Ag Approps Bill contains $350 million for dairy farmers and over $4.2 million for PA projects
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey today announced that the U.S. Congress has passed the House-Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The bill, which contains important funding for dairy farmers and several Pennsylvania projects, will now be sent to the President for his signature.
The bill contains an additional $350 million in relief to dairy farmers, which the Senate added during consideration of the bill in early August. Of the $350 million, $290 million will be distributed to farmers as a direct payment, while the remaining $60 million will be used to purchase cheese and other dairy products for food banks and nutrition programs. As a member of the House-Senate Conference Committee on the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Act, Senator Specter worked to ensure the $350 million Senate amendment remained in the bill.
“I am pleased that our dairy farmers will be receiving assistance in the form of a direct payment. While more needs to be done to stabilize dairy prices, this action by Congress will provide at least a measure of relief,” Senator Specter said. ““Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s number one industry, and I applaud my Congressional colleagues for funding these agricultural projects that are fundamental to keeping Pennsylvania’s economy strong.”
“Agriculture is an essential part of Pennsylvania’s economy,” said Senator Casey. “Providing this assistance and support to Pennsylvania dairy farmers is essential to not only the livelihood of family farms, but also for the Pennsylvania economy and rural communities. This funding will give our agriculture industry a much needed boost while developing new technologies for our farmers and I thank my colleagues for approving these projects.”
Pennsylvania projects in the bill include:
• $821,000 for Penn State University in State College for milk safety and research into programs that will allow dairy producers to reduce food borne pathogens at the farm level, new technologies for processors that will contribute to economic sustainability, and improvements in the supply chain that will ensure continued delivery of a high quality, affordable and safe product to consumers.
• $372,000 for Penn State University in State College for improved dairy management practices. Funding will support vital research into the areas of animal health programs, the economics of dairy farming, risk analysis and technology.
• $349,000 for the Rodale Institute in Kutztown (Berks County) to research on a standard multi-year grain/vegetable crop rotation initiative. The goal of the research is to quantify the ability of this new system to increase soil health and carbon sequestration, reduce dependence on fossil-fuel-based inputs, and improve economic returns for farmers.
• $340,000 for the Pennsylvania Centers for Dairy and Beef Excellence in Harrisburg to provide producers across the state with the technical and financial assistance needed to improve on-farm profitability. Funding supports a variety of technical assistance programs that support increased profitability.
• $248,000 for Penn State University in State College for farm and community educational programs, the primary focus of which is to assist small farmers in developing and maintaining economically viable enterprises and helping build community capacity to sustain growth and development of local agriculture and food sectors.
• $243,000 for Penn State University to address problems associated with dairy production in Pennsylvania. In particular, this initiative will focus on utilization of technology to improve water quality, while lower impacts of air emissions and encouraging more efficient energy use. This project will face the challenges facing the dairy industry in the areas of nutrient and emission management.
• $223,000 for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in Harrisburg for the Cooperative Livestock Protection Program which provides Pennsylvania agriculture producers statewide with technical and operational assistance in identifying, controlling and abating damage and economic loss caused by certain nuisance wildlife species.
• $300,000 for Cheyney University in Delaware County to support the activities of the Aquaculture Research Center. The initiative seeks to develop a sustainable aquaculture production, especially in areas where farmland is scarce.
• $142,000 for the Rodale Institute in Berks County, through a partnership with Pennsylvania State University, for collaborative research trials to provide science-based alternatives to assist farmers with the adoption of more sustainable farming practices.
• $1,248,000 for continued implementation of Geographic Information Systems; a portion of these funds will support GIS programs at the Pennsylvania State University and Wilkes University. This national program was created to help bring the benefits of geographic information systems and related spatial information technologies to rural and tribal America. Eight sites across the United States, including two in Pennsylvania, conduct projects and technology transfer activities in their regions to support a common mission.
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