Ag producers urged to keep on top of state budget situation

Ag producers urged to keep on top of state budget situation

Washington Ag Today November 29, 2010 Washington lawmakers and the governor must deal with another 385 million dollar revenue shortfall in the state’s current budget biennium and then about a five million dollar revenue hole from current spending for the new biennium starting next July.

State support of agricultural research is something that is at risk in this environment and Jim Jesernig, a legislative consultant for various agricultural groups, has this message for producers.

Jesernig: “The message is that ag research, whether you are talking about trying to deal with a new strain of late blight if you are a potato guy, or some kind of aphid or pest infestation tree fruit, some kind of stripe rust if you are a wheat guy, it could impact you directly if we don‘t have the research capacity to deal with those kind of diseases and pests in the future, or breed in those kinds of resistance to those diseases and pests, you could have major segments of agriculture lose entire crops. So it is important to them to know what is going on and make sure their legislators understand the impact if that kind of funding is cut. (Hoff-So if you haven‘t been involved before you better be now?) You gotta be now. That is the answer.”

It is expected we will learn in early December the impact on agricultural research at Washington State University of the recent spending cuts called for by the governor for the current biennium. And more reductions could be coming.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net.

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