NDSU leaders, research centers press House panel to restore cuts and fund priorities in SB 2020

At a hearing of the Government Operations Division of the House Appropriations Committee, leaders of North Dakota State University's research and extension system urged lawmakers to restore base funding and support a package of program and capital priorities in Senate Bill 2020, the budget bill for the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and NDSU Extension.

The request centers on restoring base budget reductions the system says remain in the Senate bill — a 3% cut to the main agricultural experiment station and a 4.7% cut to NDSU Extension — and on funding six program initiatives and several capital projects SBAR (the State Board of Agricultural Research and Extension) prioritized after statewide stakeholder input.

Why it matters: NDSU research and extension staff told the committee their work supports the state’s $41 billion agricultural economy, delivers timely farm-level recommendations and trains future scientists. "I stand before you today in support of Senate Bill 2020, and I ask you to support this bill with a critical ask to reinstate the base budgets for these agencies," said Sarah Hall Levis, chair of the State Board of Agricultural Research and Extension (SBARE).

What presenters told the committee - Greg Lardy, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, described SBARE’s six ranked initiatives (page references to the committee budget book were cited repeatedly) and asked the committee to review the Senate changes that he said would limit the agency’s ability to respond quickly to producers’ needs. "The cuts to our base budget will reduce the ability of our agency to respond in a timely manner to serve our state with the best research possible," Lardy said.

- SBARE’s prioritization: SBARE reported a stakeholder input process that began Sept. 14, 2023, concluded Jan. 3, 2024, and produced the programmatic and capital priority lists through meetings Jan. 10–Feb. 21, 2024. Lardy and SBARE members emphasized the lists were developed to address long-term, statewide needs rather than short-term market trends.

Key program funding items summarized to the committee (as presented by Lardy and SBARE leadership) - Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies: SBARE listed this as its No. 1 program priority; the request described to the committee included three FTEs and roughly $975,000 in support to enhance trade and policy research for North Dakota producers. The Senate did not include funding for this initiative.

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