The $1.1 trillion omnibus spending package passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives contains several provisions that are important to agriculture, farm groups and ag state lawmakers said

The spending bill, which pass­ed the House with a 13-vote margin, will be taken up by the Senate this week and has the support of President Barack Obama.

The agricultural provisions in the bill include added funding for basic research, more flexibility for school lunch programs, added funding to fight the deadly Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDV) and provisions to research ways to the make country-of-origin food labeling (COOL) compliant with international trade rules.

The spending measure would also kill an...