A legislative panel wants to explore using the Internet to market the state's high-quality grains.
You can buy a book, a sweater or a new car on the Internet. No problem.
Now, Rep. Jim Morrison, R-Colby, wants to help you -- or, better yet, a grain buyer in, say, Japan -- buy a few million bushels of Kansas wheat on the Internet.
"It can be done," Morrison said. "The technology is there. It's just a question of figuring out how to do it."
Kansas farmers ought to be able to sell their crops on the Internet, he said, and if, for example, their wheat's protein content is higher than most, the Internet should help them find someone who's willing to pay a higher price.
State government can make that happen, Morrison said, by making sure that Internet technologies are available in the state's rural areas and by helping farmers carve out new markets in cyberspace.
Morrison, a 57-year-old optometrist, is known for taking the lead on legislative issues involving computers and technology.
"At this point, we need to find out more about what's out there and what the problems are," he said. "We need to have some hearings."
The first hearing is set for Oct. 6-7 in Topeka before the interim House-Senate Agriculture Committee.
"This sounds like a fantastic idea to me," said Rep. Dan Johnson, R-Hays. "I'm not exactly sure what the state's role ought to be in this, but if it means helping the farmer get a better price for his product, then let's do the investigating. Let's find out where we stand and what needs to be done."
Morrison's proposal calls for individual farmers brokering their own sales, much like Amazon.com peddles books.
A good idea, perhaps, but no one farmer can produce the millions of bushels needed to turn a profit in the international marketplace.
That's why the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas State University, the state Department of Commerce and Housing, and 21st Century Alliance, a Manhattan-based coalition of Midwestern farmers and ranchers, are working together on a three-year project aimed at selling high-quality wheat to Mexico.
Plans call for Kansas grain elevators setting aside enough space to keep part of next year's high-quality crop separate from the average wheat. After it's isolated and inspected, the high-quality wheat will be shipped to a buyer in Mexico that's ready to pay more for a better product.
"We'd like to start out with 1.5 million bushels next year, go to 5 million the next year and then 10 million the year after that," said Tim Herrman, KSU extension state leader in grain science. "We're hoping this'll increase the value between $2 million and $3 million."
Chris Williams, vice president in charge of operations at 21st Century Alliance, said his members hope farmers in the project will get 25 cents more per bushel.
After the elevators prove they can deliver the promised product, they'll reach out to other markets.
"If we've got something that's 'better,' we have to show that we can keep it separate, and then we have to find somebody who appreciates it," said Dave Frey, Kansas Wheat Commission administrator.
Eventually, the Internet could play a key role in matching sellers and buyers, Frey said.
"We're going to have to find the right buyers for whatever it is we're trying to sell," he said. "Maybe the Internet could do that. It certainly sounds like something that could be looked at."
Though Douglas County farmers tend to grow more corn than wheat, they'll be watching the sales experiment with Mexico.
"Farmers around here would want to have an end market in mind before they planted. They'd want to have a contract," said Jerry Sternadel, marketing director at the Lawrence-based Farmers Co-op Assn. "I'll be interested in seeing how it goes, because there's a lot of opportunity out there and so much of it depends on marketing.
"And as a co-op, our job is to make sure there opportunities are there for our farmers."
-- Dave Ranney's phone message number is 832-7222. His e-mail is dranney@ljworld.com.
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