Dorgan Says Today's Funding Decision on Agriculture Research Invests in Family Farm Agriculture

Press Release

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) announced Thursday that the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the FY 2011 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which includes investments for agricultural research projects that will help North Dakota family farmers and ranchers.

"The Agriculture Appropriations bill for 2011 maintains important investments in ongoing research that will benefit our producers and strengthen agriculture in North Dakota," said Senator Dorgan, a senior member of the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee. "These cutting-edge projects help North Dakota farmers and ranchers continue to innovate and expand the agriculture industry that's so important to our state."

A number of important research projects for North Dakota are in the bill, including:

North Dakota State University Research
o North Dakota State University will use $1 million in funding to determine the economics, production, and policy effects of biomass conversion to biofuels and other products. At test sites throughout the state, researchers will study methods to efficiently convert biomass into biofuels. The goal is to identify cellulosic feedstocks that are cost competitive by 2012 using regionally available biomass.

Fargo Agricultural Research Center
o The bill includes an increase of $188,000 for the Red River Valley Agricultural Center in Fargo, which will be used to expand its research into cereal crops, sunflower, sugarbeets, potatoes, and insect and disease resistance. Farmers and ranchers in the Northern Great Plains rely on the Fargo laboratory to help address emerging threats to agricultural interests and rural farming communities throughout the region.

Cool Season Legume Research
o In addition, $350,000 will be used to support ongoing research in North Dakota and four other states to improve plant genetics, crop management and new end uses for peas, lentils and chickpeas. Past advancements in root diseases, new plant varieties, and nutrition has helped expand pulse crop acreage across the United States. North Dakota ranks first in the nation in the production of lentils and dry edible peas.

Durum Wheat Quality Program
o The bill includes $3 million for the durum wheat quality program, which will help address the scab problem in durum wheat by offsetting part of the cost of a fungicide application until genetic scab resistance is found. The scab problem has contributed to a decline in durum production in the United States. North Dakota has the nation's highest durum milling capacity of over 85,000 bushels per day and is home to several pasta plants.

Dorgan protected funding for the Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks. The Center conducts critically needed research on obesity and diet-related healthy issues and is the only USDA human nutrition center located in rural America.

In addition, Dorgan restored $543,000 for the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan to study ways for family farmers to use biomass to produce energy. This will also continue the Southwest Feeders program, which is aimed at working with ranchers to develop feed management practices using locally produced feed.

The bill also restores funding of $3.92 million for the Tribal College Grants, Rural Community Facilities Program that the FY11 budget originally proposed to eliminate. The important program is a critical source of funding for tribal colleges.

Source