Sawfly Research
ByThe House Appropriations committee heard HB 334 sponsored by Rep. Belcourt (D - Box Elder) “Funding for sawfly research” on February 10. This bill would provide funding for an MSU research project addressing crop losses due to sawfly infestation.
There were approximately 70 proponents of this bill, overflowing the committee hearing room. Supporters of the bill emphasized that sawfly infestations cause upwards of a 30% crop loss and an average annual loss of $100,000,000 in Montana alone. In 2008, there was $200,000,000 loss. “Every farm east of the Continental Divide is to some degree affected by sawfly damage,” said Kurt Kammerzell, an entomologist and farmer from Chester Montana.
Ag producers throughout the state have formed the Sawfly Research Foundation with the intention of raising $250,000 to match the states investment in a research scientist at MSU. Proponents noted that a loss in farm production not only affects the farmer or their local community, but that money also flows to the larger urban areas in the state.
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"I think that it’s going to all work out, with the changes that we have agreed to. It’s not as much (spending for some programs) as I would’ve hoped, but apparently it’s more than other people wanted. As usual, we are trying to find the middle.” 
"[On term limits:] You empower the executive, you empower the lobbyists and that's not good for the system because then we lose what the citizen Legislature brings.” 