explaining that the Montana Agricultural 

 Experiment Station Advisory Council examined 

 Subcommittee concerns and adjusted research 

 activities to place more emphasis in the areas 

 of concern. He also called to the attention 

 of the Subcommittee that budget cuts had 

 harmed current research efforts and that 

 Montana was without a spring wheat breeding 

 program due to the loss of federal support for 

 the program. 



Wheat Research and Sawfly Damage 



(1) Allan Taylor, Plant and Soil Science 

 Department, Montana State University, spoke on 

 the current wheat breeding program conducted 

 by the Montana Agricultural Experiment 

 Station. He testified that the wheat breeding 

 program had provided five new hard red winter 

 wheat varieties since 1979 and that 

 researchers will continue to make important 

 contributions to the Montana wheat industry. 

 He said he would prefer that the Subcommittee 

 address the problem of sawfly research from a 

 broader viewpoint as to overall financial 

 support for the university research effort. 



(2) George Erickson, County Extension Agent, 

 Chouteau County, described the severity of 

 sawfly damage in the wheat belt. He said 

 sawfly damage has affected between 5% and 20% 

 of the crop in several counties, including his 

 own. He said that researchers needed to 

 develop a solid stem winter wheat of an early 



97 



