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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR

Begaye

DATE TYPED 02-08-05 HB 417

SHORT TITLE Farmington Agricultural Center Programs

SB

ANALYST Woods

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$25.0

Recurring

General

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the appropriation for New Mexico State University in the General Appropriations Act.

Duplicates SB294

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Response Received From

New Mexico State University (NMSU), College of Agriculture and Home Economics (CAHE)

New Mexico Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 417 – Making an Appropriation for a Feasibility Study and Strategic Plan for Future

Research Programs at the Agricultural Research Center in Farmington – appropriates $25,000

from the general fund for expenditure in FY06 to the Board of Regents of New Mexico State

University for development of a feasibility study and strategic plan, including infrastructure re-

quirements for the Agricultural Science Center at New Mexico State University’s Farmington

campus. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to

the general fund.

House Bill 417 -- Page 2

Significant Issues

Serving the agricultural needs of the culturally diverse client groups found in the San Juan River

basin of northwest New Mexico and the Four Corners region, NMSU-CAHE indicates the

NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Farmington supports crop improvement, weed control,

and irrigation/water management research. Located southwest of Farmington, the center is the

only agricultural research facility in the state of New Mexico on the western side of the Conti-

nental Divide. Water resources research is a cornerstone of the center’s activities, as 60 percent

of the total surface water that flows downstream through New Mexico passes through the San

Juan basin into the Colorado River system. Working closely with the Navajo Agricultural Prod-

ucts Industry, small-scale Native Americans, long-time area farmers, and recently arrived urban

immigrants, the center has identified horticultural research and development as the agricultural

discipline capable of most benefiting these groups. A collaborative program between the center

and San Juan College will provide a mechanism for addressing both teaching and research needs

of the community.

However, NMSU-CAHE additionally notes that forty years after the establishment of the NMSU

Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, realities of agricultural research in an arid environ-

ment have changed. Infrastructure at the center is degrading as buildings and equipment are ex-

ceeding their designed usable lifespan. The lack of appropriate shade protection puts additional

strain on equipment exposed to the elements. Developing priority programs for the future and

identifying items needing improvements, upgrading, or refurbishing are critical elements of any

enhancement program. The funds appropriated in this bill will be applied to a comprehensive

feasibility study to prioritize areas of research and identify future capital improvement require-

ments.

CHE notes this request was not in the list of priority projects submitted by NMSU to CHE for

review. Accordingly, the request was not included in the commission’s funding recommendation

for FY06.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $25,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY06 shall revert to the gen-

eral fund.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

NMSU-CAHE would retain oversight of the program.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

Relates to the appropriation for New Mexico State University in the General Appropriations Act.

Duplicates SB294 in that SB294 also appropriates $25,000 from the general fund for expenditure

in FY06 to the Board of Regents of New Mexico State University for development of a feasibil-

ity study and strategic plan, including infrastructure requirements for the Agricultural Science

Center at New Mexico State University’s Farmington campus.

House Bill 417 -- Page 3

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

As general background as to the center and it impact on the industry, NMSU-CAHE notes the

following:

•

Scientists from the Agricultural Science Center at Farmington have made significant im-

pact on the lives of citizens from the Four Corners region for nearly 40 years. They have

contributed to the economic vitality of northwestern New Mexico and the bordering re-

gions through applied research, development, and extension.

•

More than 1,000 varieties of different agronomic and horticultural crops have been tested,

including: winter wheat, spring wheat, winter barley, spring barley, oats, corn, alfalfa,

crambe, dry beans, potatoes, chile pepper, lettuce, tomato, green bean, onion, apple, pear,

peach, nectarine, cherry, grape, cucumber, pea, pumpkin, and winter and summer squash.

Other research has tested potential pasture species, poplar trees, Christmas trees, and such

turf grass species as blue grass, rye grass, wheat grass, fescue, buffalo grass, blue grama,

Bermuda grass, and zoysia grass for suitability in the Four Corners region.

•

Researchers developed water production functions (relationships between yield and crop

water-use) and crop coefficients (for irrigation scheduling) for many crops including: po-

tatoes, corn, alfalfa, winter wheat, barley, pinto beans, canola, pasture grass, onions, chile

peppers, tomatoes, and various turf grass species. These functions can be used to assist in

efficient irrigation management and in making important economic decisions related to

water and crop production.

•

Current research on micro and drip irrigation may contribute to substantial water savings

for residents of the Four Corners region.

•

Since 1980, many producers of field and horticultural crops have adopted herbicides for

weed control based on our research. This includes control of Canada thistle and Russian

knapweed, commonly referred to as the weed of the Four Corners.

•

Registration of the herbicide Pursuit, for use in pinto beans, was based on research car-

ried out at the Agricultural Science Center at Farmington.

•

Results of research on the rehabilitation of disturbed lands with native and non-native

grasses could potentially improve more than 50,000 acres of well sites and pipeline

rights-of-way in the San Juan oil/gas production basin.

•

Agricultural Science Center staff have designed and taught courses at San Juan College

and the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI). Training seminars, agricultural

classes, on-farm demonstrations, and workshops have been presented to thousands of

farmers and others responsible for agricultural and horticultural production on urban lots

and farms ranging in size from several acres to more than 65,000 acres.

•

Between 1970 and 2000, San Juan County yields of potatoes, corn, wheat, and alfalfa

have increased 350 percent, 170 percent, 139 percent, and 69 percent, respectively. Much

of the increased productivity can be traced to practices derived from research at the Agri-

House Bill 417 -- Page 4

cultural Science Center at Farmington. The value of just these four crops in San Juan

County was more than $33 million in the year 2000.

CHE indicates that higher education institutions receive indirect cost revenues from federal con-

tracts and grants. This money is unrestricted in the sense that the governing board of the institu-

tion has the flexibility to choose which projects are supported with these funds. A great deal of

this money is used as seed money to develop new research and public services projects at institu-

tions. A portion of the indirect cost revenue, and earned overhead, is used to support items such

as the salaries of the accountants responsible for monitoring the contract and grants, or for pay-

ing utilities and other expenses required to maintain the space where the contract and grant ac-

tivities are housed. Further, that higher education funding formulas allow institutions to retain

100 percent of this indirect cost revenue. One of the purposes of retaining these funds is to pro-

vide seed money and matching funds for projects such as the one proposed in this bill.

BFW/rs