Paul Johnson

Paul was raised in McPherson and graduated from KU in 1974 with a BA in political science and social welfare. In 1980, Paul was hired by a coalition of churches to be the director and lobbyist for the Public Assistance Coalition of Kansas focusing on poverty programs till 2005. In September 1980, Paul bought his 40 acre farm in southern Jefferson County and started organically market gardening strawberries and red raspberries in 1985. In 1994, Paul was a founding farmer for the Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance - the oldest multi-farm CSA in the Midwest and is still active today. In 2008, Paul became the lobbyist and now policy analyst for the Kansas Rural Center focusing on regional food systems, water, pesticides, and federal Farm Bill programs. Since 2005, Paul has been a consultant to the League of Women Voters in Kansas on the state budget, tax issues, and key poverty programs such as Medicaid, housing and child support enforcement. Paul served on the Jefferson County Planning Commission for twenty years.