[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 128 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1755]]
               FARM, NUTRITION, AND BIOENERGY ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN R. CARTER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 27, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2419) to 
     provide for the continuation of argicultural programs through 
     fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes:

  .Mr. CARTER. Mr. Chairman, I want to lend my support to the 
committee-passed Farm Bill, and specifically the provisions related to 
research. In my District we have one of the Nation's best research 
teams at Tarleton State University, and through the expansion of the 
research title we have the opportunity to use this resource and further 
address water quality and dairy industry issues.
  In the bill there is an expansion of the Nutrient Management Research 
Provision to allow us to address ``unique regional concerns'' and 
``dairy cattle waste''--both of which are ideally suited for the work 
being done at Tarleton State University. Accompanying this expansion is 
report language that calls attention to the challenges and 
opportunities facing the Southwest dairy industry, and environmental 
security issues addressed through the Texas Institute for Applied 
Environmental Research (TIAER) and the Southwest Regional Dairy Center.
  This language will allow the Department of Agriculture to use a 
program such as TIAER for further development of cost efficient tools 
and policies for agriculture, with the goal of cleaner water through 
better science and research. This expanded language will also provide 
expanded dairy research initiatives in line with research already in 
place at Tarleton. The State of Texas has invested $11.1 million 
dollars to construct the Southwest Regional Dairy Center at Tarleton to 
address the needs of the robust dairy industry in the Southwest Region 
of the United States. The Southwest Region is predicted to host the 
greatest concentration of dairies in the nation within 15 years. This 
rapid expansion will create unique economic and environmental 
challenges and opportunities. It's fitting that we, the Federal 
Government, also do our part in supporting this initiative by giving it 
authorization to further develop this regional opportunity.
  The bill also provides for expanded research in the Chesapeake Bay, 
and TIAER is uniquely qualified to assist with the further development 
of this research activity. By using their expertise in water quality 
policy, monitoring, and modeling we can take advantage of existing 
research capabilities to expedite the goals of the Chesapeake Bay 
initiative. I hope these two programs are authorized and funded, as it 
would be foolish and wasteful to ignore and duplicate the experience 
and talent we have developed over the years.
  It is clear that the research language is intended for the use in 
developing sound scientific, economic and environmentally effective 
research and watershed programs. Through programs like TIAER and the 
Southwest Regional Dairy Center we will see coordinated research with 
other research institutions and universities on watershed programs, 
modeling tools, monitoring, applied research, and dairy cattle waste 
management to include bioenergy recovery. With federal assistance, the 
Southwest Regional Dairy Center will research, develop, and implement 
programs to recover energy and other useful products from dairy waste 
and identify best management practices in support of the dairy 
industry.
  The research provisions expanded in this bill would place TIAER as 
the leader in watershed modeling and allow them to establish the 
International Modeling Application Clearinghouse. With this action we 
can save millions of dollars through coordinated research activities. 
If authorized, TIAER will also facilitate the use of the Center for 
Environment and Private Lands (CEPL) and Industry Led Solutions (ILS) 
under the direction of the Institute. With past Congressional funding, 
ILS provides for a group of commodity diverse producers from 
geographically different parts of the U.S. to examine environmental 
policy options for private landowners. This group has been proactive in 
examining environmental initiatives that affect agriculture.
  I appreciate the Committee recognizing the need for the additional 
research in water quality, modeling, program development, monitoring, 
animal waste management and bioenergy recovery for the southwest dairy 
industry. While I continue to encourage expansion of this language to 
outline not only the work to be done through groups like Tarleton and 
the Institute, I realize this is the first step in making sure that 
quality research is not only scientifically sound, but cost efficient.
  I echo the committee in encouraging the Secretary of Agriculture to 
establish these programs promptly so that we can soundly address 
environmental and water quality issues and how they relate to 
agriculture.

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