Attachment 1

March 8, 1999

Honorable XX

Office Building

Washington, D.C.

Dear Senator or Representative X:

The National Barley Improvement Committee , which represents the entire US 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 US economy, supporting millions of jobs and generating billions of dollars in excise and income tax revenue for the US 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 economic activity. Continued investment by the federal government in strong barley research programs is needed to keep the US 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, which helps expand the domestic agriculture economy and improve competitiveness of US agricultural products in world markets. Congress has been very responsive to the needs of constituents and the national agricultural economy, supporting and initiating critical USDA research projects.

However, the Administration's budget proposal for FY2000 would terminate many of these USDA projects. We ask Congress to maintain items of critical importance to barley and other small grains.

The NBIC is supportive of basic, competitive grant programs, but feels that these programs must be balanced with adequate support for the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) directed research programs that are responsive to the actual needs of the US agricultural economy.

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

The BGRI is a national project and funds scientists throughout the US. With guidance from the NBIC, the BGRI Steering Committee will continue the current goal setting and proposal review process that has ensured targeted, meaningful, and productive research. The BGRI will focus on the Quality and Productivity of barley. Barley has unique quality attributes for malting and brewing, as an animal feed, and as a human food. Improvements in quality can only be achieved by understanding the underlying processes. Crop productivity can be enhanced by simultaneously increasing yield potential and removing yield constraints, such as disease susceptibility.

Support is requested to continue research in structural genomics (physical maps of the barley genome, gene discovery, map saturation), functional genomics (gene expression, mutants), genetic stocks, applications, bioinformatics, education, and linkages with other national and international plant genomics projects.

In FY99, Congress increased funding for the ARS National Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (Scab Initiative) from $500,000 to $3.5 million (i.e. Fusarium head blight ARS consortium/12 land grant universities). This support is greatly appreciated. We are asking for a funding increase of $1.7 million, to bring funding for the Scab Initiative to the $5.2 million authorized by Congress and the amount needed to help address the very serious threat posed to the barley and wheat crops by Fusarium head blight or scab. As part of the requested $1.7 million increase, we support the USDA proposal to increase base funding at six ARS locations involved in the Scab Initiative by $900,000, in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Initiative ($300,000, St. Paul, MN; $300,000, Fargo, ND; $100,000, Peoria, IL; $75,000, Madison, WI; $75,000, Raleigh, NC; and $50,000, Albany, CA).

The Scab Initiative Executive and Steering Committees, comprised of grower, industry, and researcher representatives, works with ARS in a goal setting and proposal review process that ensures targeted, meaningful, and productive research. FY99 funding is being directed to ARS and land grant university scientists in twenty states. We are requesting that Congress limit, to no more than 5%, the overhead charges that land grant universities deduct from ARS grants for the Scab Initiative.

This proposal is for Federal funding for research needed to investigate and document the human health benefits of barley. Barley is the fourth largest cereal crop in the world, but is the least utilized cereal grain for human food. USDA estimates less than three percent of the US barley crop is used in food products.

The request of new funding is for $500,000 in the USDA-ARS FY 2000 budget to establish a Barley Food Health Benefits Research Project. A Barley Foods Steering Committee will be established with broad participation from producers, industry and researchers to work with ARS to establish goals for new research that is needed, solicit proposals from ARS and land grant university scientists, and determine which projects to fund.

The NBIC also supports the efforts of regional barley, oat, and wheat interests to secure additional permanent base funding for the scientists currently working on these crops at the USDA-ARS Northern Crop Science Laboratory. These scientists are underfunded and require an increase in their base budgets to enable them to meet the mission of this laboratory.

Changes in federal farm policy have made US 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 US agricultural economy.

The primary use of US 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.

 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