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Kansas Department of Agriculture outlines budget, staffing and dam inspection priorities
Summary
Secretary Mike Beam and agency staff presented the Department of Agriculture’s FY25 and FY26 budgets, highlighting federal grants, a $350,000 general fund request to backfill meat and poultry inspection staffing, a $650,000 request for dam inspections, and a $1 million one‑time match for sorghum research.
Secretary Mike Beam presented the Department of Agriculture’s budget overview to a legislative committee, describing the agency’s mix of state general fund, statutorily appropriated funds and federal grants, and answering member questions about staffing, dam inspections and several enhancement requests.
The agency and scale: Beam said the agency employs 355 people statewide, including 189 field staff working in communities across Kansas. For FY26 the department’s request included about $71.5 million in total spending with roughly $17.3 million coming from state general fund sources, he said. The FY25 adjusted request figure cited in the hearing was approximately $102.5 million, reflecting federal grants and one‑time items.
Key budget items discussed
- Meat and poultry inspections: The governor’s recommendation included $350,000 in FY26 to cover a gap in a longstanding 50/50 state‑federal funding arrangement for state‑inspected meat and poultry plants.…
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