Written and published via the Kansas City Star

Since its beginnings as a US territory, Kansas has been defined by agriculture. Still today, more than 85% of the state’s land area is agricultural, and in 2023, the state exported more than $4.64 billion in agricultural products. What Kansas grows goes beyond local communities and the US In 2023, the Sunflower State traded with nearly 100 foreign markets, including Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the Netherlands. Kansas farm products also play a critical role in helping America provide aid to the poorest of the poor in crises around the globe.

The state has been a longtime partner of Food for Peace, an organization housed under USAID, the US Agency for International Development, which was recently shut down by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. The program worked with American farmers to use agricultural surpluses for a greater purpose, combating hunger and malnutrition while promoting international trade. These products also function as a type of foreign diplomacy, showing that the United States is there to help those in critical need.

Now, with no one to whom they can sell their excess grain, Kansas farmers’ hands are tied as it ages in bunkers or elevators. . After the program was shut down, representatives from Kansas and beyond, including Sen. Jerry Moran, advocated for reestablishing Food for Peace under the US Department of Agriculture. Kansas farmers and industry organizations have supported Sen. Moran, with Chris Tanner, president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, saying, “Kansas farmers take great pride in Food for Peace and the impact the program and American commodities have had on feeding the world.” After all, it was a Kansas farmer who first suggested that agricultural surpluses could be used to serve the most needy, inspiring President Dwight Eisenhower, a Kansan himself, to sign the act creating Food for Peace. I’m sure neither of them foresaw that one day it would become part of an ideological battle and that Kansas farmers would suffer the consequences. An administration that has expended massive political capital to reaffirm that America comes first will hopefully recognize the grave mistake of leaving American farmers hanging. At the same time, those who would have been fed by the surplus are going hungry. This represents a missed opportunity to remind the world of America’s magnanimous spirit.

To make matters worse, DOGE cuts mean that Kansas farmers are going unpaid for work they already did under contracts signed by the previous administration. One farmer told public radio, “Now (they are) telling me I may not get paid and I don’t understand how that’s possible. If I have a contract with the government they hold me to it. I’m doing the same.” In the 2023-24 fiscal year, USAID spent about $2 billion of its budget to purchase US commodities, benefiting local communities, boosting the economy, and serving the needy Now, without USAID as a buyer, farmers are left to scramble for last-minute customers as their crops sit unused and people in need go hungry. Everyone loses.

In the 2023-24 fiscal year, USAID spent about $2 billion of its budget to purchase US commodities, benefiting local communities, boosting the economy, and serving the needy Now, without USAID as a buyer, farmers are left to scramble for last-minute customers as their crops sit unused and people in need go hungry. Everyone loses.

In an interview with PBS, Nick Levendofsky, executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union, said, “I think it’s time for this administration to recognize who put them into office and also to understand that these people are hurting.” The Trump administration can’t leave American farmers behind. Having been a senior State Department official, I know the importance of carefully allocating the billions of US tax dollars that go to foreign aid, and I have seen the results in refugee communities without access to sufficient food, medicines or shelter. I have also seen the deep gratitude and affection for the United States expressed by beneficiaries who are doing everything they can to survive. American initiatives that benefit American farmers and those in need uplift our country by uplifting some of the world’s most vulnerable — and resilient — people.

While there are organizations and efforts in need of serious reform, Food for Peace is one of many programs that was unjustly stripped of its funding. It’s a dishonor to Kansas farmers, President Eisenhower’s legacy and the communities the program served. I’m extremely grateful that Sen. Moran and his colleagues are working to protect effective foreign assistance programs. Let’s hope their efforts inspire action.

This piece can also be found: 

• The Wichita Eagle