[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]USDA announces it will grant $30.1 million to food safety and plant health research to bolster America’s farm economy and attract new farmers to the sector[/title][fusion_text]Wednesday, February 3rd 2016
USDA announced Wednesday it will grant $30.1 million to food safety and plant health research that the department says is essential to bolstering America’s farm economy and attracting new farmers to the sector. Speaking to members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the return on investment for ag research was significant – about $35 for every dollar spent – and the research itself was critical to getting more young people to join and expand the agriculture sector. Half of the funding announced Wednesday will go toward food safety projects, and the other half will go to universities, laboratories, and research organizations for plant health and protection studies. The funding is being awarded through USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). Beside the $30.1 million announcement, Filsack and Holdren also announced that Obama’s 2017 budget will call for an investment of $700 million in AFRI, the full amount called for by Congress in the 2008 Farm Bill. Vilsack told NASDA members that the country still needs increased funding for ag research.
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