In This Issue:

• Farm Bill Budget Letter
• NBGA Submits Appropriations Requests
• NBGA Support Ag Research Funding in Farm Bill
• Supporting Growers Access to Crop Protection Products
• NBGA Board Member Featured for Soil Health Practices

Farm Bill Budget Letter

In advance of budget season on Capitol Hill, NBGA joined other agricultural groups on a letter to the House and Senate Budget Committees to express support for sufficient budget resources for the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to craft the next farm bill. All told, over 400 national, regional, and state groups signed-on to the letter. 

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NBGA Submits Appropriations Requests

NBGA submitted to congressional offices our annual federal appropriations requests for the Barley Pest Initiative and Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative, which directly benefit barley research. NBGA’s support for these research funding requests supplements the work of the National Barley Improvement Committee and American Malting Barley Association. 

NBGA Supports Ag Research Funding in Farm Bill

NBGA was part of a diverse group of stakeholders that is urging Congress to prioritize investments in food and agriculture research, facilities, Extension, and education in the Farm Bill.  This investment is needed to keep pace with our global competitors, modernize facilities, and ensure nutrition security and a sustainable food system. 

Groups led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) are also pushing for funding specifically for research facilities. A 2021 report from Gordian a-national-study-of-capital-infrastructure-at-colleges-and-schools-of-agriculture-an-update.pdf (aplu.org) determined 70% of research, education, and Cooperative Extension facilities at U.S. public colleges of agriculture are at the end of their useful life. It assessed a need of $11.5 billion for deferred maintenance for university agricultural research, education, and Extension facilities. The report also acknowledged that $550 million annually is needed just to keep up with facilities challenges.

Supporting Growers Access to Crop Protection Products

NBGA supported joint efforts to advocate for adequate resources for EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to carry out pesticide registration and ESA-related activities. The shortage of resources for the OPP hampers their ability to complete product registrations in a timely manner or to meet the demands of the increasing court-directed workloads on compliance issues.

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NBGA also reiterated opposition to legislation being re-introduced in this session of Congress by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) to upend the science-based safety standards of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) that are used to protect farmers, workers, and the public. 

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NBGA Board Member Featured for Soil Health Practices

Restoring Soil Health: Ryan Hough