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Senate Ag Committee leaders see cutting-edge ag research

Senate Agriculture Committee leaders recently witnessed advancements in ag research.

Committee member Amy Klobuchar hosted chair Debbie Stabenow on a tour of the University of Minnesota’s cereal disease lab.

“It really matters (to see the research first hand) because I knew, I’d been here once before years and years ago, and now I’ve seen the advanced work that they’re doing. And the way that they’re partnering with public, private, non-public, on winter hardy crops that protect soil and water while providing new opportunities.”

Stabenow tells Brownfield extension partnerships between Minnesota and Michigan are valuable.

“We’ve talked about the fact that it’s not enough to do the cutting-edge research, but farmers and communities need to have the information so they can use it. And that’s where cooperative extension comes in.”

Klobuchar says researchers are using federal funding to identify solutions to barley rust and other crop diseases that hurt yields.