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Agriculture secretary outlines reappropriation requests, conservation priorities and HPAI coordination
Summary
Secretary Mike Beam briefed the subcommittee on the Department of Agriculture’s FY26–27 reappropriations and enhancements, noting no net request for additional state general funds for FY27 and seeking reappropriations from the state water plan fund for conservation programs, database support and Ark River monitoring.
Secretary Mike Beam told the subcommittee that the Kansas Department of Agriculture manages 15 programs across six divisions with roughly 360 employees and that the agency was not seeking additional state general funds for FY27. Beam described reappropriation requests (one SGF reappropriation of about $192,321 for a specialized weights-and-measures truck and approximately $10.2 million in state water plan fund reappropriations) and outlined enhancement priorities.
Beam highlighted a roughly $6 million multi‑year basin-management project (described as related to a national wildlife refuge/augmentation project), $1 million to support conservation district contracts (to be expended after harvest or when projects are ready), $1.4 million for ongoing database services through the Kansas Data Access and Support Center, and $1.5 million for outside consultants to monitor shortfalls in the Ark River water supply (stemming in part from Colorado deliveries). He also identified $635,000 that the agency suggested should not be reappropriated because the related water-quality buffer initiative has been inactive several years.
Committee members asked about Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) response and whether USDA APHIS funding would cover costs; Beam said USDA has been supporting indemnity and overtime and the department expects continued federal engagement. Members also asked about the livestock stockwater efficiency enhancement (a $250,000 governor‑supported item) and whether the two‑to‑one conservation district match would continue; Beam said the governor supported the match and the department would provide county‑level data on participation if requested.
On animal welfare, Beam said prior appropriations provided a $50,000 pool that was used for seizure reimbursements and that leftover monies were made available as grants for spay/neuter; the department awarded roughly $25,000 across eight or nine grantees and will supply a detailed report on recipients and amounts. Members requested that information and asked whether providers could scale up in future years.
What’s next: Secretary Beam will return for the department’s full hearing and the committee requested follow-up on county-by-county conservation match activity, spay/neuter grant recipients, and monitoring plans for Ark River shortfalls.
