Laura Kelly mentioned Kansas’ water crisis in her 2023 State of the State Address, but so far she has proposed few specific policies to alleviate the problem. Discovered in the late 1800s, the Aquifer is the reason why much of today’s agriculture in Western Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma is possible. Agriculture accounts for 94% of groundwater use in Kansas, according to the Kansas Geological Survey. The United States continues to overproduce corn, a water-intensive, heat-sensitive crop that is not the best fit for Western Kansas’ climate, though newer farm legislation has begun to move away from that. Kansas farmers proudly help feed the world.
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