NAAA is pleased to report that the association continues to be successful in ensuring the importance of aerial application research to USDA and Congress. Yesterday the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations Bills and included language endorsing the continued support of the USDA-ARS Aerial Application Technology Program. The Committee recommended an appropriation of approximately $1.14 billion for the Agricultural Research Service, compared with $1.122 billion of funding that the ARS received in Fiscal Year 2014.  

 

Since 2002 NAAA has been successful in lobbying the government for an additional $6,512,500 to be invested in aerial application research.

 

The mention of aerial application within Senate legislation is once again no small feat, as it is one of only a handful of programs specifically mentioned. The language reads as follows:

 

Aerial Application Research.—The Committee recognizes the importance of [the] ARS Aerial Application Technology Program. The program conducts innovative research making aerial applications more efficient, effective, and precise. Research for aerial application serves the public good as a vital tool for the future, as agriculture strives to meet the food, fiber, and bio-energy demands of a growing population.   

 

The full House Appropriations Committee is slated to markup its Fiscal Year Agricultural Appropriations Bill soon and it is expected to have language similar to the Senate’s supporting aerial application research. NAAA will continue to work for adequate USDA-ARS funding for the continued design of aerial application technologies, tools and techniques that mitigate drift, result in fuel savings, as well as make aerial applications more efficacious. Favorable committee report language sends a strong message to the USDA to continue to sustain appropriate funding for aerial application research and this message couldn’t be more important as USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), where the aerial application research unit is housed, has had their budget cut over the past few years resulting in the shutdown of ten research units.