Section 1718-F.1 - Department of Agriculture.The following apply to appropriations for the Department of Agriculture:
(1) From money appropriated for general government operations, the following apply: (i) No less than the amount transferred in the 2014-2015 fiscal year shall be transferred to the Dog Law Restricted Account.(ii) No less than $250,000 shall be used for the Commission of Agricultural Education Excellence to assist in development and implementation of agricultural education programming.(2) From money appropriated for agricultural preparedness and response, the following shall apply: (i) No less than $25,000,000 shall be used for costs associated with preparing for and responding to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the form of grants to assist with income losses and costs associated with workforce payroll and benefits, mortgage interest and rent payments, utility payments, costs of delayed repopulating and reopening facilities and other losses or costs associated with response not otherwise eligible for or covered by Federal funding, insurance, contracts or other funding sources.(ii) no less than $6,000,000 shall be used for costs incurred by the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System in preparing for and responding to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.(3) From money appropriated for agricultural excellence programs, no less than $250,000 shall be allocated to the Center for Beef Excellence for grants to be used for producer education and physical infrastructure development to increase the inventory of beef cattle in this Commonwealth.(4) From money appropriated for agricultural research, the following apply:(i) No less than $300,000 shall be used for an agricultural resource center.(ii) No less than $100,000 shall be used for agricultural law research programs, including those addressing energy development, in conjunction with a land-grant university.(5) From money appropriated for hardwoods research and promotion, at least 80% of the money shall be equally distributed among the hardwood utilization groups of this Commonwealth established prior to the effective date of this section.(6) Money appropriated for the Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission shall be equally distributed to the animal diagnostic laboratory system laboratories located at a land grant university and at a school of veterinary medicine located within this Commonwealth. Added by P.L. TBD 2022 No. 54, § 37, eff. 7/11/2022.