Kansas Department of Agriculture
Grain growers in central Kansas who plan to campaign for a seat on one of the state’s five grain commodity commissions — corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, wheat or sunflowers — should be gathering petition signatures now to meet the November 30, 2025, filing deadline.
Voting will take place in January-February 2026.
The 2026 election will cover districts IV, V, VI — or the central third of Kansas.
District IV:
Clay, Cloud, Jewell, Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Smith, and Washington counties.District V: Barton, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Marion, McPherson, Rice, Rush, Russell, and Saline counties.
District VI:
Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick, Stafford, and Sumner counties.
To be eligible to run, candidates must have been actively engaged in growing that commodity (corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, wheat or sunflowers) within the preceding five years and must reside in and represent the district where they maintain their primary residence.
To be included on the 2026 ballot, candidates must gather 20 signatures from eligible growers, with no more than five signatures from any one county.
Eligible growers are Kansas residents who will be at least 18 years old by January 1, 2026, and who have actively grown corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers or wheat for the last three years.
Candidates may choose to collect signatures either on paper or online, or by using a combination of both.
The online petition portal is available at: https://portal.kda.ks.gov/enrollment/CommoditiesCandidatePetition.
After creating an account, candidates will receive a unique URL to share with eligible signors, who can then provide their contact information and sign the petition electronically. Paper candidate registration packets are also available from the Kansas Department of Agriculture or the grain commodity commissions.
Commodity commissions are grower-led organizations committed to supporting the economic viability of their industries and fostering continuous improvement in their respective commodities.
Commissioners serve three-year terms, which will begin on April 1, 2026. They oversee how check-off funds are invested in areas of market development, education, promotion, and research.
For more information on Kansas commodity commissions, including voter registration, please visit the Kansas Department of Agriculture website at www.agriculture.ks.gov/CommodityCommissions.