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Ag funds slated for Arkansas Friday, Sep 23, 2005 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Arkansas is slated to receive an estimated $42 million for agriculture projects as part of an annual spending bill the Senate approved on Thursday, the state's senators announced. The bill, which funds the Agriculture Department in fiscal 2006, contains earmarks for agricultural research and economic development programs in Arkansas. "We're all keenly aware of the critical role agriculture plays in our state's economy," Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said in a statement. The bill, which passed 97-2, will be sent to House-Senate negotiators, who will work out differences in the legislation. "There's a lot of pressure right now to make budget cuts all across the board," Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said in a statement. "I'm glad we were able to keep our state's agricultural needs off the chopping block in the Senate." The bill includes $4.5 million for the Delta Regional Authority, a federal-state partnership created by Congress to foster economic development in a 240-county area in Arkansas and seven other states. President Bush recommended $6 million in funding for the chronically underfunded authority in his 2006 budget blueprint. The bill contains $1.1 million for the Institute for Food Science and Engineering at the University of Arkansas for food science and nutrition research and education. The National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information at the university's law school is slated for $502,000. Another $180,000 would go to fund research and education on cattle industry management techniques at the university. The university also would get $2.5 million for a program that provides research on organic and sustainable agriculture practices to commercial producers and county extension agents. It includes $5.2 million for agroforestry research at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Booneville to expand cooperative plant research with the University of Missouri Agroforestry Center. The Small Farms, South Central Family Farm Research Center in Booneville would get $1 million for endophyte research. The bill also contains $4 million to complete the Arkansas Research Laboratory at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is slated for $250,000 for its Small Farm Outreach Wetland Management Center and $1.1 million for aquaculture research and education. In Stuttgart, the Dale Bumpers Rice Research Center would get $3.4 million and the Harry Dupree National Aquaculture Research Center would get $4.4 million for genetic research of hybrid striped bass. -- 30 -- |
