The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Food and Drug and Associated Agencies recently marked up their version of the FY 2013 Agriculture Funding Bill.
Like the Senate, they did not consolidate IR-4 with the IPM Programs into the new Crop Protection Program, a major victory for NCTA and other IR-4 stakeholders.
IR-4 facilitates crop protection by providing expert assistance with product development and registration to offer economical pest management solutions for growers of minor/specialty crops. IR-4 is the only publicly supported research program in the United States that provides this service.
Unfortunately, the House did propose an additional 2% cut in funding for IR-4's Program area (Improved Pest Control). If approved, this would be the second year of funding cuts.