The Farm Bill was passed and signed in December of last year. It was the culmination of a lot of debate and political wrangling. Now as we enter the second half of July, the Senate Ag Committee is going to be having a hearing to follow up on the progress of implementation.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley talked about Thursday?s hearing on Farm Bill implementation, especially in terms of agricultural research. Grassley says we need to keep pushing for agricultural science advancements, otherwise feeding the world will be difficult.
Grassley says the funding for GMO research needs to be continued to ensure farmers can keep up with the growing demand for food.
There has been concern about foreign scientists coming to collaborate on Ag research in the U.S. The concerns focus on whether those scientists could be stealing technology to bring back to their own countries. Senator Grassley says this topic may come up on Thursday, but he thinks it will be a broader discussion in the future.
