News & Info

Missouri Soybean Association
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2004
Contact: Haley Wansing (573) 635-3819

BOND SECURES MORE THAN $10 MILLION IN
HIGH PRIORITY SOYBEAN PROJECTS IN MISSOURI

Jefferson City, MO – U.S. Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond recently announced he secured approval for federal funds from a key Senate committee for more than $10 million in vital funding that will benefit Missouri’s soybean industry.

"This money will help Missouri farmers stay at the cutting edge of agricultural science," said Bond, a senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee which approved the Senator's requests for these items in the fiscal year 2005 Agriculture Appropriations bill Tuesday night. "It is an investment in making the rural way of life not just viable and sustainable, but profitable and more rewarding."

“Senator Bond’s commitment to rural Missouri is extraordinary,” said Dale R. Ludwig, executive director/CEO of the Missouri Soybean Association (MSA).  “I couldn’t imagine anyone doing a better job representing farmers and rural communities than Kit.  These funds will have a major impact on economic development in the state’s rural areas, which have been hard hit over the past decade.  While some are talking about economic development, Senator Bond is making it happen.”

The next step for the legislation is to win approval from the full U.S. Senate. It must then be reconciled with the version passed by the House of Representatives; and, of course, it must be signed into law by the President of the United States. The following projects are included in the legislation:

• $5 million for the National Plant and Genetics Security Center for the further development of the agricultural research service (ARS) biotechnology building at the University of Missouri (MU) and the expanding life sciences industry in Missouri;
• $1.5 million for continued funding of five ARS positions in soybean genetics;
• $1 million for the National Soybean Biotechnology Center to accelerate the groundbreaking research already taking place at MU in the field of soybean genomics;
• $1.4 million for the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Center (FAPRI) at MU to continue economic analysis of public policy options on Missouri farmers;
• $1.1 million for the Missouri/Illinois Biotech Alliance to allow MU to continue managing this project which provides the startup capital to facilitate new soybean research taking place at MU and the University of Illinois; and
• $261,000 for Beef Technology Transfer at MU to determine the efficacy of feeding various varieties of soybeans to beef cattle.

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© Missouri Soybean Programs
PO Box 104778
3337 Emerald Lane
Jefferson City, MO 65110
Phone: (573) 635-3819
               (800) MOBEAN1
Fax: (573) 635-5122
email: news@mosoy.org