And Utah State University saw the largest piece of pork, $17.7 million worth.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday agreed to a spending bill for the coming fiscal year that includes the millions of dollars for Utah projects and programs. USU, Utah's land-grant university, received money to continue several research projects

"Utah State University remains one of the country's most respected universities in the area of agriculture research,” Bennett said in a statement.

The legislation now goes before the full Senate.

A companion bill has passed the House.

Money for Utah

Included in the Senate committee appropriations for USU are:

l $1 million for the Utah Botanical Center for research and education efforts to address growth-related issues.

l $1 million for a drought management initiative to find ways to increase irrigation water for agricultural and ranching uses.

l $1.3 million for air quality research of agricultural emissions measurement and the environmental benefits of reduced emissions.

l $1.5 million for the Biotechnology and Genomics Research Center to expand research into how organisms interact with their environment.

l $1.34 million for the Jack Berryman Institute to support programs on evaluating wildlife disease threats.

l $800,000 for USU's vegetation manipulation research studying how such changes impact watersheds.

l $225,000 for research into pasture and forage areas to see if improved species result in better livestock production.

l $1.67 million to support a Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory that conducts pollen research to help farmers produce higher crop yields.

l $500,000 for a Herdsman Pilot Demonstration Project to build a dairy operation and train residents of Afghanistan and Pakistan in modern dairy management.

l $350,000 for the Center for Public Lands and Rural Economies for research on the impact of federal land ownership and policies and impacts on services including rural health care and education.

l $3.57 million to help support the Forage and Range Research Lab's efforts to find grasses that survive on less water, use more water efficiently and perform well when irrigated with water of poor quality.

l $3.53 million to continue research at the Poisonous Plant Lab in Logan, which tests the plants' effects on the agricultural industry and range livestock.

l $971,000 to continue the partnership between the Agricultural Department's Forage and Range Research Lab and USU to study plant genetic research in order to address drought and conservation issues.

Other Utah funds are:

l $20 million for an environmental quality incentives program to help address threats to soil, water, air and other related resources.

l $1.5 million for predator ecology research at the Wildlife Research Center in Cache County's Millville.

l $3 million to make improvements to the Washington Field Canal.

l About $1.5 million for watershed and flood prevention in Coal Creek, Ferrin, Muddy Creek and Tri-Valley areas.

l $5 million for the Utah Conservation Initiative to help meet conservation and natural resources needs.

l $1 million for cricket and grasshopper control.

l $1.25 million for a mapping program to help in monitoring croplands and tracking wetlands, soil erosion and adjusting and mapping river channels.

Other funding for Western state issues includes:

l $5 million to help states restore habitats to keep the sage grouse off the endangered species list.

l $2 million to strengthen and enhance the production and marketing of sheep, goats and their products in the U.S. market.

l $19 million to help eradicate scrapie, a fatal brain disease affecting the nation's sheep flocks and goat herds.

l $28.156 million to maintain and improve the management, productivity and health of grazing lands.