities in programs geared toward beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged, and underserved farmers; • Maintaining a strong nutrition title that supports the food and nutrition security of our communities and that increases opportunities for local and regional procurement; • Strengthening the research title, with a focus on research, outreach, and education to improve on-farm climate mitigation and adaptation; • Expanding and funding the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN); • Addressing ongoing staffing shortages at USDA, including staff attrition and inadequate pay for field staff; • Requiring USDA to take department-wide steps to streamline program applications forms and processes to make its programs more accessible; • Streamlining access to USDA programs and hiring sufficient staff to service technical and administrative requirements of each program to assure timely, competent, and beneficial participation for family farmers; • Strengthening programs that support local and regional food systems; Kansas Farmers Union looks forward to continued discussions and negotiations with key policy makers at the federal level, along with building important networks and coalitions around these priorities for the next Farm Bill.
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS) was established in the Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 7, “Congress shall have the power to establish post offices and post roads.” Kansas Farmers Union has a long history in support of the USPS, including rural free delivery of mail. We are deeply concerned with the systematic dismantling of the postal service structure, based on fiscal pressure unduly inflicted upon the U.S.P.S. by Congress. We believe the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, requiring the institution to pre-fund retiree pension funds decades in advance, is unwarranted and the primary culprit in the financial issues facing the U.S.P.S. The potential elimination of Saturday and door-to-door delivery, coupled with the loss of good paying postal jobs over the entire nation, will negatively affect the economy. Rural America will be dealt an additional first class blow under this misguided policy. Local and regional newspaper delivery to outlying areas will be delayed for days. This not only damages the circulation numbers of the newspapers, but also devalues local information and advertising. We support utilizing post offices as community service hubs. We call for the immediate removal of current Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The replacement should be an advocate for a Postal Service that meets the needs of the American people, and we stand firm in our conviction to protect this great freedom and commonwealth from attacks and privatization.
Protecting Civilization in a Climate Crisis
The Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America [National Farmers Union] was born over twelve decades ago with a sense of economic urgency as well as a deliberate and thorough plan of both purpose and action. “Agitate, Organize, Educate, and Cooperate” was the clarion call. It was understood the discharge of the workings must occur in that exact sequence to attain success. The strategy was brilliant. Entire communities were engaged, and a shared sense of purpose and responsibility ultimately grew out of this approach. We believe the unprecedented acceleration of the destabilization of our natural world deserves our immediate and focused action and merits again, this same approach. We believe organization begins on every individual farm and ranch, with an equal understanding our farms and ranches are “rooted” into the greater community commons. No farm survives in isolation. Just as roots connect our fields below the surface, climate connects us above ground. Climate demands cooperation. The climate will ultimately prevail. Understanding and embracing science is foundational in our ability to sustain a civil society, healthy environment, and a livable world. We must couple this with our innate and primal understanding of natural cycles. Given the complexity of climate change and its impact upon the economy and resources, we need to be more open-minded and learn more about the water cycle, carbon cycle, and other natural processes. The physical world is the highest order of cooperation. Humankind is the keystone that can nourish or destroy that order. We believe the following are a short list of what needs to be done: • Reduce emissions • Increase Conservation funding • Community based / cooperative based programs and systems • Reduce fossil fuel and carbon consumption • De-concentrate livestock production • Crop insurance flexibility • Create and fund climate agriculture set aside programs [perennial grasses, legume mixes, forestry, prairie strips, pollinator strips]. • Re-introducing the historical concept of Conserving Crops • Corporations should pay farmers to transition to regenerative practices
KFU 2025 Policy Statement
Kansas Farmers Union's grassroots policy is determined by KFU members.
During the legislative session, we identify and track key legislation that affects agriculture, rural communities, consumer interests, the environment, and tax policy, and advocate for our KFU policy on behalf of our members.
Our activities include visits with legislators, meetings with state agencies, providing legislative testimony during committee meetings and hearings, and connecting our members with their legislators.
Find Your Legislators
A functioning democracy requires public input. Find out who your State and Federal legislators are at the link below.
NFU 2024 Policy
On the national level, KFU is represented by the National Farmers Union. We are one of 33 state or regional members of NFU. You can learn more about NFU’s current priorities at their website.
About the Campaign
NFU’s Fairness for Farmers campaign brings the devastating impact monopolies have had on family agriculture into the national spotlight. Launched in September 2021, the campaign calls for actions including reforming the Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA), improving price discovery, diversifying marketing opportunities and antitrust enforcement.
Every family farmer and rancher can talk personally about how corporate consolidation has negatively impacted their family, their business, and their local community. NFU has dedicated time and resources to collect these stories across the country and ensure they are heard by those in positions to force change.
NFU has given a voice to family farmers and ranchers, and they are being heard. For the first time in decades, Congress, regulators and the Administration are paying attention and taking action.
Industry consolidation and monopolies have resulted in:
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Excessive costs for farm inputs, including seeds and fertilizer
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Supply chain vulnerabilities
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Higher consumer prices
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Limited options for meat processing
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Increased farm equipment costs and reduced repair options
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The devastation of rural communities
Due in part to corporate consolidation, the farmer’s share of every dollar consumers spend on food has fallen from 50 percent in 1952 to less than 16 percent today. The people doing the hard work of growing and harvesting our food see scant returns from their labors.
How Monopolies Impact Consumers
The strain felt by farmers and ranchers is directly placed on consumers, as they see higher prices and fewer options. And in some cases, like during the pandemic, empty shelves.
With less diversity across the agriculture industry, multinational corporations have too much control over pricing and offerings. This makes the food supply chain vulnerable to bottlenecks and breakdowns. With limited protection against supply chain shocks, in dire times like the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers were met with companies being unable to meet demand. Competition in the industry keeps our supply chains resilient and our food fairly priced.
How Monopolies Impact Rural Communities
Corporate monopolies are slowly erasing our rural communities. If family farms and ranches can’t stay in operation, their loss will impact everyone in that rural area. After all, family farmers and ranchers:
Would you like to be better heard in Topeka or Washington, D.C.?
Do you feel as though your voice isn’t heard in Topeka or Washington, D.C.? Maybe you’ve considered visiting with your reps in the past, but felt unsure how to present your perspective clearly and effectively?
Kansas Farmers Union’s Policy Advocates Program provides the skills and experiences to help you become a confident voice for Kansas agriculture.
With support from Farm Aid, KFU’s 2023 Policy Advocates will focus on outreach to local, state, and national representatives to inform and educate on how policy impacts our farms, families, and communities across Kansas.
Advocates receive guidance and support from policy and governmental relations professionals in developing materials and strategies to convey the key points of their chosen issue. Participants also benefit from joining a network of fellow advocates, both in Kansas and D.C..
KFU Policy Advocates will have the opportunity to participate in the 2023 National Farmers Union Fall Legislative Fly-In in September, as well as advocacy opportunities in Topeka.
Advocates create a topical policy sheet and develop a post on their issue for kansasfarmersunion.org and KFU’s social media platforms.
KFU Policy Advocates are eligible for a small stipend and will have NFU Fly-In travel and lodging covered.
