MANHATTAN, KAN. (RFD NEWS) — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary Luke Lindberg is in Kansas this week, touring agricultural operations and holding discussions focused on the Food for Peace program, which originally began in the state.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) joined us on Wednesday’s Market Day Report to discuss Lindberg’s visit, the future of Food for Peace, and ongoing Farm Bill negotiations in the Senate. He also discussed efforts to permanently transfer the Food for Peace program to the USDA through the Farm Bill, following its temporary relocation from the State Department during the Trump administration.
In his conversation with RFD News, Moran highlighted Kansas’ long-standing connection to the Food for Peace program, explaining that the initiative was originally inspired by a northwest Kansas farmer who questioned why surplus grain could not be used to help feed hungry people around the world.
“Kansas has a special place in its heart for food and hunger programs, including particularly Food for Peace,” Moran told RFD News. “A farmer in northwest Kansas, in Cheyenne County, a number of years ago, had an idea at a Farm Bureau meeting and said, ‘What are we doing with this grain on the ground when there are hungry people around the world?’”
Moran noted that the program was later created under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and supported by Kansas Senator Bob Dole.
“The Food for Peace program went away in the early days of the Trump administration,” he said. “It was eliminated by the State Department. USDA picked up that program, and we’ve introduced legislation — Senator Hyde-Smith and Congressman Tracey Mann — to transfer what’s been temporarily transferred to USDA and make that permanent,” Moran said. “We want the secretary to see what the capabilities are, and I know he knows so much about this. We have a strong advocate for feeding the world for the moral and economic reasons that this matters to Kansas and American agriculture.”
He also explained why he believes the initiative is important not only from a humanitarian standpoint but also as a key agricultural policy that supports producers in Kansas and across the country.
“The State Department certainly has its hands full with what’s going on in the world, and I generally think that USDA is the place the program should be,” Moran continued. “Certainly, if the State Department is not interested or unable to continue to pursue this program, we’ve worked with the Trump administration to make certain that we find a home for it, and USDA has been very welcoming and very interested in leading the effort to feed the world.”
Moran said programs like Food for Peace not only support humanitarian efforts but also help create market opportunities for U.S. agriculture.
“This is useful. There’s a significant reason — moral reasons,” he said. “I remember driving through St. Francis, the hometown of the farmer who helped start this program, a couple of years ago, and in a small town in Kansas, I drove by the elevator and saw grain sorghum piled higher than the elevator — yet recognized that people around the world go to bed hungry. Why can’t we take — there’s no surplus in grains, it’s just that we haven’t utilized them yet — and feed people? That certainly helps them and creates a relationship that the United States needs with developing countries.”
Moran spoke about the economic challenges currently facing agriculture, citing high production costs, low commodity prices, drought conditions, and wildfire damage affecting producers across Kansas.
“It is also an economic opportunity to put grain into the market at a time when fertilizer prices, as you just highlighted, and the cost of production are so high, and commodity prices are so low,” he continued. “It’s a real challenge in agriculture today. I’ve said this ,and I believe it — it’s the most difficult time during my time as an elected official for farmers and ranchers.”
Finally, Moran touched on the bipartisan efforts on the Farm Bill as it awaits action in the Senate and emphasized the importance of providing farmers and ranchers with certainty as they navigate difficult economic conditions.
“Well, we are very grateful to the House. The House of Representatives Farm Bill transfers the program to USDA,” Moran said. “As I say, we have an amendment to the Farm Bill. We expect it to be included in the Senate version of the Farm Bill. I would tell you that Republican and Democratic members — bipartisan members of the Ag Committee — met last week to hash out our differences and see what the path forward is in getting a Farm Bill done in the Senate and sending it back to the House to make modifications or accept our modifications and get it signed by the President.”
According to Sen. Moran, the House version of the Farm Bill already includes that provision and expressed confidence that the Senate version will as well. He said Lindberg will have a significant opportunity to further administer a very important program for the United States, agriculture, and the world.
