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DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver spoke this morning at the Farm Pilot Project Coordination Iowa Technology Summit in Des Moines, which brought agriculture experts together to address sustainability challenges facing animal agriculture. Leaders from government, academic institutions and the agriculture industry discussed ways to protect clean air, water and soil, sustain critical watersheds like the Mississippi River Basin, and create jobs.
Farm Pilot Project Coordination, Inc., is a non-profit organization that oversees the implementation and administration of a Farm Pilot Project Program to demonstrate economically viable, innovative agriculture technology.
“The work you are doing is extremely important to one of Iowa’s longstanding agricultural and environmental challenges,” Governor Culver told the conference. “The pilot project you are developing has the potential to produce innovative treatment technology systems that reduce the nutrient content of the animal feeding waste stream by 75 percent or greater.”
Funding for approved Pilot Projects comes from monies appropriated by Congress and overseen by the National Resource Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Governor Culver expressed appreciation for funding approved by Iowa’s federal partners.
“Our administration has adopted many of the same clean water policies and funded them despite very difficult budget circumstances over the last two years,” Governor Culver said. “That’s because a vibrant livestock industry and clean water are both Iowa values.”
Last week, the Governor met with pork industry leaders, producers, and a trade representative from South Korea at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, where he promoted Iowa pork.
“I want to be supportive of our livestock-producing families, many of whom have operated in a very challenging economic environment over the past couple of years. Things are improving, but they still need the assistance of a supportive state and federal government, if they are to continue to be successful producers,” Governor Culver said. “At the same time, my administration has focused on clean water initiatives, because I believe in protecting the land, lakes, rivers, and streams we all love.”
Iowa will invest $55 million for water quality improvements through the Culver/Judge I-JOBS initiative in the next year. I-JOBS will also an additional $11.5 million to repair conservation structures destroyed by the 2008 floods, protect valuable Iowa farmland and improve water quality.
Governor Culver told summit participants that the Farm Pilot Project in development provides the potential to maintain both an agricultural economy and the environment over the long term.
Governor Culver told the conference, “You have my sincere thanks for taking on difficult challenges in what can be a highly politically charged policy area. But Iowans need to be brought together around those solutions and I am confident that will happen.”
Source: iowapolitics.com |
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