At August Meeting...

Kansas Corn Commission Appoints Two Growers to Fill Retiring Commissioners

The Kansas Corn Commission appointed two Kansas growers to complete the terms of two retiring commissioners at its August meeting. The commission accepted the resignations of Steve Rome, Hugoton and Ken McCauley, White Cloud, who both said they would like to retire from their seats on the commission.

Paige Clawson, Satanta, was appointed to fill retiring District 3 commissioner Steve Rome, Hugoton. She will fill the position through the end of Rome’s term in 2024. Clawson farms her husband, son, and her husband’s family on their family farm, KLC Farm, Satanta. They grow corn, sorghum, wheat, and triticale, both under irrigation and dryland. The family also has purebred Charolais and crossbred cattle. Paige was raised in Pullman, WA on a fifth-generation family wheat farm, and prior to college she served as the Washington FFA state president. Paige has a BA in Agricultural Communications and Journalism with a minor in Agronomy from Kansas State University. After college she worked as a district seed sales manager in southwest Kansas for four years, and began working fulltime at KLC Farm in 2020. Paige is on the Haskell County Farm Bureau board and was a member of Leadership KFB class four. She is a lifetime member of the K-State Alumni Association and the National FFA Alumni Association.

Griff Howard, Hiawatha, was appointed to fill retiring District 7 commissioner Ken McCauley, White Cloud. He will fill the position through the end of McCauley’s term in 2022. Howard is a fourth-generation farmer from Hiawatha where he lives with his wife and their three children. He graduated from Kansas State University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Economics.  After college, Griff returned to the family farming operation where he farms with his parents and 3 full-time employees.  Howard Farms Inc. is a row crop operation that focuses on corn and soybean production.  Howard Farms also operates Howard Seed LLC, a seed retailer.  Howard has served on several community boards including the USD 415 Education Foundation, USD 415 Bond Committee, Hiawatha FUMC Trustees and Finance committees and is currently the treasurer for Padonia Township.

The Kansas Corn Commission also elected officers at the meeting. Kent Moore, Iuka, was reelected as Chair; Randy Small, Neodesha, was reelected as Vice Chair; Pat Ross, Lawrence, was reelected as Treasurer, and Mike Brzon, Courtland was elected as secretary.

The Kansas Corn Commission is made up of corn farmers who are elected by farmers in the state’s nine crop reporting districts. Upcoming election cycles are:

2022: District 7 (northeast); District 8 (east central) and District 9 (southeast)

2023: District 4 (north central), District 5 (central) and District 6 (south central)

2024: District 1 (northwest), District 2 (west central) and District 3 (southwest)

The Kansas Corn Commission administers the one cent per bushel Kansas corn checkoff established by the Kansas Legislature in 1977. The commission funds efforts in the areas of market development, education, research and promotion.