SecretaryKansas Department of Agriculture
Adrian J. Polansky was appointed secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture by Governor Kathleen Sebelius in February 2003.
Along with his duties as secretary, Polansky serves on the steering committee of the Governor’s Rural Life Task Force. He also serves on the Kansas Energy Council, the Governor's Council on Homeland Security and Kansas Task Force on Methamphetamine and Illegal Drugs. He is chair of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture’s biotechnology task force.
Polansky brings a lifetime of agriculture experience to the governor’s Cabinet. He owns Polansky Farms and Polansky Seed, both in Belleville. Until 2001, he served as state executive director of the Kansas Farm Service Agency. Since 1964, he has been a member of the Kansas Crop Improvement Association and served as president of that organization from 1986 to 1987. He was on the Agriculture Council of America from 1979 to 1985 and served as chairman from 1983 to 1984. In 1985 he was chairman of the U.S. Wheat Associates and was a member of that group for seven years. Polansky also served as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of Wheat Growers Education Foundation in 1987. Earlier in his career, he served as president of the Republic County Farmers Union and policy chairman of the Kansas Farmers Union.
Polansky is a lifelong Kansan who graduated from Kansas State University in 1972 with a bachelor of science degree in agronomy. He has received many honors and awards, including the Hammer Award USDA, which recognized his efforts to build a government that works better and costs less; a USDA distinguished service award for outstanding leadership and management contributions made to the Farm Service Agency; the 1986 wheat man of the year award given by the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers; and the outstanding service to agriculture award in 1986 by the Kansas Crops and Soils Industry Council. In 1994, he received the KSU Ag Alumni Association outstanding young alumnus award.
Polansky lives in Topeka with his wife, Kristine, who is an attorney. They married in January 2003. Polansky’s first wife, Joyce, passed away in 1993 after 18 years of marriage. A son, Adam, is a 2002 graduate of Kansas State University who currently is involved in managing the family farm and seed business. Adam’s twin, A.J., was lost in an automobile accident in January 2001. A daughter, Amber, and her husband, are graduates of the University of Kansas pharmacy school. They own and operate City Pharmacy in Minneapolis, Kan. Benjamin Larscheid, Polansky’s stepson by his current marriage, attends Ft. Hays State University.
In his role as secretary of agriculture, Polansky believes it is important to be a leading advocate for Kansas agriculture.