SPRINGFIELD, IL –Today, the Illinois Senate and House held a joint committee hearing on the Governor’s plan to withhold funding from the University of Illinois Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and C-FAR. State Senator Michael Frerichs (D-Champaign), the vice-chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, heard testimony from a variety of groups including the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, 4-H Kids, Extension employees, and C-FAR.

"It’s frustrating to see this funding caught up in the Governor’s games," said Senator Frerichs. "If these programs do not receive funding, we will see job losses, cuts in programs that are absolutely vital for farmers, and our children not having the experience of 4-H programs. After hearing testimony today, I hope that members of the administration understand why we need these programs."

For the current fiscal year ending June 30th, Illinois’ Soil and Water Conservation Districts have received only $1.6 million out of $7.5 million appropriated to them by the General Assembly. The Vermilion County Soil and Water Conservation District has only received $14,000 out of $76,000 allocated to them and the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District has received less than 20% of their state funding.

"Soil and Water Conservation Districts help farmers responsibly manage their land and water to ensure that we maintain the land that provides for us every year," said Senator Frerichs. "The district also conserves and restores many natural environments like the Barnhart Prairie Nature reserve."

In addition to the funding losses to the Soil and Water districts, the Governor announced that he will hold back $18 million in funding for University of Illinois Extension. The potential loss in funding has forced the university to notified Extension employees that there may not be enough money to pay them after May 1st and that 450 employees may have to be laid off.

"The U of I Extension is one of the ways that University research directly benefits the citizens of our state," said Senator Frerichs. "The Extension’s regional offices serve 2.5 million of our citizens by providing them with programs and information on a wide range of issues including agriculture, consumer education, economic development, home gardening and landscaping, money management, and nutrition, not to mention the 300,000 students who participate in 4-H programs."

The Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research coordinates University research initiatives with practical applications. They strive to produce profitable, consumer-sensitive, environmentally sound food. According to C-FAR, every dollar appropriated to C-FAR has been leveraged to return roughly ten dollars worth of benefits to the economy. C-FAR has not received any of the $4.4 million appropriated to them for this year. The University of Illinois receives approximately 82% of these funds or $3.6 million.

"It’s important to realize that cutting this funding will impact research initiatives in the past and future," said Senator Frerichs. "Without funding, research projects near completion will need to be terminated, wasting years of research. Additionally, these grants sometimes serve as seed money which allows researchers to get a project off the ground so that they can look for other sources of funding down the road."