In March 2019, Illinois Farmer Ambassador Heather Hampton-Knodle joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to tour the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) lab, where they explored RIPE’s work improving photosynthesis in order to increase yields as an important step toward ensuring global food security. As a direct result of this visit, Senator Durbin introduced the America Grows Act, which provides a path to critical agricultural research funding over the next five years.
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