Senate appropriators approved $9 million in earmarks on Tuesday for agriculture projects in Utah requested by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah.

"The funding in this bill will support programs and research initiatives that will help Utah and the West balance protecting crops and water sources, as well as wildlife," said Bennett, the only Utah delegation member on an appropriations committee, which divides the annual budget pie.

The Senate Appropriations Committee included $4.53 million in its annual agriculture appropriations bill to support construction of a new Agriculture Research Center at Utah State University.

The bill also included $2.5 million for the Utah Conservation Initiative to provide assistance to communities statewide for local conservation projects, such as agricultural water-use enhancement, watershed planning, flood prevention and grazing improvement.

The measure also provided $1.5 million for the Jack H. Berryman Institute for Wildlife Damage Management — a collaborative program that includes Utah State University — that seeks solutions to wildlife disease threats in the West.

The bill included $263,000 for Utah State University to help enhance high-performance computing education for agricultural scientists, and $210,00 for Joint U.S.-China Biotechnology Research Programs that involve USU.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

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