Cuts Threaten to Close Center for Crop Safety in South Texas

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Within 80 miles of Weslaco, there are nine bridges linking the United States and Mexico. Tons of agricultural products move between the countries each day: vegetables from Mexico and cantaloupes from Central America arrive in Texas while beef and grains are sent to Mexican markets and beyond.

The Kika de la Garza Subtropical Agricultural Research Center, where researchers work to ensure the safety of products that cross the bridges, is in the middle of it all. Now, as Congress considers closing the center, there are growing concerns in the agricultural community about the future safety of crops imported into the United States.

Proposed cuts to United States Department of Agriculture research programs have put in jeopardy the South Texas center, and nine others around the country. Although the cuts are not finalized, a House proposal directs the agency to focus on “highest priority research.” The Senate version of the budget also includes the closings — at an estimated one-time saving of $39 million — but acknowledges that “laboratory closures often cost money in the short term and do not necessarily provide real savings.”

The Kika de la Garza Center works on pest risk analysis, to identify threats that imported crops could bring into the country. A June report by the Texas AgriLife Research program at Texas A&M University called the center a “strategic defense” against invasive species that could harm agriculture and contaminate the food supply.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/us/cuts-threaten-to-close-center-for-crop-safety-in-south-texas.html?_r=1