Congressional conferees are discussing a 75 percent monetary reduction in the research title of the Farm Bill, which could have widespread repercussions for Iowa State.

The Farm Bill is a vast piece of legislation that covers commodity price support, farm credit, international trade in agricultural products, nutrition programs, and research and extension funding.

The last Farm Bill was enacted in 2002 and expired in 2007, requiring Congress to change and vote on proposals that reflect current agricultural needs.

Allison Rosenberg, special assistant to the president for federal relations, said the Farm Bill changes would endanger available funding for ISU research initiatives.

“It has been proposed by the House and Senate committees to enact a 75 percent cut in the research title of the Farm Bill, which takes $1.6 billion dollars in budget authority away from the initiative of future agriculture and food systems over the next five years,” Rosenberg said. “If this motion is passed, $30 [million] to $40 million per year will be cut from money that goes to research.”

This action could be a serious detriment to Iowa State, which relies on the program to contribute to its research projects.

Rosenberg said a lack of adequate funding would reduce Iowa State’s ability to remain competitive with other research institutions and to support its faculty and staff. In the face of the growing concern over losses of tenure and tenure-track faculty members, the proposal hurts efforts to reverse the trend.

“Both the House and Senate have passed versions for this bill that probably exceeds what President Bush will sign into law, but it would still be an amount that hurts research activity,” Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg said every research dollar generates a positive ripple effect throughout the university and provides “hiring power,” along with money for Iowa businesses and agricultural programs.

Iowa State has been working to develop sustainable methods of providing energy for the campus. Rosenberg said the elimination of Farm Bill funding would put a damper on these efforts.

“The research title provides the opportunity to research things like obesity, carbon sequestration, global economic and energy resources and studies involving germ seeds,” Rosenberg said. “There is a very real chance money going to these items will be cut.”

The reason for the proposed action can be traced to the struggling economy and monetary pinch felt by the government.

“We are running massive deficits and have a growing concern over our fiscal responsibility,” Rosenberg said. “There’s just no money.”

The congressional conferees have been discussing the issue for several months and are “utterly exhausted,” Rosenberg said.

ISU congressional representatives are working with government officials such as Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, conferee to the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa; and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.

“Iowa is an international leader in agriculture. To be sure the concerns of Iowa farmers are addressed, we have to work together so that Washington types tap into the knowledge of local issues only farmers themselves have,” King said.

Discussions between Congress and the Bush administration will continue this week.

“If an agreement can’t be reached, a two-year extension of the current farm program is the next-most-likely option,” Grassley said.

At the Faculty Spring Conference last Friday, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy received numerous text messages from Rosenberg regarding the potential changes to the Farm Bill that have been proposed.

“This is an alarming issue, and it is important to contact members of Congress and stress the importance of research and the future of ISU’s ability to support the farmer and agriculture industry,” Geoffroy said. “We need to let them know how terrible this is.”