Senate bill could continue funding agricultual center

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Senate bill could continue funding agricultual center

Research group gets $13 million added to budget

by Brian Kalish | Special to The Gazette

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The Beltsville Agriculture Research Center has cleared its first hurdle in a funding issue which would have closed one of its laboratories and possibly cut as many as 60 jobs.

A Senate appropriations committee on July 17 approved a bill that would add $13 million to the Agricultural Research Service, which runs BARC, reversing an initial decision to cut $84 million in the federal fiscal 2009 budget.

That would have meant a direct loss to BARC of $11 million, according to its director Joseph Spence.

‘‘For nearly 100 years, BARC researchers have been finding solutions to our nation’s most challenging agricultural problems,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) said in a written statement to The Gazette. ‘‘This funding will enable BARC to carry out critical research projects important to our farm economy and the health and nutrition of Americans.”

The funding would allow BARC to retain its biosciences and biotechnology lab, which works on animal breeding and meat quality, directly affecting farmer’s profits. It would also save three research programs on the cutting block, those on potato and poultry diseases research.

The budget still has a long way to go, said Sandy Miller Hayes, an ARS spokeswoman. The increased funding from the Senate was an ‘‘opening comment in a very long conversation,” Hayes said.

With the funding cut looming, the ARS had to ‘‘sit down and do some really hard thinking,” Hayes said. The cuts included plans to close 11 laboratories across the country.

Walt Townshend, president and CEO of the Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce, said BARC’s laboratory has a diplomatic reach beyond Prince George’s County.

Due to its research capabilities, many visiting dignitaries will visit the White House, then BARC, as it is a very important stop considering many of their economies rely on agriculture, Townshend said.

BARC is also of tremendous value in Beltsville and if jobs were to be cut, it would have an impact on area residents, said restaurant owner Kevin Kennedy, 51, of Beltsville.

‘‘It drains resources,” he said. ‘‘They end up paying it back in benefits, such as unemployment. It also puts a strain on community service organizations.

The bill will now go to the Senate floor and the House. Spence said he expects the budget number to stay at about the same as fiscal 2008. Hayes said she does not expect a final decision until early 2009.