USDA Budget Ends Direct Payments

Apr 16, 2013

USDA to expect 5.9% Decrease in Upcoming 2014 Fiscal Year

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to expect a 5.9% decrease in its budget for the upcoming 2014 fiscal year. The White House plans to eliminate direct payments, cut crop insurance subsides and better target conservation funding. The Obama administration says that with crop and livestock production at all-time highs and that income support payments based on levels of production can no longer be justified. The crafting of the new Farm Bill is expected to begin this month in collaboration with the House and Senate and Agriculture committees. Currently, the bulk of the USDA budget is allocated for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps which are pegged to cost $80 billion in the 2014 budget year.

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.