BOISE—Gov. Butch Otter’s request for an additional $1.53 million in ongoing funding for University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences could significantly boost the university’s ag research and extension efforts.
The money would be used to support 21.5 new or existing positions as well as provide stipends for seven to 10 graduate research assistants.
“I’ll sure support it,” Sen. Jim Patrick, a Republican farmer from Twin Falls, said about Otter’s request, which is contained in his proposed fiscal year 2016 budget.
“The work they do for Idaho’s agricultural industry is invaluable,” Patrick said about CALS. “They do a lot of work that is valuable to Idaho farmers.”
CALS lost $5 million in ongoing state funding during the recession and Otter’s fiscal 2016 request, if approved in full by lawmakers, would complete his promise to restore that lost funding over five years.
The fiscal 2016 request includes $102,000 that would be used to hire an experienced grant writer that would be responsible for helping faculty and researchers identify additional funding sources, such as grants and industry support.
The college has set a goal of increasing this so-called extramural funding from $17 million now to $25 million over the next five years.
Grant writing is time-consuming and researchers can spend a lot of effort writing grant proposals, said Rich Garber, CALS’ director of industry and government relations.
Garber said the university is focusing on increasing extramural funding “to enhance our research capabilities. This is part of that effort.”
By putting the responsibility on someone who specializes in this area, “our success rate will increase and it will allow more time for scientists and researchers to be doing the things that they are experts at,” he said. “It takes the burden off of scientists and researchers, who really need to be working on their research projects.”
The budget request includes $911,600 for 16 full-time technical support positions that assist CALS’ research and extension programs around the state.
These positions perform duties such as supervising the day-to-day operations of fields, greenhouses and laboratory efforts, and writing extension and research articles and reports.
Funding for these positions was cut in half during the recession and 50 percent of the burden was shifted to researchers, who had to dip into their own resources to help fund them.
“This restores that funding so it’s not a burden on the researchers,” Garber said.
Otter’s request includes $155,000 in stipends for seven to10 new graduate research assistants with doctorate or master’s degrees that would assist researchers and extension programs.
According to the budget request, “graduate students conduct novel research important to Idaho and are the next generation of agricultural-science trained leaders.”
The request includes $245,000 for three new 4-H extension educator faculty positions, $65,000 to help fund a marketing and communications manager position and $52,000 for a web technician.
Source: www.capitalpress.com