[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6638797,"mediaKeyId","2570015-aa2ad5ca815e777d9c7aa6e64695e523","parentId",2570015,"title","Senate Agriculture committee hears House Bill 2158 on allowing small beekeepers to sell honey without commercial kitchen","audioSeconds",2273,"startMs",1407920,"endMs",3681630,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2570015-aa2ad5ca815e777d9c7aa6e64695e523&start=1407&end=3681","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2570015-aa2ad5ca815e777d9c7aa6e64695e523/thumbnail_1407920.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6638797/Kansas/Senate-Agriculture-committee-hears-House-Bill-2158-on-allowing-small-beekeepers-to-sell-honey-without-commercial-kitchen","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6638797-4c40fe4e0cd0781cd61bf2b1d0420750/orig.mp4?Expires=1770798275&Signature=UAzms8csSkgRIYBbHE9Xn1T9FVJpiga5tZR~YDIT8ZrSGcbP9KSsM3ioa11KE2BGC94XR6Qk6CWK~fdoC8G6sBUQ8m8NYrUD87bh6x8-EPoyGDtcneJTdrlL9~Q6w0LjV1~9dHpUNy~Dg6zwajz5Qn9yMpXYEbmyRWzI7gqJxNHw--iU51uage27rcadBt6cwTUNle~1cFStX~Puw6Xmr8YGBXC4YIOgR3rPz~CqQURwUsWBZgWU1JW1N81xB-8fmAoKpfKm8jXkurCKcGaXZ9mtpVHiLTVMyJiu8yRKDcMPi0a42xFxgbHU0dj1MiiA3QJxrtt~G4js6WXVHEGu9Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources","date","2025-03-12T14:44:40.427Z","article","The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee opened a hearing on House Bill 2,158, legislation that would permit beekeepers who meet specified requirements to sell packaged honey and honeycomb without holding a food establishment or food processing plant license under the Kansas Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Reviser Lawrence told the committee the bill would take effect July 1 and that the House had approved the measure on a vote of 85 to 34.

Under the bill language described to the committee, an exemption requires that the honey and comb be packaged on the beekeeper's property, labeled with the beekeeper's name and address, be unaltered (no added ingredients), derive from hives located in Kansas, and that the beekeeper maintain sales records showing amounts sold, container sizes, locations of sale and dates. The bill includes a $50,000 annual gross sales limit for the exemption; the reviser and several proponents said the bill also allows a beekeeper who meets other conditions but exceeds the sales limit to obtain a license without a commercial kitchen.

Proponents of the bill argued it removes an undue barrier for very small producers and hobbyists. Samuel McRoberts, litigation director at the Kansas Justice Institute, said honey is a safe, low‑risk product and that requiring a commercial kitchen can impose substantial costs on small beekeepers. \"If you do have language that you could provide for the committee for clarifying, that would be great,\" McRoberts said, noting a potential conflict in the bill's sales‑threshold language.

Becky Tipton, president of the Kansas Bee Producers and owner of Country Creek Honey, told the committee small entrepreneurs in rural Kansas often lack commercial kitchens nearby and that the bill is intended to allow straight bottled honey and comb honey, but not infused or adulterated products. \"Nobody makes honey except honeybees,\" Tipton said.

Buck Bradley of Bucks Honeybee Company described how the current regulation, which requires a commercial bottling facility for retail placement, has limited his ability to place product in local stores. Bradley said commercial kitchen costs and fees can be prohibitive for small operations and called the current rule \"an example of security theater.\" He and other proponents said Missouri removed a commercial kitchen requirement in 2015 and that at least 20 other states have similar exemptions.

Opponents told the committee they support Kansas beekeepers but raised concerns about consumer protection if honey packaged in noninspected facilities is placed on grocery shelves. Josh McGinn, Assistant Secretary at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, said the KDA's food safety and lodging program inspects food establishments and that products on store shelves are generally expected to meet inspection standards. McGinn said direct‑to‑consumer sales are already allowed and that a key KDA concern is sanitary packaging and storage; examples raised included well water testing for sanitizing equipment and ensuring adequate handwashing and safe containers.

Licensed processors who testified said they invested in inspected commercial facilities and worry a wholesale exemption could create a two‑tier market. Tim Urich of Tea Creek Bees and Honey said he manages 300 hives and that licensed processing and inspections improved his operation. Jorge Garibay of the North American Pollinator Alliance urged rejection of the bill and recommended expanding access to pay‑per‑use commercial kitchens throughout the state rather than creating exemptions. Courtney Simpson, a commercial beekeeper from Wamego, urged the committee to prioritize consumer safety and suggested higher liability insurance if exemptions proceed.

KDA staff suggested several alternatives the committee could consider if it moves the bill: a labeled exception to indicate products not subject to routine KDA inspection (such as a fundraising exemption), waiving fees while maintaining education and some contact with producers, or a post‑implementation review after one to three years. KDA officials also provided differing figures during testimony about fees and typical costs: one proponent cited initial inspection costs around $550 and annual fees of $250, while KDA staff described an initial application fee of $175 and an annual fee of $150 for commercial kitchens under 1,000 square feet.

