(Stephenville)—House Conference Secretary John Carter (TX-31) has announced that Tarleton State University's Center for Agribusiness Excellence (CAE) will receive $3.6 million in federal funding under the Federal Crop Insurance Act for continued administration of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) data mining project.
Funding for the program was scheduled to expire Feb. 28, but was renewed due to congressional action. According to congressional and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sources, the funding is not earmarked.
"The Federal Crop Insurance program is an important safety net for our farmers," said Congressman John Carter. "This grant will help ensure the viability of this program by continuing the fight against waste, fraud and abuse. In addition, the economic outlook of Stephenville and the jobs of 30 residents will be protected by this grant."
The FCIC provides hazard insurance to farmers in the case of crop failure. The data mining project was established in 2000 to provide analysis of every insurance policy under the FCIC. When coupled with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association weather data, Public Land Survey System Data and other agricultural data, CAE is able to identify inconsistent claims and report them to the Risk Management Agency (RMA) for follow up. Since its inception, these actions have saved the FCIC more than $450 million in verifiable savings, resulting in a 20:1 return on the $20 million investment.
"With Congressman Carter's continued support for the Center for Agribusiness Excellence, we will be able to continue our data mining research that has saved taxpayers almost half of a billion dollars the last five years and hundreds of million of dollars in the future," said Bert Little, associate vice president for research at Tarleton State University.
A member of The Texas A&M University System since 1917, Tarleton State University is one of Texas' fastest growing institutions, with fall 2006 enrollment exceeding more than 9,000 students. Tarleton is located in Stephenville, which is 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth. 