February 7,
2003
SMALL
FARM CONNECTION WEB SITE
The
Small Farm Connection site is now live. The Food & Farm Connection
site has been set up to redirect users to the Small Farm Connection
site. Please change any links you may have on your other web pages
and update your favorites link to the new address http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/.
PROPOSED
EQIP RULE
Agriculture
Secretary Veneman has announced release of a proposed rule for the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The proposed rule
describes how NRCS intends to implement EQIP, as authorized by amendments
in the 2002 Farm Bill. Once the proposed rule is published in the
Federal Register, there will be a 30-day public comment period.
Public comments will be used to make revisions, if necessary, that
will be issued in a final rule.
Highlights
of the revised EQIP proposal: reduces the amount of planning requirements
needed to develop a contract; provides up to 90 percent cost share
for limited resource and beginning producers; provides livestock
producers with cost share assistance for waste storage facilities
regardless of size, but must develop and implement a comprehensive
nutrient management plan; allowance of producers to have more than
one contract per tract at any given time; allocates 60 percent of
EQIP funds towards livestock related practices; and, eliminates
the program's dual administration by delegating EQIP to the Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
For
additional information, including the text of the proposed rule,
see http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
and http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/index.html.
FEDERAL
BUDGET UPDATE
On
Monday, February 3, 2003, President George W. Bush forwarded the
Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Budget to Congress. The FY 2004 Budget for
the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
(CSREES) includes discretionary funding totaling $1,014,872,000.
This represents a decrease of $11,640,000 or 1.1 percent below the
FY 2003 President's Budget request level of $1,026,512,000. The
FY 2004 Budget includes $9,000,000 for the Native American Endowment
Fund and an estimate for interest earned on the Endowment. The FY
2004 Budget also includes mandatory funding of $5,000,000 for the
Community Food Projects grant program.
The
FY 2004 Budget includes funding to continue the formula programs
for the 1862 institutions at the FY 2003 Budget request level. Increases
are proposed for research and extension formula funding to the 1890
Institutions as a step towards funding these programs at the higher
authorization levels established in the 2002 Farm Bill. Increases
are also proposed for the Graduate Fellowship Program, Tribal Colleges
Education Equity Grants Program, Critical Issues grant program,
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Ag in the Classroom,
and Homeland Security. An increase is also proposed for the Outreach
and Technical Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and
Ranchers grants program under Section 2501.
The
FY 2004 Budget proposes funding of $200,000,000 for the National
Research Initiative. Although this is a reduction of $40,000,000
from the FY 2003 President's Budget, funding at the FY 2004 proposed
level is still consistent with the same underlying policy objectives
as proposed in FY 2003.
Earmarked
Special Research Grants, Extension and Research Federal Administration
projects and grants, Critical Agricultural Materials, Supplemental
and Alternative Crops, Farm Safety, and Rural Health and Safety
programs are not proposed for funding in FY 2004. The Department
is prohibited from administering the Initiative for Future Agriculture
and Food Systems (IFAFS) by appropriation language.The budget reflects
a continuation of this policy and does not propose funding for IFAFS
in FY 2004.
The
Secretary of Ag is scheduled to present testimony on the FY 2004
Budget before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee
on February 13th. The House hearing for the Research, Education,
and Economics (REE) agencies is scheduled for March 13th. At this
time the Senate schedule is not yet available.
The
CSREES Budget homepage is being updated and information will
be
available as soon as possible. Information on the
USDA FY 2004 Budget, including the FY 2004 Budget
Summary Book, is available by going to http://www.usda.gov/budget/.
FY
2004 Budget Information is also available on the OMB Web site at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2004/index.html.
Source: Tina Buch, CSREES
WSU
EMPLOYEE EXCELLENCE AWARDS NOMINATIONS SOUGHT
The Washington State University Employee Excellence Awards
Program recognizes outstanding contributions by WSU Classified Staff
and Administrative Professional employees from across the state.
Three awards are given annually. Each recipient is awarded a plaque
and $1,000.
Awardees
will be selected based on a review of nominations and the recommendations
of the President's Employee Excellence Awards Committee. Nominations
should focus upon the outstanding contributions made by the employee
regarding productivity of the unit; innovative problem solving;
positive working relations with students, the public, and co-workers;
and community service.
The
nomination form is located at: www.wsu.edu/~kspitzer.
Please limit your comments to 500 words or less. Employees who have
been nominated previously may be nominated again. Nominations are
to be submitted electronically to the Office of the Associate Vice
Provost for Human Relations and Diversity, 134 French Administration
Building, Pullman, Washington 99164-1013, robinta@wsu.edu, no later
than Friday, February 26, 2003.
SCHEDULE
Mike
will be out all of next week, attending ECOP (Extension Committee
on Organization and Policy) and the national meeting of Extension
Directors. Linda will be in Pullman on Monday and Friday. She will
be joining Mike at the Extension Directors' meeting.
Mike
Tate
Dean and Director
Linda Kirk Fox
Associate Dean and Associate Director
Cooperative Extension
PO Box 646230
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-6230
Ph 509-335-2933
Fax 509-335-2926
lkfox@wsu.edu
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