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Rollins says funding for ag research remains a priority for administration

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says the Trump administration remains committed to supporting research and development.

Speaking with reporters in Nebraska on Saturday, she told Brownfield some funding for university research was frozen by the Department of Government Efficiency. “We would immediately work with the White House to unleash those funds, so that has been the process, again, an imperfect process, sometimes clunky, but I think we’ve gotten to the other side of it where we now understand what the priorities look like, where taxpayer dollars should be spent, and we’re doing it in the way that supports our agriculture community.”

Rollins toured the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center (ENREEC). She says the USDA worked to restore funding when the department was notified of an issue.  “Senators would call me. Some of your congressmen would call me, and say ‘whoa, whoa, whoa, this program is so important to this research project which supports our farmers and our interests, which supports our commodity etcetera, etcetera.’”

Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, a member of the appropriations and agriculture committees says, “In the ag appropriation bills, there is an increase in funding for research. There is an increase in funding for trade. So, we’re picking the priorities that we hear from back home from ag producers.”

Fischer says those bills will be in the conference committee once the House approves their version.