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1 | AN ACT concerning agriculture.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Food and Agriculture Research Act is amended | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | by changing
Section 5 as follows:
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6 | (505 ILCS 82/5)
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7 | Sec. 5. Legislative findings. It is the intent of this | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | Act to provide a
solid base
of State funding for public food | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | and agricultural research programs in
Illinois while fostering | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | public confidence in this research through public
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11 | participation. Blessed with rich agricultural soils and a | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | favorable
agricultural
climate, Illinois traditionally ranks | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | fourth or fifth among the States in the
nation's gross | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | agricultural production. The food and agricultural sector,
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15 | employing nearly 20% of the State's workers, is committed to | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | providing safe,
nutritious, high-quality, affordable, and | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | convenient agricultural products and
services to Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | citizens. Compared with all other states, however,
Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | faces a tremendous challenge to meet its needs for ongoing | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | adequate
research investments that improve human health while | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | protecting and enhancing
its natural resources and | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | environment. Without adequate State funding, the
food and | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | agricultural sector faces the consequences of falling behind in
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24 | information, projects, and programs affecting human lives and | |||||||||||||||||||
25 | the demand for
improved nutrition, food quality, human health, | |||||||||||||||||||
26 | and environment.
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27 | Currently, the State's agricultural universities conduct | |||||||||||||||||||
28 | research that
provides basic information about the structure | |||||||||||||||||||
29 | and function of food and
agricultural systems. Although these | |||||||||||||||||||
30 | agricultural institutions have a
remarkable record of | |||||||||||||||||||
31 | contributions to an improved food and agricultural sector,
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32 | their research is significantly underfunded. The State's |
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1 | Agricultural
Experiment Station, maintained as the food and | ||||||
2 | agricultural research facilities
and program of the University | ||||||
3 | of Illinois, ranks only 29th in state funding
among the state | ||||||
4 | agricultural experiment stations. Southern Illinois University
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5 | at Carbondale, Illinois State University, and Western Illinois | ||||||
6 | University also
conduct food and agricultural research but | ||||||
7 | receive no State appropriated fund
allocations. This | ||||||
8 | underfunding represents a missed opportunity for Illinois
and | ||||||
9 | places it in poor competitive position with other important | ||||||
10 | agricultural
states. The State's consumers and producers reap | ||||||
11 | high returns from existing
public investment in food and | ||||||
12 | agricultural research, with a pretax return of
40%, the highest | ||||||
13 | among publicly supported research activities.
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14 | Illinois needs mechanisms that allow publicly supported | ||||||
15 | researchers to work
closely with farmers, agribusiness, | ||||||
16 | consumers, conservationists,
environmentalists, and other key | ||||||
17 | decision-makers. Together, these groups can
identify | ||||||
18 | challenges and opportunities for researchers before they | ||||||
19 | conduct
research and transfer the information and technology. | ||||||
20 | This will allow Illinois
to retain its prominence as a leading | ||||||
21 | agricultural state.
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22 | The Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research | ||||||
23 | (C-FAR) is a statewide
coalition committed to funding relevant | ||||||
24 | and high-quality research and related
outreach
programs | ||||||
25 | leading to profitable, consumer-sensitive, and environmentally | ||||||
26 | sound
food and agricultural systems. The intent of this Act is | ||||||
27 | to secure funds to
support targeted research initiatives so | ||||||
28 | that Illinois will continue to meet
tomorrow's food and | ||||||
29 | agricultural needs while using our natural resources
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30 | responsibly.
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31 | The General Assembly of Illinois hereby:
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32 | (1) Identifies food and agricultural research as a | ||||||
33 | critically important
activity with great public benefits.
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34 | (2) Identifies the State's agricultural universities | ||||||
35 | responsible for
basic,
developmental, and adaptive | ||||||
36 | research related to the food and agricultural
sector; and
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1 | (3) Authorizes the expenditure of State funds to | ||||||
2 | enlarge, improve, and
sustain the publicly supported | ||||||
3 | programs of food and agricultural research in
Illinois.
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4 | (Source: P.A. 89-182, eff. 7-19-95.)
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