Growers who wish to campaign for an open seat for one of the commodity commissions or who wish to vote in the commodity commission elections this winter must register or file by the November 30, 2024, deadline. The five Kansas grain commodity commissions — corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat — are grower-led organizations which support their crop’s research promotion and education programs in a variety of ways.

The 2025 election will cover districts VII, VIII and IX — or the eastern third of Kansas.

• District VII includes Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley and Wyandotte counties.
• District VIII includes Anderson, Chase, Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Linn, Lyon, Miami, Morris, Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee counties.
• District IX includes Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.

According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, growers who live in these districts are eligible to register to vote for their commodity commission if they are a resident of the state of Kansas, have reached the age of 18 before the next election and have been actively engaged in growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, wheat or sunflowers within the preceding three years. Registered voters will receive a ballot in the mail in January 2025.

To be eligible to run for any of the five commodity commissions, the candidate must have been actively engaged in growing that commodity (corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers or wheat) within the preceding five years and may only represent the district of their primary residence.

Candidates must gather 20 signatures from eligible growers to be included on the 2025 ballot. No more than five signatures from any one county can be used to qualify a candidate.

Candidates now have the option to create petitions and collect signatures online. Once the candidate has created an account and petition, the candidate will then have a unique URL to share with signors who can then enter their contact information and sign the petition. Candidates may choose to complete their petition online, by paper, or using a combination of both.

To register as a voter or to access the online account and petition as a candidate, go to the KDA website at: www.agriculture.ks.gov/kgcvoter. Registration and candidate materials are also available on paper from the Kansas Department of Agriculture or the grain commodity commissions.