Honorable XX
Office Building
Washington, D.C.
 

Dear Senator or Representative X:

The National Barley Improvement Committee, which represents the entire U.S. barley industry - growers, researchers, and users (e.g. malting and brewing industry) - is pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you and/or your agricultural specialist to discuss federal funding of barley research programs.

Barley production and the manufacture and sale of value-added barley products (malt, beer, food) have a significant impact on the U.S. economy, supporting millions of jobs and generating billions of dollars in excise and income tax revenue for the U.S. government. There is potential for growth in domestic and export markets for barley and barley value-added products, which if realized, will generate substantial new employment and federal revenue. Continued investment by the federal government in strong barley research programs is needed to keep the U.S. at the forefront in the development and implementation of new technologies to improve barley productivity and quality. The payback from modest federal investments in barley research exceeds by many times the expenditures.

The NBIC appreciates the strong support of Congress in maintaining a viable national agricultural research infrastructure. This helps expand the domestic agricultural economy and improve competitiveness of U.S. agricultural products in world markets. Congress has been very responsive to the actual needs of constituents and the national agricultural economy. In the case of barley, Congress took the following actions in FY98 for which we are very thankful. However, the Administration's budget proposal for FY99 would eliminate these items. We ask Congress to maintain these items of critical importance to barley, wheat, and oats in FY99.

Small Grains Genetics Position (David Hoffman), USDA-ARS, National Small Grain Germplasm Research Facility, Aberdeen, Idaho: For the third fiscal year in a row this critically important barley and oats molecular biology research position is proposed for elimination with its base funding of $160,000. To shore-up funding for the Hoffman position and three other barley/oat positions (Bregitzer, Hann, Wesenberg) at this Aberdeen, Idaho location and to create a new small grains pathologist position at Raleigh, NC, Congress made a FY98 Small Grains, Raleigh, NC & Aberdeen, ID add-on of $450,000. This funding was split, $250,000 for Raleigh, NC and $200,000 for Aberdeen, ID.

Barley and Wheat Research at Pullman, WA : Funding of $350,000 approved in FY97 to enhance the barley and wheat research capabilities of the ARS unit at Washington State University. This appropriation helped enable the small grains pathologist (R.F. Line) to effectively conduct his important research on barley stripe rust and enable the ARS to refill the position when he retires.
 

The NBIC is supportive of basic, competitive grant programs, but feels that these programs must be balanced with adequate support for the ARS and CSREES directed research programs that are responsive to the actual needs of the US agricultural economy. Competitive programs, such as the National Research Initiative (NRI) and NSF Plant Genome Initiative, do not have mechanisms in place that are responsive to addressing, in a coordinated approach, the critical needs of growers and crop end-users. These are the actual research stakeholders who are trying to maintain and expand viable economic enterprises. For example, it is the directed ARS and CSREES programs that are addressing the national crisis faced by barley and wheat growers and end-users due to Fusarium head blight (scab). To date, this disease has caused losses of $2.6 billion to the wheat crop and $400 million to the barley crop, and it is resulting in the loss of barley and wheat markets to Canada. Funding of competitive based programs must not be at the expense of valuable directed research.

WE ARE REQUESTING THE ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT OF YOUR OFFICE TO HELP MEET THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES, RANKED IN ORDER OR PRIORITY:

(1) Continued funding in FY99 for the USDA-CSREES Regional Barley Gene Mapping Special Grant. Funding of $500,000 is requested for FY99. This grant funds the U.S. component of the project known as the North American Barley Genome Mapping Project (NABGMP). The CSREES budget line item name for this special grant - Regional Barley Gene Mapping Project - is a misnomer. The project is national and funds research throughout the US. With guidance from the NBIC, the NABGMP provides resources to American geneticists and plant breeders to solve crop production constraints and take advantage of new opportunities. It also generates new knowledge regarding plant genome structure and function, and the development of biotechnological tools that will lay the groundwork for future breakthroughs.

