Agricultural Research and Extension Centers

VFBF Position

We support full funding for the Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Centers (ARECs) with a specific line item designation of such funds.

Background

The Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station (VAES) performs research on food and fiber systems, their impact on the environment, and natural and human resource issues relating to the future needs of Virginia, the nation, and the world. VAES has faculty members at thirteen agricultural research and extension centers, and throughout the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Natural Resources, and Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.

The Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Centers – known as ARECs – help serve the Commonwealth's agricultural needs. Virginia's diverse geography is reflected in the thirteen AREC sites, which total nearly 3,900 acres, plus approximately 400 acres of adjacent leased land.

Due to the budget cuts since the early 90’s, funds for operations have been steadily declining. These centers once were able to attract top researchers from around the world to provide cutting edge and competitive positioning research. Now, the declining condition of many of the stations has resulted from a lack of funds for maintenance, equipment, renovations for new laboratories, and technical staff to assist in the research. For these stations to remain viable research facilities, the agriculture industry is supporting budget requests for competitive operations seed funding during the 2008-2010 biennium. Initially, $1.8 million is needed for the first year of the biennium and $1 million for the second year. These funds will provide some additional operational dollars, salaries for technical and faculty support, farm equipment, and renovation of laboratory space on the Eastern Shore Research Station.

Reasons for Position

1. In order to maintain a sufficient land base for agricultural production in Virginia, the ability of farmers to maintain profitable enterprises is paramount. Without quality research, many farmers are unable to be able to remain competitive in changing domestic and global markets.
   
   
2. As increasing concerns regarding food security, the desire for local markets, and increased crops for energy is building, essential research in the ARECs is needed.
   
   
3. The need for additional resources for agricultural research is particularly acute among our state’s agricultural experiment stations which continue to provide regional application of research because of the immense diversity of Virginia soils and climates.