NPF Spurs Funding Success for Pecan Research Efforts

   Back to March 2023

NPF Spurs Funding Success for Pecan Research Efforts

The group of pecan industry members walk toward the Capitol to meet with Senators and House Representatives. Photo by Blair Krebs)

Within the last four years, industry efforts led by the National Pecan Federation have obtained an additional $17 million in funding for the USDA-ARS pecan program and stations in Byron, Georgia; Brownwood, Texas; and Somerville, Texas. These industry efforts to obtain additional funding for the USDA-ARS pecan program have allowed for expanded research to benefit the entire pecan industry. 

Pecan South reported on two significant successes for pecan research funding in the May 2022 issue. In the 2021 and 2022 congressional appropriations cycles, NPF sought funding for Pecan Processing and Pasteurization and Pecan Breeding research, both funded through the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Both programs received $1.5 million in the first year, but due to the NPF’s efforts, Congress doubled the funds in the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations package at $3 million each.

Through Washington, D.C., fly-ins and visits with representatives and senators, NPF reported on the progress of these programs and encouraged continued funding in 2023. 

Because of those efforts, the 2023 omnibus appropriations bill provided Pecan Genetic Research and Pecan Processing Research $4 million each. Congress specifically charged the $8 million to be used as follows:

  • Pecan Genetic Research—$4 million to maintain pecan genetic resources, further characterize pecan genetic diversity, and advance cultivar breeding through novel genomic approaches that tap into the unique pecan genetic resources held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS);
  • Pecan Processing Research—$4 million for new pecan processing technologies, in particular pasteurization and cracking/shelling technologies, to further knowledge of the pasteurization process for food safety and continue export growth.

Pecan South shares further details on this success online in the January 2023 issue. 

If you would like to support these efforts and the work being done in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the pecan industry, you can contribute to the PECAN PAC. 

PECAN PAC
313 Massachusetts Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002

 

Author Photo

Catherine Clark

Catherine Clark is the managing editor of Pecan South. She has her M.S. in Journalism from the University of Southern California, and her B.A. in Communication and Spanish from Trinity University. For questions, comments or concerns, she can be reached at cclark@pecansouthmagazine.com.