The members of the House Republican Steering Committee announced this week that Rep. Mike Conaway, who represents the Permian Basin in West Central Texas, will become the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. Rep. Conaway succeeds current Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, and will assume the gavel at the start of the 114th Congress. American Soybean Association First Vice President Wade Cowan, who farms in Brownfield, Texas, just north of Rep. Conaway's district, offered ASA's congratulations to the incoming Chairman.

"Rep. Conaway has a proven track record of representing farmers not only in West Central Texas, but across the country, and he will make a fine chairman," said Cowan. "As chair of the Agricultural Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, Rep. Conaway exhibited fluent understanding of the complex issues that shape the nation's farm program, and how those issues can impact soybean farmers in the field. With this understanding, we are confident that soybean farmer issues will continue to be well represented within the Committee, and we look forward to working with him and his able staff."

Cowan also noted the contributions of outgoing Chairman Lucas, with whom ASA worked to pass the 2014 Farm Bill.

"Soybean farmers owe a great deal of our success on farm policy issues to Chairman Lucas' leadership," said Cowan. "Under his watch, Chairman Lucas helped to shepherd a farm bill that ASA worked very hard to pass for the benefit of American farmers and consumers alike.  But that's only one dimension of his impact. Our farmers are better equipped to address volatile market conditions, growing international competition and the generational drought that has devastated Texas, Oklahoma, and many other states in recent years. We wish Chairman Lucas all the best, and look forward to working with him as an influential member of the committee."