The NABGMP is addressing, in a coordinated approach, plant disease threats, such as Fusarium head blight (scab), stripe and leaf rusts, net blotch, and root rots. The NABGMP is supporting research to identify the genes determining quality attributes, which through genetic manipulation, can increase the profitability of barley production and usage. Tools of genomics are being developed, including gene mapping technologies; gene characterization, isolation, and transfer technologies; and superior tools for germplasm description and manipulation. The NABGMP support maintenance and distribution of genomic tools, genetic stocks, and data. All tools are publicly available, free of charge.

(2) Funding in FY99 to enable the USDA-ARS to be a full partner with state and private sector efforts directed at meeting the national threat posed to the barley and wheat crops by Fusarium head blight (scab). The NBIC greatly appreciates the funding approved by Congress in FY98 in the ARS budget to help address the scab crisis: $500,000 for the Cereal Disease Laboratory (formerly Cereal Rust Laboratory), St. Paul, Minnesota and $500,000 for the National Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative (FY98 line item: vomitoxin in wheat), which is directing funding throughout the US in support of a coordinated, multi-investigator, multi-institutional, national approach to this disease. The Administration’s budget proposal for FY99 retains these funding items and proposes an increase of $600,000 for scab research as part of the Infectious Diseases Initiative. This support would be appreciated, however, its not enough to get the job done.

The NBIC is requesting that Congress specifically designate an add-on of $5.2 million for FY99 for the National Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative as part of the Infectious Diseases Initiative. The National Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative Steering Committee met on March 3, 1998 in Chicago to further define a national plan for addressing the scab disease threat. The Steering Committee is comprised of representatives of all segments of the national barley and wheat research, grower, and end-user community, and works in concert with the ARS. This plan will be provided to you as soon as it is available.

As part of this plan, the NBIC suggests an appropriation of $500,000 in permanent
funding to establish a national USDA-ARS barley fungal disease program at
North Dakota State University (NDSU). The funding would be used to create a
new ARS barley pathologist position at the USDA-ARS Northern Crop Science
Laboratory to work on scab and other fungal diseases. It would also be used to
shore-up the funding base for the underfunded ARS barley geneticist at the location
(L.S. Dahleen), enabling continuation of important research on gene transformation
approaches to developing scab resistant barley varieties.

Is a $5.2 million dollar investment in scab research by the federal government justified? The scab epidemic has caused losses of $2.6 billion to the wheat crop (1991-1996) and $400 million to the barley crop (1993-1997). After five years of severe economic hardship from this disease, growers in the Dakotas and Minnesota are going out of business, and U.S. barley and wheat markets are being lost to Canada. The federal government is losing substantial tax revenue. A significant return on this research investment can be realized.

(3) Funding of $500,000 in FY99 to support USDA-ARS research to control root diseases of barley and wheat (Pacific Northwest). Root diseases have become major limiting factors to achieving the full production capability and fertilizer-use efficiency for wheat and barley in direct-seed (no-till) cereal-based cropping systems. These systems are needed both to keep grain growers competitive in world markets and to protect soil, water and air resources from the erosive and polluting effects of tillage. Funding of $500,000 is proposed for the ARS at Pullman, Washington, with $80,000 of that going to Pendleton, OR, and $60,000 to Kimberly, ID. With the retirement of Dr. James R. Cook, ARS, Pullman, Washington, supplemental funds are important to ensure that this position is adequately funded and filled. This will enable continuation of his important, ongoing root disease research program.

(4) Continued funding of $600,000 in FY99 for the USDA-CSREES Barley Feed for Rangeland Cattle Special Research Grant. The primary use of U.S. barley is as feed. This is the only major federally funded project directed at providing information on the feed quality of barley. This information can be utilized to identify optimal beef cattle feeding strategies and develop barley varieties with improved processing and feeding characteristics.
 

Changes in federal farm policy have made U.S. farmers more dependent upon exports of grains and value-added grain products to maintain and expand their income, and more vulnerable to shifting conditions in international markets. Adequate funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and Market Development, Promotion, and Outreach, which includes the Foreign Market Development (Cooperator) Program must be maintained to help support a viable U.S. agricultural economy.

Additional information on barley and these topics are included in this folder. Your consideration and assistance in meeting these objectives will be greatly appreciated.
 

Sincerely,
 

Patrick M. Hayes             Doyle D. Lentz             Michael P. Davis
Chair Vice                       Chair Executive             Secretary