Orrin Hatch: “I appreciate the many long hours of work by my colleagues on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to develop this…”

“I appreciate the many long hours of work by my colleagues on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to develop this legislation. I admire the efforts of my friend and colleague, Senator Cochran. I believe we all owe him our gratitude for his leadership on behalf of our nation's agriculture industry, including its small family farmers and ranchers. I am well aware that putting these bills together is never easy and seems recently to be an almost thankless task. There is much in this bill worthy of enthusiastic support. I am particularly pleased that the conferees have included a number of provisions that will benefit farmers and ranchers in the West. For example, the entire West will benefit from pasture and forage research that is funded by this bill. The information we obtain from this Utah State University program not only makes our livestock producers more efficient, but also contributes significantly to the health of our pasture lands in the West. Another important contribution to research in the conference report is the funding for Utah State's Poisonous Plant Laboratory. The effort to fight noxious weeds in the U.S. will receive a significant boost as this important facility is finally upgraded. Some people chuckle when they see a program to fight noxious weeds. But, I can assure my colleagues that this is no joke.”