Kansas Department of Agriculture Speakers
The department has several employees that are experts in their respected fields. Oftentimes for conferences and meetings, organizations are looking for individuals to give presentations. Below is a list of Kansas Department of Agriculture employees, organized by program, that are available to give presentations over their area of expertise.
Administration
Bob Casper
State Auditor III
E-mail Address: Bob.Casper@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-2521
Areas of Expertise: auditing, grain examinations, grain warehousing
Sandy Johnson
Homeland Security Specialist
E-mail Address: Sandy.Johnson@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-8281
Areas of Expertise: disaster preparedness, continuity of operations planning, Multistate Partnership for Security in Agriculture, conducting exercises to test plans and processes
Meat and Poultry Inspection
Michael Fink
Compliance Investigator
E-mail Address: Mike.Fink@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 256-5090
Areas of Expertise: meat and poultry regulations
Julie Ehler
Program Manager
E-mail Address: Julie.Ehler@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-3511 or (785) 296-4176
Areas of Expertise: meat and poultry inspection, food safety
David Stuhlsatz
Compliance Officer/ Investigator
E-mail Address: David.Stuhlsatz@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (620) 456-3405
Areas of Expertise: meat and poultry warehouses, wholesalers/distributors, meat and poultry product labeling, retail store products, meat and poultry regulations
Dairy Inspection
Celia Bissen
Agricultural Inspector II
E-mail Address: Celia.Bissen@kda.ks.gov
Areas of Expertise: dairy farm inspection, milking procedures, milk hauler sampling, milk tanker inspection
George Blush
Program Manager
FDA-Certified Milk Rating Officer
E-mail Address: George.Blush@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-7020, cell (785) 207-2107
Areas of Expertise: dairy/milk inspection, FDA/state cooperative milk program, dairy sanitation, milk processing and pasteurization, general agriculture topics
Duane Dolechek
Agricultural Inspector III
E-mail Address: Duane.Dolechek@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 256-3335
Areas of Expertise: dairy industry/food processing: wine, breweries, distilling, ice, cider, water bottling and soft drinks
Agriculture Laboratory
Audra Gile
Program Manager
E-mail Address: Audra.Gile@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 862-0108
Megan Decker
Microbiologist III
E-mail Address: Megan.Decker@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 862-0108
Areas of Expertise: dairy (Grade A pasteurized milk ordinance and testing), meat and poultry (routine and microbiological testing)
Food Safety and Lodging
Adam Inman
Inspection and Training Supervisor
E-mail Address: Adam.Inman@kda.ks.gov
Areas of Expertise: food safety and lodging
Steve Moris
Program Manager
E-mail Address: Steve.Moris@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-5600
Areas of Expertise: food safety
Division of Water Resources
James Bagley
Section Head
Technical Services
E-mail Address: Jim.Bagley@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-6083
Areas of Expertise: water rights information system (WRIS), water flowmeter specifications, minimum desirable streamflow
David Barfield
Chief Engineer
E-mail Address: David.Barfield@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-3710
Areas of Expertise: Kansas water rights, Kansas water management, collaborative groundwater model development, interstate disputes, Republican River Compact, Arkansas River Compact
Burke W. Griggs
Counsel
E-mail Address: Burke.Griggs@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-4616
Areas of Expertise: Kansas water law, Kansas Water Appropriation Act, history of water law, water law and policy, natural resources law, environmental law
Chelsea Juricek
Environmental Scientist II
Interstate Water Issues (Arkansas River and Republican River)
E-mail Address: Chelsea.Juricek@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 425-6787
Areas of Expertise: Arkansas River Compact and Colorado’s compliance efforts, Republican River Compact, using geographic information systems technology for field work, botany (native and invasive plants especially)
Lane Letourneau
Program Manager
Water Appropriation
E-mail Address: Lane.Letourneau@kda.ks.gov
Areas of Expertise: water rights
Erika Stanley
Mapping Coordinator
National Flood Insurance Program
E-mail Address: Erika.Stanley@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-2513
Areas of Expertise: floodplain mapping, geographic information systems
Tom Morey
State Program Coordinator
National Flood Insurance Program
E-mail Address: Tom.Morey@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-5440
Areas of Expertise: National Flood Insurance Program, floodplain management, floodplain mapping, hazard mitigation
Sam Perkins
Professional Civil Engineer I
Groundwater Modeler for Interstate Water Issues Team
E-mail Address: Sam.Perkins@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-0928
Areas of Expertise: groundwater models
John R. Roth, PE
Water Structures Engineer
E-mail Address: John.Roth@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (620) 234-5311
Areas of Expertise: permits, approvals, rules and regulations for stream obstructions, channel changes, levees and floodplain fills
Kevin Salter
Interstate Water Engineer
E-mail Address: Kevin.Salter@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (620) 276-2901
Areas of Expertise: interstate and intrastate water administration, Arkansas River Compact, Kansas vs. Colorado litigation and related issues, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, southwest Kansas surface water irrigation ditches
Steve Samuelson
National Flood Insurance Program Specialist
E-mail Address: Steve.Samuelson@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-4622
Areas of Expertise: floodplain management, National Flood Insurance Program, community rating system
Chad Voigt
Program Manager
Water Structures
E-mail Address: Chad.Voight@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 296-3083
Areas of Expertise: dam safety
Plant Protection and Weed Control
Laurinda Ramonda
Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program Manager
E-mail Address: Laurinda.Ramonda@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 862-2180
Areas of Expertise: cooperative agricultural pest survey program and emerald ash borer
Jeff Vogel
State Weed Specialist/ Program Manager
E-mail Address: Jeff.Vogel@kda.ks.gov
Phone: (785) 862-2180, cell (785) 207-0586
Areas of Expertise: Kansas noxious weed law, Kansas’ quarantined weeds, invasive weed species, weed-free forage, North American Weed Management Association, surveying weeds using geographic information systems/global positioning systems.
