AIBS has joined the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and more than 340 other agricultural organizations, in sending a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leadership urging Congress to fund the Research Facilities Act in the 2023 Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill, passed by Congress every five years, is a legislative package that sets national agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry policy. Specifically, the stakeholder letter requests that Congress support $5 billion in mandatory funding over five years through the Research Facilities Act within Title VII of the next Farm Bill.
“This catalytic investment would advance the critical work being done at public colleges of agriculture, veterinarian, forestry, and natural resources across the country,” the letter asserts. “Updated facilities would support American jobs, enable the recruitment of diverse workforce talent, address agricultural production challenges, and ensure U.S. leadership in food and agricultural innovation.”
The letter cites a 2021 report by Gordian, which assessed the state of facilities at U.S. colleges and schools of agriculture and reported that 70 percent of these buildings are at the end of their useful life. “The U.S. cannot rebuild our agricultural research prominence or keep up with international competitors with facilities built in the 1950s and 1960s,” the letter argues.
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