While attending the Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, Farm Director KC Sheperd sat in on a talk from U.S. Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS-03), a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Davids has centered her legislative focus on core issues impacting Kansas’s agricultural and rural communities, advocating for pragmatic, bipartisan solutions in a politically divided climate. Davids, a first-generation college graduate raised by a single mother who served in the Army for 20 years, connects her upbringing to a commitment to public service and the work ethic she observes in the ag community. She noted that her district has grown to include more rural and agriculturally driven communities, driving her desire “to just be the best representative that I could be” on the Agriculture Committee.
Key Agricultural and Economic Priorities
Davids outlined her main legislative priorities for the Farm Bill and the broader agricultural sector, emphasizing the need for stability and economic support.
- Farm Bill and Bipartisanship: Davids stressed that bipartisan cooperation is “an essential and necessary piece of getting policy done” in agriculture. She stated, “I continue to believe that, particularly when it comes to agriculture, that this is one of those areas that we have… do continue to manage to get bipartisan work done.” Her priorities for the Farm Bill include:
- Protecting and improving crop insurance.
- Strengthening supply chains to help “bring down some of the costs of groceries.”
- Investing in ag research.
- Ensuring USDA programs “actually work for Kansans.”
- Protecting nutrition programs like SNAP, and ensuring food access.
- Biofuels and Energy Security: Davids is a strong supporter of biofuels, seeing them as a way to enhance energy independence and support the ag economy. She has actively pushed for year-round E15 sales, noting that “not just because they lower gas prices… but it also has this like added benefit of supporting our ag economy in Kansas.” She points to facilities like East Kansas Ag Energy as a “key example” of how the energy, ag, and rural sectors can be supported by year-round E15.
- Trade and Tariffs: The representative expressed significant concern over the economic uncertainty caused by unstable trade policies. She specifically addressed the impact of tariffs, stating she considers the approach on tariffs to be “reckless and chaotic.” Citing a Kansas soybean farmer, Davids highlighted the fear that “if they decide not to buy or only buy at below market prices, we could be in real trouble and we don’t even have enough storage for all the beans.” Davids noted that “when overseas markets close… there’s billions at stake” and that “uncertainty really hurts” farmers who already face many unpredictable variables. She desires “a level of stability with our federal policy so that folks can at least plan.”
Concerns Over Budget and Rural Impacts
Davids voiced strong opposition to recent budget decisions that she believes undermine the welfare of Kansans, particularly those in rural areas. She noted that the budget upended the “traditional Farm Bill coalition” by including what she called “some pretty deep and harmful cuts” to nutrition and health care programs.
- Rural Hospitals: Davids expressed alarm over the risk of healthcare loss in rural Kansas. “There’s about six rural hospitals right now that we are at risk of of of seeing closed in Kansas, across the state,” she warned. She believes the recent budget has put these facilities “at further risk of closure.”
- Nutrition Program Cuts: The budget’s decision to cut nearly $200 billion from the nutrition title was a major point of criticism, as it impacts critical food access programs.
Representative Davids concluded by reiterating her belief in the importance of cooperation, stressing that “as long as you’re having the conversations, the opportunity exists to get stuff done. The opportunity exists to come together.”
