Pub. 7 2018 Issue 6

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 12 This new approach takes the statewide ag growth project to a new level, in a collaborative partnership with other state agencies and with local communities in a new way. One thing we have learned throughout the ag growth project is that from community to community, growth looks very different. In the new Land in Kansas initiative, the Department of Agriculture is leading a pilot program that will turn the traditional economic development model around and make it a partnership, where the communities identify their best opportunities for growth. The strategic development initiative will start by asking communities how they want to grow, and what they have to offer. What are their resources — from workforce and training opportunities to land and water resources — and what are their assets they can offer a company? This new program will allow a public or private entity or collection of entities, including banks, representing a county or community to submit a recruitment package summarizing the desired growth goals of the county or community. Those goals will include identification of specific sectors of interest for that community, and the availability of necessary natural resources along with other infrastructure, services and amenities. Communities will be asked to create a public discussion at the local level, talking in a strategic way with those who live and work in the community about what they want in terms of growth opportunities. To be successful, the Land in Kansas initiative needs proactive, innovative leaders stepping up to help their communities grow. We encourage bank leaders to join forces with other local leaders to lead these discussions. You understand your communities as well as anyone and can play a critical role in recruiting new businesses and economic growth to your area. Then it will become our job at KDA to work in partnership with those communities, to go out and proactively recruit companies in key industries that have the potential for growth that fit the needs and desires of those local communities. We will work in close coordination with other state agencies to match local Kansas communities and counties with these potential growth opportunities. This coordinated, strategic effort toward economic development will begin as a pilot program for the food and agriculture industry along with unmanned aerial systems and small aircraft, and then we hope to expand it to other sectors of the economy. New investment and business expansion is critical to the future of our state. The Land in Kansas program will enable local and state governments to work together in partnership with private partners to achieve the economic growth that opens the door to an even more prosperous future for the state of Kansas. This new program will allow a public or private entity or collection of entities, including banks, representing a county or community to submit a recruitment package summarizing the desired growth goals of the county or community.