Congressman’s Position on House Appropriations Committee Results in over $8 Million in Funding for Montana Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg today announced $8.387 million in funding for projects throughout the state, including $514,000 for Barley for Rural Development. The funding was included in the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee bill for Fiscal Year 2010.
"With water shortages becoming more critical, many producers in Montana are turning to barley to replace corn as a crop used for feed, malt and now even ethanol energy production," said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "The National Barley Improvement Committee is at the forefront of exciting research efforts which will have a dramatic impact in dryland ag states like Montana."
Funding for Barley for Rural Development supports research directed at improving malt, feed, biofuel, and food barley varieties for growers and value added end-users in rural communities in Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. As U.S. barley production declines, development research creates new technologies for increasing yields and improving the quality of the barley crop thus, enhancing competitiveness and improving profitability.
"Wheat and barley production systems in Montana, Idaho and North Dakota are changing more rapidly than ever before, said professor Tom Blake from Montana State University. "Thanks to the support of Representatives Rehberg (MT) and Simpson (ID), the ‘Barley for Rural Development’ project enables researchers in these three key barley producing states to develop and release new barley varieties for food, malt, livestock feed and for straw-based ethanol production. These new varieties improve barley growers’ profitability and help maintain barley’s position in American agriculture."
