PRESS :: Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2003

Contact:
Will Stockwin
(530) 756-8518, ext. 22

Farm, Environmental Groups Join Forces To Fight Proposed UC Budget Cuts

(DAVIS, CA) With key programs at the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) facing destructive budget cuts due to the state's deepening budget crisis, a unique coalition of farm and environmental groups led by Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) have joined forces to try and save those programs.

The Governor's proposed budget for 2003-04 would cut state funding for agricultural research and UC Cooperative Extension outreach programs at UC ANR by 10 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Such large cuts would result in the lay-off of researchers, county advisors and specialists, jeopardize institutional knowledge about sustainable practices, and devastate the UC Cooperative Extension outreach network that delivers this critical information to farmers, ranchers, regulators and consumers in every county.

A May 12 letter to members of the state legislature - signed by CAFF, California Association of Winegrape Growers, California League of Conservation Voters, California Farm Bureau Federation, California Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Natural Resources Defense Council, Planning and Conservation League, Western Growers Association and the Western United Dairymen - recommends that proposed cuts to UC ANR's research and outreach programs be halved.

The letter reminds state legislators that UC Cooperative Extension is the "mainstay of expert support to California agriculture and increasingly has played a valuable role in promoting farm conservation practices.

"We are concerned that the proposed cuts are of such magnitude that programs such as these might be eliminated completely or become so reduced that they can no longer function effectively," the letter states. "According to UC ANR staff, cuts to Cooperative Extension of 30 percent would result in closure of dozens of field offices around the state, trigger significant lay-offs, and deprive farmers and ranchers of essential assistance and technological support."

The letter also points out that UC research programs have been essential in moving state farmers away from chemical dependence, protecting state resources, reducing future state regulatory burdens, creating direct marketing links between consumers and local farmers, and improving farmworker health and safety.

"We recommend revising the Governor's budget to reduce the proposed cuts to UC Cooperative Extension and UC agricultural research in 2003-04," the letter concludes. "We specifically urge the legislature to reduce the total current and budget year cuts to agricultural research and Cooperative Extension outreach programs at UC ANR by half."

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