Federal farm bill includes funds for state programs and research

Statesman Journal

July 26, 2008

WASHINGTON — Oregon's Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden said Friday that a farm spending bill headed for the Senate floor contains almost $5.9 million for sustainable agriculture programs and research in the state.

More than $4.8 million of the money would go to the Wood Utilization Research Center at Oregon State University to research new bio-products, composite materials, biofuels and nanotechnology.

Other funding includes:

-$750,000 for laboratory and field research on new potato varieties to overcome the weaknesses of the Russet Burbank potato — the top Pacific Northwest variety but susceptible to pests and diseases.

-$300,000 for the Northwest Center for Small Fruit Research to research genetics, plant breeding, pest management, and processing and production improvements for berry and grape crops.

-$150,000 for research on grass-seed production. The research, which covers Oregon, Idaho and Washington, would focus on solving environmental and economic problems with producing grass seed, including the phase-out of open-field burning.

-$149,000 for research to support Oregon's organic agriculture industry with a panel of scientists, industry representatives and farmers evaluating proposals and distributing available funds.

— Dennis Camire