Kansans join Marshall to highlight how droughts have hurt Kansas agriculture

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Two Kansans joined Senator Roger Marshall to spotlight how current droughts have left Kansas’ agriculture business in an unsettling place.

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) says he and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) co-lead a listening to on constructing drought resiliency within the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Vitamin and Forestry’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Local weather, Forestry, and Pure Sources. He mentioned the listening to featured two Kansans and comes as current reviews point out crop yield within the Sunflower State is predicted to drop by greater than 100 million bushels from 2021′s harvest.

Throughout his opening assertion, Marshall mentioned he summarized how current droughts within the U.S. have harm Kansas’ agricultural business.

“Simply final month, the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deemed April as one of many driest months on document within the final 100 years. Presently, over half of the state is in a delegated average drought, and over a 3rd of the state is designated as extreme,” Marshall mentioned. “Simply final week, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported that the projected wheat yield in Kansas is predicted to drop by over 100 million bushels, a worth of over one billion {dollars}. This lack of rain not solely hurts farm manufacturing at its most vital time, but in addition adversely impacts ranchers and households who fall sufferer to raging wildfires throughout the plains, incurring tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} misplaced in belongings, and at their worst, houses and lives.”

Marshall mentioned amongst 5 witnesses had been two agricultural consultants from the Sunflower State – Tom Willis, of Liberal, proprietor and supervisor of T&O Farms LLC and a farmer with the Kansas State College Water Farm, and Earl Lewis, of Manhattan, Chief Engineer with the Kansas Division of Agriculture’s Division of Water Sources and a member of the Western States Water Council.

The Senator mentioned he launched each Willis and Lewis at the beginning of the listening to.

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