North Carolina's Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler says that while the budget debate has been going on for months now, the NC House has come up with a plan that Commissioner Troxler says he can live with and implement.
The House proposal cuts positions, vehicles and other operating funds, as well as implements a fee for soil tests on samples sent from outside the state as well as expedited samples.
The Commissioner says his one concern about the budget proposal is that it cuts $100,000 from research station's operating budget and eliminates recurring funding for four research stations: Casewell Research Station in Kinston; Oxford Tobacco Research Station in Oxford; Umstead Research Farm in Butner; and Border Belt Tobacco Research Station, Whiteville.
The four stations would have funding for the upcoming fiscal year but they would also have to undergo a continuation review to determine whether they should be closed.
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