January 19, 2010
Contact:
Lisa Taylor
Director of Communications
Kansas Department of Agriculture
(785) 296-2653
lisa.taylor@kda.ks.gov
Grain commodity commission ballots are in the mail
The Kansas Department of Agriculture today announced that ballots to elect commissioners to the state's five commodity commissions—corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat—have been mailed to registered voters in districts seven, eight and nine, which make up the eastern third of the state.
District seven includes Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley and Wyandotte counties.
District eight includes Anderson, Chase, Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Linn, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties.
District nine includes Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.
The wheat and sunflower commissions have combined the three districts, so only one commissioner will be elected to represent them. The corn, grain sorghum and soybean commissions will elect commissioners for each of the three districts.
Candidates for the Kansas Corn Commission
District seven: Kenneth McCauley, who grows corn and soybeans in Doniphan County. He currently serves on the Kansas Corn Commission, and is an active member of the Kansas Corn Growers association and National Corn Growers Association. He has an associate’s degree from Highland Community College, and he also attended Kansas State University.
District eight: Patrick Ross, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in Douglas County. He currently serves on the Kansas Corn Commission and is a member of several agricultural associations, including the Kansas Soybean Association, the Kansas Corn Growers Association and the Kansas Livestock Association.
District nine: Bob Timmons, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in Wilson County. He has served three terms on the Kansas Corn Commission, is on the board of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and is active in the National Corn Growers Association. He graduated from Baker University with a degree in business administration.
Candidates for the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission
District seven: No candidates are running for commissioner.
District eight: Jeff Casten, who grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans and wheat in Osage County. He currently serves on the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and is secretary of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. He graduated from Kansas State University with a degree agronomy.
District nine: Gary Kilgore, who grows corn, grain sorghum, soybeans and wheat in Neosho County. He currently serves on the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission, and is a member of the Kansas Soybean Association, Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Forage and Grassland Council. He graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in agronomy.
Candidates for the Kansas Soybean Commission
District seven: James Zwonitzer, who grows corn, grain sorghum, wheat and soybeans in Atchison County. He currently serves on the Kansas Soybean Commission, is a member of Kansas Soybean Association, the Kansas Livestock Association and his local rural water district. He has a bachelor's degree in agricultural education from Kansas State University.
District eight: Robert Haselwood, who grows corn and soybeans in Shawnee County. He currently serves on the Kansas Soybean Commission and is a member of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Soybean Association. Haselwood has an associate’s degree from Cowley County Community College. He also is a graduate of the Kansas Agricultural and Rural Leadership class.
District nine: Mike Bellar, who grows corn and soybeans in Elk County. He is a member of the Kansas Soybean Association, Kansas Corn Growers Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Pork Producers and Kansas Livestock Association. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Fort Hays State University.
Candidates for the Kansas Sunflower Commission
No candidates are running for the commissioner position representing districts seven, eight and nine.
Candidates for the Kansas Wheat Commission
District seven, eight and nine: Jay Armstrong, who grows wheat in Atchison County. He is a member of several commodity associations, including the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Farm Bureau. He also is involved in the Atchison County Economic Development group. He is a graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in agricultural economics.
Eligible Voters
Eligible voters who registered before December 31, 2009, or who voted in the 2007 commission election, will receive a ballot. Eligible voters are Kansas residents who reached age 18 before the election, have grown corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers or wheat during the last three years, and who have properly registered to vote.
Votes must be cast or postmarked by March 1. The names of candidates-elect will be announced in mid-March and the elected will take office April 1. Elected commissioners serve three-year terms.
More information is available from the Kansas Corn Commission at (785) 448-2626 or www.ksgrains.com/kcc/; the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission at (866)-457-6456 or www.ksgrainsorghum.org/; the Kansas Soybean Commission at (785) 271-1030 or www.kansassoybeans.com/; the Kansas Sunflower Commission at (785)-565-3908 or www.kssunflower.com/; the Kansas Wheat Commission at (785) 539-0255 or www.kswheat.com; or, the Kansas Department of Agriculture at (785) 296-3556 or www.ksda.gov/kansas_agriculture/content/152.