Topic: Enhanced Oil Recovery
Interview of John Farmer, December 28, 2023
Interviewed by Rex Buchanan
In this late 2023 interview, John O. Farmer III recalled his long career in the oil business with his family-owned company in Russell, Kansas. Farmer describes the evolution of the oil business over decades as technology changed and improved the possibilities for small- to medium-sized companies in the oil industry. He observes that federal policies and market price fluctuations have more to do with the success or failure of the business than state policies. However, he notes, the interplay of state tax policies can make or break companies that depend on low-production oil wells.
Interview of Steve Morris, August 22, 2024
Interviewed by Rex Buchanan
Former President of the Kansas Senate, Steve Morris, focuses in this 2024 interview on the issues that impacted his far-southwestern Kansas Senate district during his time in the Senate, 1993-2013. Important issues included those relating to extraction of natural resources, agriculture, and the closely related issue of water. He also reflects on how tax policy has had a wide-ranging impact on the area, touching everything from school financing to the sense of disconnect experienced by some western Kansans. Morris's background as a farmer representing the area of the Hugoton natural gas field made him a logical choice for Show Moreappointment to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Morris looks back on the controversy around expansion of the Holcomb power plant -- a decision that Kansas may have gotten right "by accident." The interview touches on the economic and social impacts of the natural gas and agriculture industries in Hugoton and the 39th Senate District at-large, including the decline of the Hugoton Field and the introduction of irrigation, fracking, and renewable energy generation. Morris speculates on the future of agriculture and the changing demographics in southwestern Kansas.
Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview