11/07/05 Ag appropriations sent to President

The Senate has wrapped up its work on the 17.1 billion dollar Ag Appropriations Bill. The legislation includes money for Idaho projects like the Tri-State Predator program for livestock protection, work to eliminate brucellosis from wildlife in the greater Yellowstone area, and the construction of the Billingsley Creek Aquaculture facility. There's funding for weed control and improving the safety and shelf live of Idaho commodities. Senate Agriculture Committee member Mike Crapo was one of the 81 Senators to vote for the spending package. CRAPO "We were included this year in the fruit and vegetable program which places domestically grown fruits and vegetables in schools to help teach students about healthy eating choices and diet related chronic diseases while benefiting Idaho farmers who supply those domestically grown snacks." The measure also includes funding for various ongoing potato, sugarbeet, pulse crop, small fruit, barley, canola, grass seed, grain and aquaculture research projects. Its also includes another delay of mandatory country-of-origin labeling, pushing implementation back to September of 2008. That's a win for the National Pork Producers who say mandatory labeling will increase their costs. But R-CALF USA wasn't so happy and denounced the delay. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott