News Release

March 23, 2010

Contact:
Chelsea Good
Communications Director
Kansas Department of Agriculture
(785) 296-2653 phone
(913) 735-9065 cell
Chelsea.Good@kda.ks.gov

Kansas grain commodity growers elect commissioners

TOPEKA—The Kansas Department of Agriculture today announced the names of farmers from the eastern third of the state who were elected to the state’s five commodity commissions—corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat. 

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.

Ballots were cast between January 15 and March 1 and were counted at the Kansas Department of Agriculture during March. The newly elected commissioners will take office April 1 and will serve for three years.

Commissioners-elect 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.  McCauley has an associate 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.  Timmons graduated from Baker University with a degree in business administration.

Commissioners-elect for the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission

District seven—There were no candidates for commissioner in district seven.  A commissioner will be appointed by the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission.

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 currently the secretary of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program.  Casten 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 Kansas Forage and Grassland Council.  Kilgore graduate from Kansas State University with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in agronomy.

Commissioners-elect 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.  Zwonitzer 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 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 currently a member of the Kansas Soybean Association, Kansas Corn Growers Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Pork Producers and Kansas Livestock Association.  Bellar has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Fort Hays State University.
 
Commissioner-elect for the Kansas Sunflower Commission

There were no candidates for the commissioner position for districts 7, 8 and 9.  A commissioner will be appointed by the Kansas Sunflower Commission.

Commissioner-elect 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 is also involved in the Atchison County Economic Development group.  Armstrong is a graduate of Kansas State University with a degree in agricultural economics.

2011 election will cover central third of state

Corn, grain sorghum, soybean, sunflower and wheat growers in the central third of the state can expect to receive information by mail this fall outlining the 2011 election procedure.

Affected by the 2011 election will be districts four, five and six.

District four includes Clay, Cloud, Jewell, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Smith and Washington counties. 

District five includes Barton, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, McPherson, Marion, Rice, Rush, Russell and Saline counties.

District six includes Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick, Stafford and Sumner counties.

Grain growers who plan to campaign for a seat on one of the commissions must collect on an official petition form 20 signatures from eligible voters to be included on the 2011 ballot. Official petition forms will be available from the Kansas Department of Agriculture or one of the grain commodity commissions.
 
No more than five signatures from any one county will be used to qualify a candidate. Eligible voters are Kansas residents who will reach age 18 before the election and have been growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers or wheat during the last three years. The filing deadline for candidates is November 30, 2010.