Ed Reznicek will be presenting the following on Friday: 1:15 p.m. Family Farm Advocacy Training – Building Personal Relationships with Legislators & Promoting a Proactive Discussion of the Issues
Ed Reznicek raises beef cattle and organic crops on a 400 acre farm in Nemaha County Kansas and has worked with farmers and farm organizations for over 30 years. He grew up on a mixed livestock and grain farm in central Kansas. Ed graduated from Emporia State University in 1976 with degrees in Philosophy and German. After leaving college Ed took a job working for Kansas Legal Services as a paralegal. As the farm crisis of the 1980’s unfolded, Ed learned farm finance and worked with farmers developing debt and loan restructuring plans and negotiating with creditors to enable farmers to continue their farm operations. Ed left Legal Services in 1983 and went to the Kansas Rural Center to continue his work with farmers on financial and natural resource issues. From 1995-2011, Ed worked as a Field Coordinator for the KRC Clean Water Farm Project, helping farmers with whole farm planning and cost-share demonstration projects. In the early 1990’s Ed, along with other members of Kansas Organic Producers (KOP), began the process of reorganizing KOP as an organic marketing cooperative. Ed currently serves the organization as a half-time general manager. KOP employs two full time marketers, an accountant, and a marketing support staff member. KOP markets organic grain for about 70 members in Kansas and surrounding states. Ed has a hands-on knowledge of the planning, financing, and operational activities necessary to raise crops and livestock. He has a long history of working with individual farmers, as well as organizations, in collaborative efforts to learn and implement new ways of addressing needs and solving problems.
Family farm advocate panelists: Ed Reznicek, Mary Fund, Linda Hessman, and Rachel Myslivy
Kansas Family Farm & Food Advocacy Day will feature a local foods legislative breakfast, family farm advocates rally, and visits with members of the Kansas Legislature during the 2015 Kansas Legislative Session in Topeka. Learn the importance of being an advocate for family farming, strategies that work, and how to build personal relationships between members and legislators, while promoting a proactive discussion of the issues.
