THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9409230576
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Local peanut industry officials expressed hope Thursday that the planned closing of the state's only federally funded peanut research unit may be averted.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in February that the unit, part of the Virginia Tech Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Holland, would be closed Sept. 30.
U.S. Sens. Charles S. Robb and John W. Warner, with Reps. Norman Sisisky and Robert C. Scott, met with Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy on Wednesday and persuaded him to review the decision.
``It was better than a flat-out `No,' '' said Morris Porter, director of the 11-person research team. ``We've been hanging on this limb since February. We're ready for something.''
The unit is one of 19 across the country targeted for closure because of federal budget cuts. Local and state officials have argued that the work done at the Suffolk facility is vital to peanut farmers in Virginia and North Carolina, the main producers of the Virginia type peanut - the large, cocktail-sized nut.
``The research conducted at this facility is specialized for problems unique to Virginia and North Carolina peanut growers,'' Warner said after meeting with Espy.
The research team works to develop varieties that will mature more quickly so farmers won't have to worry about early frost, a problem affecting Virginia more than other peanut-growing states.
The researchers also study plant diseases and ways to improve harvesting.
``Our growers depend on the Suffolk unit for the development of an early-maturing, blight-resistant variety of peanut,'' Warner said.
Efforts by Virginia members of Congress to save the unit from the federal budget ax failed. The last remaining hope was Espy.
No deadline was announced for his decision, but Porter said he hoped to hear some news this week.
``We're optimistic,'' he said. ``We've got another chance, but we're still hanging.''
If the unit is closed, the other researchers at the Holland facility, funded by Virginia Tech, could not absorb the work done by the USDA group, said Glen Heuberger, the center's director.
The 11 employees would be relocated or offered early retirement.
The group has overseen a 50 percent increase in peanut production in Virginia and North Carolina in the past two decades.
``The Suffolk facility has helped Virginia farmers produce and protect the nation's fifth-largest peanut crop,'' Robb said after the meeting. ``Eliminating that support would be a great disservice to Virginia farmers.'' by CNB