The House of Representatives passed the Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report for fiscal year 2004. Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, was able to secure $280,000 for the Dairy and Poultry Waste Treatment in Suwannee, Dixie and Lafayette counties. The bill will also continue, for the tenth year, funding the North Florida Watershed Project.



The Dairy and Poultry Waste Treatment funding will be facilitated by the agriculture Facilities Administration and Management Corporation (AFAM) in conjunction with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). They are currently developing a proposal to create a comprehensive solid waster removal and treatment facility which would provide local dairy and poultry farmers with the ability to dispose of the waste generated from their operations in a more environmentally friendly manner.



“Waste removal can present a serious problem for diary and poultry farmers.” said Congressman Boyd. ” I am confident that diary and poultry farmers in Suwannee, Dixie and Lafayette counties will greatly benefit from this waste removal treatment.”



The continued funding for the North Florida Watershed Project will be the 10th year that the successful project has received funding. This program assists the 45 dairies and 107 poultry operations identified in the project region on innovative and cost-effective methods to curb animal waste spills into critical water reserves. Operating on a 65-35 cost share basis with individual farmers, such project is carefully designed to prevent harmful nitrates from entering the fragile water delivery systems that flow through Florida’s panhandle and empty into the Gulf of Mexico.



“The North Florida Watershed Project is reaching the home stretch, and I am very glad it has been a priority to continue the 10th year of funding for this important watershed project,” said Boyd. “This program is key to the agricultural community’s effort to preserve Florida’s water quality.”