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Bill includes nearly $10 million for Minnesota and Midwest Agriculture and Rural Development Projects

Bill includes nearly $10 million for Minnesota and Midwest Agriculture and Rural Development Projects

July 24, 2008

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that more than $9.8 million dollars in federal funds she sought for agriculture and rural development initiatives in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest cleared a major hurdle with passage by the Senate Appropriations Committee.  The bill included funding secured by Klobuchar to protect the Morris “Soils Lab” open after the President’s Budget zeroed out funding.

The bill also included major Minnesota and Midwest projects, successfully secured by Senator Klobuchar as part of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Development Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009. The full committee approved the bill last week and will send it to the Senate floor for debate.

“Minnesota’s farmers and rural communities are the bedrock of our state economy,’’ Klobuchar said. “This funding is vital for their success in 21st century agriculture and the 21st century economy.’’
 
Klobuchar successfully championed funding for projects including cereal disease research at the Agriculture Research Service laboratory at the University of Minnesota campus in St. Paul, funded at more than $300,000. This funding will support research to improve resistance to scab and rusts in wheat, barley and other small grains and reduce the economic losses caused by these diseases. During the 1990s, cereal diseases devastated the wheat and barley crop in the Red River Valley, adversely affecting both yield and quality.

Klobuchar toured the lab in May to see the research first-hand.

“The research being conducted at the University of Minnesota to control diseases in wheat, barley, and oats is vitally important to the producers of these crops and to our entire farm and food economy,’’ Klobuchar said. “Farmers in the Red River Valley and southeastern Minnesota should benefit greatly from this continued research.’’
Klobuchar also secured nearly $3 million for the continued operation of the Agriculture Research Service “Soils Lab’’ in Morris, Minnesota.  The mission of the laboratory is to develop sustainable agricultural systems by carrying out research on farmland management practices that enhance the biological, chemical and physical properties of soils.  The President’s budget had eliminated funding for the lab and put an end to this critical farm service.  Klobuchar, who visited the lab recently, was able to restore funding for the research. 

Klobuchar also secured $200,000 for soybean genomics research at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. Soybeans grown in the Upper Midwest tend to have lower protein content than soybeans grown farther south. These funds will support research that is needed to identify genes that contribute to improved protein levels and soybean oil quality.  This project is a key priority for Minnesota’s soybean growers, and helps fund studies that could substantially increase the productivity and income of Minnesota farmers.

In addition to the above funding, Senator Klobuchar secured appropriations for the following projects:

• $250,000 for the Uniform Farm Management Project at the University of Minnesota. The University’s Center for Farm Financial Management is creating a national database of farm financial information to help farmers make better management and business decisions. 

• More than $320,000 for wild rice research at the University of Minnesota. This project, coordinated through the Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council, aims to develop new and hardier strains of wild rice.

• $250,000, spread across 14 states, for the Midwest Poultry Research Program. The Midwest Poultry Consortium is an association of 14 poultry producing states, including Minnesota, whose mission is to support poultry research programs at land grant universities.  Funds support research addressing issues such as food safety, animal health, waste management, and combating poultry diseases.

• $310,000 for the Driftless Area Initiative in Minnesota and other Midwestern states. The Driftless Area Initiative is an association of six Resource Conservation and Development Councils working to improve natural resources and the rural economy in the four-state project area (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois).  The funds will be used to fund projects to improve water quality, natural resource conservation, and economic vitality in the Driftless Area, a region of deeply-carved river valleys bordering the Mississippi River and its tributaries in the Upper Midwest.

• $4.8 million for Wood Utilization Research Centers in Minnesota and 10 other states. Wood Utilization Research Centers represent an integrated program of research and outreach through 12 university partners in 11 states, including Minnesota, to provide creative science and technology and advanced business practices that will enhance the competitiveness of the wood products industry.

• $430,000  for the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control in Minnesota and Michigan. This program would protect and improve water quality in the Great Lakes by reducing soil erosion and controlling sedimentation through financial incentives, information, education and technical assistance.

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