The committee heard substantial written testimony from proponents and opponents and took questions from senators including Senator Bowser and Senator Shane. The hearing record showed the bill had passed the House, but no final Senate vote was taken during the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources 03/12/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on House Bill 2,158, which would allow qualifying Kansas beekeepers to sell packaged honey and comb honey without a food establishment license; the reviser told the committee the bill passed the House 85‑34 and would take effect July 1 if enacted.","taxTitle","Agriculture and Natural Resources, Standing, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Kansas","taxId",19120,"location","Kansas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6638801,"Bartlett Grain Company describes $440 million soybean crushing facility in Cherryvale to Senate committee",1314,63970,1378530,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2570015-aa2ad5ca815e777d9c7aa6e64695e523&start=63&end=1378","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2570015-aa2ad5ca815e777d9c7aa6e64695e523/thumbnail_63970.jpg","/articles/6638801/Kansas/Bartlett-Grain-Company-describes-440-million-soybean-crushing-facility-in-Cherryvale-to-Senate-committee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6638801-86e3b1ed1df23afa681cb2ec0ea50237/orig.mp4?Expires=1770798275&Signature=f2jvtBsMdLXfLuNgW0tAsTeNsblfBLxSNnHPYDGwA5ci5Ynt-ajfIrWw4hJQHj0mL2~eaJdRQ05xfBX0KqxlHg7OA-kzDpFJv0xCTzLbAZbef-D7KIlrZXNknNOTAhyG56C16zI~1y6UDWoWSFPOnAh6Ugl8UbrJqCR4Lx26aoa~rhVbL~gTb4BM28apE7QkVKVtGyMHgvj4SXjoVHWChlZJRNoZFSdzlYsCn~oAaN2afuHoo5JxZXKXZ0m4iCDlB72xYwMZgA9DcTRUW~Kjr2-Eor0p4QtZTh4XIwdXa5lmVQAFzm87kLBLLAufDRLLzoPKt0yZapmWPrcQNTXmvQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Bill Webster, vice president of Bartlett Grain Company, and Dustin Brevard, who leads Bartlett’s soybean crushing business, briefed the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee about the company’s new soybean crushing facility in Cherryvale, Kansas.

Bartlett described the project as a $440,000,000 investment that increases Kansas soybean crushing capacity by more than 40 percent. The company said the Cherryvale plant can crush nearly 50,000,000 bushels of soybeans per year and produce roughly 500,000,000 pounds of soybean oil, more than 1,000,000 tons of soybean meal and about 75,000 tons of soybean hulls annually. Bartlett said the meal produced at the plant feeds the rations of an estimated 100,000,000 chickens each year and the hulls feed roughly 60,000 head of cattle.

The committee heard that the site is a high‑capacity logistics hub. Bartlett representatives said the Cherryvale facility has over 25,000 feet of track space and is a shuttle unloader/loader, able to unload a 100‑car train of soybeans while loading a 100‑car train of soybean meal. The company told senators the plant routinely produces the equivalent of a 100‑car unit of soybean meal about every three days.

Webster and Brevard told the committee the company employs more than 70 workers on site and selected Cherryvale because of its access to a strong local labor pool, utility infrastructure and a rail network served by WATCO with interchanges to Class I railroads including Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and BNSF. Company witnesses said the plant will improve market bids across multiple Bartlett facilities in Kansas by keeping soybeans in‑state for value‑added processing instead of exporting whole beans for crushing elsewhere.

Bartlett also described how the Cherryvale site was laid out to allow future expansion. The company said the plant was designed to double capacity on the same site as market conditions dictate and that adjacent ground has been purchased and permitted by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for a potential renewable‑fuels facility. Company representatives said the neighboring project, if built, would produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel at roughly 20,000 barrels per day and could use soybean oil and other feedstocks to reduce carbon intensity by about 30 percent, but they said construction timing depends on federal incentive rules and policy clarity.

Senators on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee asked questions about permitting, rail and the state’s incentive toolkit. Bartlett witnesses credited local and state partners — Montgomery County, the Kansas Department of Commerce and the lieutenant governor’s office — for helping secure the site and rail improvements. The company said it expects additional private investment in rail infrastructure in the region and noted that the project was one of the largest private investments in Kansas agriculture in recent years.

Webster invited committee members to tour the Cherryvale facility and said Bartlett would also present to the House Agriculture Committee later the same day.","Company executives told the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee that Bartlett Grain’s new Cherryvale, Kansas, soybean crushing plant is a $440 million investment that expands in-state processing capacity, supports local farmers and rail infrastructure, and could be expanded later to support renewable fuel production.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate Agriculture committee hears House Bill 2158 on allowing small beekeepers to sell honey without commercial kitchen

Bartlett Grain Company describes $440 million soybean crushing facility in Cherryvale to Senate committee