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).
President Trump’s new proposed budget would reduce federal funding of the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI) by more than 40 percent — a decrease that could pose significant challenges to the long-running program, according to Shawn McBurney, the Society of American Florists’ senior director of government relations.
In March during SAF’s Congressional Action Days, floral industry members advocated for increased funding for FNRI, a program designed to obtain and guide federal research funding targeted to the needs of the floriculture and nursery industry. Since those meetings on Capitol Hill, 15 congressional offices have submitted appropriations requests to increase program funding, a testament, McBurney said, to the strong case SAF members made for FNRI research.
While the drastic cut would present a “major challenge for the program, it is by no means the final word,” McBurney said. “The president’s budget is just a starting point for negotiations, and SAF will continue working hard to build bipartisan support to maintain and even expand FNRI funding.”
As McBurney pointed out, the industry has always had to make a strong case in Washington for funding: FNRI was conceived in the mid 1980s, and it took more than 10 years of education and lobbying before funding was first appropriated by Congress. 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.
