Planned Cuts Signal Change for Extension, Aquaculture
President Bush proposed a cut of 12% to university agricultural research and extension programs in his 2006 budget. The administration suggests that this cut can be largely offset by a large increase for the National Research Initiative (NRI), the government’s main program of competitive grants for agriculture research.
However, cutting so called ‘formula funds’ decreases the capacity of extension agents to work directly with industry, because agents will be required to spend increasing amounts of time preparing and submitting grants just to support basic operations. The $143 million cut would affect the USDAs Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, through which the government helps support land-grant universities and other institutions. Hatch Act grants, which help finance experiment stations at land-grant institutions, would also be cut (from $179 million to $89 million). McIntire Stennis Forestry grants would halved as well, while support for Animal Health and Disease Research Programs would be eliminated.
The budget redirects much of the money from those programs to the NRI and a new program of regional, state, and local competitive grants. Spending on the NRI would increase by $70 million, to $250 million. Budget projections for extension services covered under the Smith-Lever Act would remain at the current level. Still, the budget reflects a net loss for agriculture research and extension exceeding $100 million. Similarly, the federal budget for aquaculture research, managed by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service is in similar peril, with cuts exceeding $19 million.
The proposed budget, if accepted by Congress, will greatly reduce the programs and services provided to U.S. food production, processing, and aquaculture firms by Land Grant Universities and other federally-funded laboratories. It is clear that supporting domestic food production is no longer considered a primary goal, since imports can provide much of the American consumer’s needs. University support to industry, demonstrated by the programs and services they currently provide, will have to change substantially. If the budget measure is passed, any future support for major research activities will have to be obtained from competitive grants, which may or may not meet the critical needs of industry.
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