Sen. Marshall Co-Leads Hearing on Drought Resiliency Featuring Two Agricultural Experts from Kansas

(Washington, D.C., June 7, 2022) – Today, U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) co-led a hearing on building drought resiliency in the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources.

During his opening statement, Senator Marshall summarized how recent droughts in the United States are hurting Kansas’ agricultural industry, saying in part,

“Just last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deemed April as one of the driest months on record in the last 100 years. Currently, over half of the state is in a designated moderate drought, and over a third of the state is designated as severe. Just last week, the Topeka Capital Journal reported that the projected wheat yield in Kansas is expected to drop by over 100 million bushels, a value of over one billion dollars. This lack of rain not only hurts farm production at its most crucial time, but also adversely affects ranchers and families who fall victim to raging wildfires across the plains, incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in assets, and at their worst, homes and lives.”

Senator Marshall’s full opening statement is available at the bottom of this email.

Among the five witnesses were two agricultural experts from Kansas: Mr. Tom Willis from Liberal, KS, Owner/Manager of T&O Farms LLC and a farmer with the KSU Water Farm; and Mr. Earl Lewis from Manhattan, KS, Chief Engineer with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources and a member of the Western States Water Council. Senator Marshall introduced both Mr. Willis and Mr. Lewis at the start of the hearing.

You may click HERE or on the image below to watch Senator Marshall’s full opening statement, and his introduction of Mr. Willis and Mr. Lewis, and his questions for them.

Additionally, you may click HERE or on the image below to watch Mr. Willis’ and Mr. Lewis’ respective opening testimonies.

Senator Marshall’s Full Opening Statement as Prepared:

Good morning, I’d like to thank subcommittee Chairman Bennet for holding today’s hearing, as well as the witnesses for making the trip east to testify about the water crisis in our home states. It has been almost a decade since drought was a key focus in an agriculture committee hearing, and I am hoping we gain some real insight today on how to address the challenges we’re facing out West with regards to drought, wildfires, and conservation.

In 1935, after surveying the aftermath of the worst dust storm ever recorded in North America, Robert Geiger, an Associated Press reporter from Washington, D.C., perfectly summed up life in our region: “Three little words achingly familiar on a Western farmer’s tongue, rule life in the dust bowl of the continent – if it rains.” Even today, those three words dictate entire livelihoods on the high plains— especially in our home states of Kansas and Colorado.

Just last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deemed April as one of the driest months on record in the last 100 years. Currently, over half of the state is in a designated moderate drought, and over a third of the state is designated as severe. Just last week, the Topeka Capital Journal reported that the projected wheat yield in Kansas is expected to drop by over 100 million bushels, a value of over one billion dollars. This lack of rain not only hurts farm production at its most crucial time, but also adversely affects ranchers and families who fall victim to raging wildfires across the plains, incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in assets, and at their worst, homes and lives.

Many of our friends in the private sector and at our regions’ universities have been working on solutions in drought resiliency and fire mitigation. I am excited to hear from them, and hope this hearing will yield positive results for the future of the Western US.

Background:

Senator Marshall serves on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry and is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources.

Agriculture is the largest economic driver of Kansas’ economy and for 48 of the past 50 years, the state has had a voice on the Senate Agricultural Committee. Senator Marshall, who grew up in a fifth-generation farm family, continues to watch out for the best interests of Kansas’ agricultural industry by serving on the Committee. As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources Senator Marshall ensures that the voices of the original conservationists, farmers and ranchers, are heard during the federal policy making process.

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