Senate Agriculture Committee

Independent Greg Orman leads Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, by 7 points, 47-40 with 13 percent undecided, in a Gravis Marketing poll of the Senate race in Kansas.

Republican Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, faces an uphill struggle to win his fourth Senate term from Kansas, say two polls over the weekend.

Republican Joni Ernst's folksiness seems to be paying off in the retail politics of Iowa, says the weekly political tip sheet Sabato's Crystal Ball, in rating the Senate race in the Hawkeye State as "leans Republican," vs the previous "Toss-up."

Iowa, the No 1 corn state, and Kansas, No 1 in wheat, are among five states that will decide which party controls the Senate for the next two years, writes political analyst Stuart Rothenberg in Roll Call. Alaska, North Carolina and Colorado are the other three states on his list. Democrats control the Senate 55-45. Rothenberg says the GOP is likely to gain from 5-8 seats.

Independent Greg Orman leads third-term Republican Sen Pat Roberts, 41-34, in Kansas according to a survey by Public Policy Polling that was released to Pollster. The poll said 15 percent were undecided, 6 percent supported Democrat Chad Taylor, who has dropped out of the race, and 4 percent backed libertarian Randall Batson. PPP said Roberts was deeply unpopular; Democrats and independents overwhelmingly back Orman. The margin of error was +/-2.7 points.

The Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman is drafting legislation to overhaul the way the government reviews purchases of U.S. companies by foreigners. Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow disclosed her intentions as part of a PBS NewsHour review of the purchase of Smilthfield Foods by Shuanghui International, of China. "Food security is national security," Stabenow said on the program, according to a news release by the committee. "“And I can’t imagine that the American people will feel comfortable if they wake up someday and find that half of our food processors are owned by China."

"Rural voters are crucial" for Democrats if they are to win Senate races in Kentucky and Georgia, blogs political consultant Matt Barron in The Hill newspaper. The incumbent in Kentucky is Republican Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. Democrat Alison Grimes has criticized McConnell for missing dozens of Agriculture Committee meetings.

Pat Roberts of Kansas is "likely" to become chairman of the Agriculture Committee if Republicans win control of the Senate in the mid-term elections, says Politico, in laying out its list of potential committee leaders. It says Thad Cochran of Mississippi, now the GOP leader on Agriculture, would take the Appropriations chair and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, No 2 in rank on Agriculture, would become majority leader. Of course, Cochran and Roberts have to win re-election on Nov 4.

Republican Senator Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Independent Greg Orman are neck-and-neck in a KSN/SurveyUSA poll conducted from Thursday through Sunday. Orman took 37 percent and Roberts 36 percent with a margin of error of +/-4.4 points. Democrat Chad Taylor, who declared he is no longer running, got 10 percent.

Under-funded Democrat Chad Taylor withdrew as a candidate for Senate in Kansas, "an 11th hour move that could clear the way for his party to rally behind an independent candidate and potentially change the math in the battle for the Senate majority," said the Washington Post. Independent Greg Orman "has been viewed as a more viable opponent against Sen Pat Roberts (R), who polls show is vulnerable."

Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst are tied at 40 percent each with 15 percent undecided in a Suffolk/USA Today poll of one of the races that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.

The Mississippi Republican Party chairman, Joe Nosef, says there is too little time to examine all the materials in the party's contested Senate run-off election and told challenger Chris McDaniel to go court instead, says the Los Angeles Times.

Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, won the Republican nomination for his fourth term, beating Tea Party challenger Milton Wolf, 48-41.

In Missouri, the top agriculture issue is a constitutional amendment to create a "right to farm." Says the New York Times, "The debate over the proposed amendment has roiled Missouri for more than a year, with supporters saying it would end what they see as meddling by outsiders in its business practices.

Republicans asked about local flexibility and Democrats focused on funding when the Senate Agriculture Committee sat down to hear about they sat down to talk about renewal of school lunch and child nutrition programs. Together the programs cost around $19 billion a year with school meals getting $14 billion. The programs are due for reauthorization in 2015.

The campaign in Iowa to succeed Democrat Tom Harkin, a Senate Agriculture Committee member, gained a lot of attention in the past week. Handicapping of the race ranged from "leans Democratic" to a toss-up. Over the weekend, the Washington Post's "Election Lab" said its model shows "78 percent chance of GOP win" - a much stronger reading than other forecasts.

While Congress wrangles over one-year school-lunch waiver for some schools, the Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its second hearing of the summer on child nutrition. Set for Wednesday, the hearing "will examine school meal programs across the country" with an eye for ways "to continue strengthening these programs to better support America's school children," says the hearing announcement.

Pointing to a “once-in-a-generation opportunity,” Republican staffers on the Senate Agriculture Committee proposed on Wednesday shifting more than $13 billion earmarked separately for climate mitigation into USDA land stewardship programs. Under Congress’ arcane budget rules, the transfer would result in a long-term increase of $1.8 billion a year for stewardship, they said, “subject only to congressional reauthorization.”