Agriculture Appropriations Bill Contains Funding for Local Cancer Research Project

Agriculture Appropriations Bill Contains Funding for Local Cancer Research Project

In the days prior to the Memorial Day holiday the U.S. House of Representatives passed several of the annual appropriations bills that are among the most important of Congress' constitutional responsibilities. One of the critical appropriations bills the House passed was the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (H.R. 5384). I voted with a bipartisan majority of my House colleagues to support the Agriculture Appropriations bill, which passed 378 to 46.

The Agriculture Appropriations bill supports our nation's farmers, ranchers and rural America. This includes many areas in Ohio and parts of the Third District. Agriculture is Ohio's largest industry. Food and agriculture, including wholesaling, retailing, farm production, marketing and processing, employ one out of six people statewide. While corn and soybeans are the state's top crops, over 200 different crops are grown in Ohio and almost half of all land in the state is considered prime farmland- the best in the world. The 3rd Congressional District, and its 750,000 acres of farmland, contributes a wide range of crops to the marketplace. Everything from soybeans to corn and tobacco, to raspberries are grown in this district.

More specifically, raspberries are grown on Dale Stokes 230-acre farm in Wilmington, Ohio. Earlier this year I toured the Stokes' Berry Farm. Mr. Stokes told me about and demonstrated some of the ground-breaking research that his berries are being used for in collaborative work with Dr. Gary Stoner of the Ohio State University (OSU) Cancer Research Department. They have worked together for several years to develop cancer fighting research.

In recent years, researchers have found that berries have anti-carcinogenic properties that can stop or slow the spread of certain kinds of cancers. Dale Stokes states that the research being conducted with berries at OSU has been extremely successful. I was excited to return from my tour of the Stokes' Berry Farm in Wilmington and share the information with my House colleagues. I was also pleased to seek additional funding for the OSU cancer research.

I am pleased that the House, Fiscal Year 2007 Agriculture Appropriations bill included $800,000 in funding for an ongoing cancer research project conducted by The Ohio State University's, College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, to evaluate freeze-dried berries for their ability to inhibit cancer development.

The research project supports human clinical trials to study the effect of berries, including raspberries and strawberries, for their ability to prevent the development of several specific types of cancers in humans including: esophageal and colon cancer. Recent clinical trials have involved the development of studies on the ability of freeze-dried black raspberries to prevent oral and colon cancers. The project also involves research to identify the specific bioactive components of berries that inhibit cancer cell growth, and to develop farming operations to increase the availability of certain types of berry plants, and promote production. Dale Stokes is working to breed plants that have higher levels of the cancer-fighting agents as well.

Recently, there has been considerable discussion about "earmarks." Here is an example of an earmark that is important to our local community and state. Better still, it also has clear implications for increasing the health and longevity of people worldwide.

I am pleased to support the work being done at Dale Stokes' Berry Farm and the OSU Cancer Research Department with the funding contained in the Fiscal Year 2007 Agriculture Appropriations bill.

http://www.house.gov/miketurner/news/columns/5.27.06.shtml