ISSUE 1082 SENATE
PASSES
$52
MILLION
AG
FUNDING
BILL The
U.S.
Senate
passed
a
bill
Thursday
(September
22)
that
would
provide
over
$52
million
to
fund
Florida
agriculture.
Included
in
the
Senate
Agriculture
Appropriations
bill
is
$40
million
for
citrus
canker
eradication.
Not
included,
however,
was
$7million
for
implementation
of
the
Specialty
Crop
Competitvess
Act
of
2004
that
the
House
Appropriations
Committee
approved
last
June. Differences with the U.S. House of Representatives must be reconciled in Conference Committee before the measure can proceed to the White House. The
majority
of
the
remaining
funds
targeted
for
Florida
address
agricultural
research,
including
$3.6
million
for
Florida
State
University
to
study
risk
reduction
for
agricultural
crops;
$6
million
for
Floriculture
&
Nursery
Research
Initiative
to
address
critical
issues
related
to
pests
and
diseases
and
environmental
management;
$700,000
for
the
University
of
Central
Florida
to
study
Citrus
Chloroplast
Genomics
and
Genetic
Engineering;
$494,000
for
Florida
Citrus
Mutual
Citrus
Canker
Research;
$446,000
for
Florida
Citrus
Mutual
Diaprepes
Research;
and
$350,000
for
the
Florida
Department
of
Agriculture
and
Consumer
Services
Lake
Okeechobee
Watershed
Planning. ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S RAP-UP (Members-Only articles are indicated in bold.) |
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