Asking for research funding was at the top of the list for Minnesota Congressional Action Days delegates Troy Lucht, Plant Source International and Malmorg’s., Rogers; and Patrick Busch, Len Busch Roses, Plymouth, when they met with an aide in the office of Sen. Al Franken (D-MN).
Less than a month after the Society of American Florists’ Annual Congressional Action Days (CAD), 15 congressional offices have submitted appropriations requests to increase funding for the Floriculture Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI).
FNRI, a partnership between SAF and AmericanHort, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and the academic community, obtains and guides federal research funding targeted to the needs of the floriculture and nursery industries. Over the last 19 years, research funding through FNRI has included methods to address pest and disease management, improve flower longevity and quality and reduce pesticide use, among many other areas.
In recent years, however, its funding has dwindled, explained Shawn McBurney, SAF’s senior director of government relations, which is why asking for increased funding was a priority last month during CAD.
“FNRI reached a high of $5.1 million, but due to inflation and funds being diverted to other programs, the initiative is now funded at $4.6 million,” McBurney explained.
In order to recoup some of the funding lost and to continue the critical research FNRI supports, he added, during CAD SAF members asked their members of Congress to provide $250,000 to FNRI to replenish the funding that has been lost. That approach already is paying off.
“When CAD attendees discussed FNRI with congressional offices, noted its importance, and asked that the program’s funding be partially restored, those offices enthusiastically responded,” McBurney said. “Rather than being politely dismissed, SAF members were listened to and commitments were made on the spot to support FNRI funding through an official funding request procedure.”
McBurney said that some of the 15 members of Congress who submitted the FNRI requests include members of the Appropriations Committee and Agriculture Committee.
“Those requests carry a great deal of weight and are how things are funded in the federal budget,” he said.
It won’t be clear until late summer, if then, whether the $250,000 for FMRI will be included in the final funding bill for the USDA, but McBurney said that what is clear is that the “the personal involvement of SAF members during CAD to promote the floral industry made a significant difference.”
