    [Senate Hearing 116-449]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 116-449

                      AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND SECURING THE
                               UNITED STATES FOOD SUPPLY

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                           COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
                            NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                         ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                                December 2, 2020

                                   __________

                           Printed for the use of the
               Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

           Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov/

                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    44-640 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

               COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                         PAT ROBERTS, Kansas, Chairman
    MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky            DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan
    JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas               PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont
    JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
    JONI ERNST, Iowa                     AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
    CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi        MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado
    MIKE BRAUN, Indiana                  KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York
    CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa               ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania
    JOHN THUNE, South Dakota             TINA SMITH, Minnesota
    DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                RICHARD DURBIN, Illinois
    KELLY LOEFFLER, Georgia

                 James A. Glueck, Jr., Majority Staff Director
                    DaNita M. Murray, Majority Chief Counsel
                        Jessica L. Williams, Chief Clerk
                   Joseph A. Shultz, Minority Staff Director
                   Mary Beth Schultz, Minority Chief Counsel

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                          Wednesday, December 2, 2020

                                                                       Page

    Hearing:

    Agricultural Research and Securing the United States Food Supply.     1

                                  ----------

                        STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS

    Roberts, Hon. Pat, U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas,
      Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry....     1
    Stabenow, Hon. Debbie, U.S. Senator from the State of Michigan...     3
    Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Arkansas......     4
    Klobuchar, Hon. Amy, U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota....     6

                                   WITNESSES

    France, Amy, Producer, National Sorghum Producers, Marienthal, KS     7
    Glickman, Hon. Dan, Executive Director, The Aspen Institute,
      Washington, DC.................................................     8
    Higgs, Stephen, Ph.D., Director, Biosecurity Research Institute
      and Associate Vice President for Research, Kansas State
      University, Manhattan, KS......................................    11
    Rosenzweig, Steven, Ph.D., Senior Agricultural Scientist,
      Agricultural Research, General Mills, Golden Valley, MN........    13
                                  ----------

                                    APPENDIX

    Prepared Statements:
        France, Amy..................................................    38
        Glickman, Hon. Dan...........................................    43
        Higgs, Stephen, Ph.D.........................................    46
        Rosenzweig, Steven, Ph.D.....................................    60

    Question and Answer:
    France, Amy:
        Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts..........    68
        Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......    68
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    70
    Glickman, Hon. Dan:
        Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts..........    72
        Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......    72
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    73
        Written response to questions from Hon. Robert P. Casey, Jr..    73
    Higgs, Stephen, Ph.D.:
        Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts..........    75
        Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......    80
        Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar........    82
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    83
    Rosenzweig, Steven, Ph.D.:
        Written response to questions from Hon. Pat Roberts..........    85
        Written response to questions from Hon. Debbie Stabenow......    86
        Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar........    91
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    92
        Written response to questions from Hon. Robert P. Casey, Jr..    93

        AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND SECURING THE UNITED STATES FOOD SUPPLY

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020

                                           U.S. Senate,
             Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:34 p.m., in SD-
    G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building and via Webex, Hon. Pat
    Roberts, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
        Present or submitting a statement: Senators Roberts,
    Boozman, Hoeven, Ernst, Hyde-Smith, Braun, Grassley, Thune,
    Fischer, Stabenow, Brown, Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Casey, and
    Smith.

     STATEMENT OF HON. PAT ROBERTS, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
    KANSAS, CHAIRMAN, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND
                                FORESTRY

        Chairman Roberts. I call this hearing of the U.S. Senate
    Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to order.
    Today, I am honored to hold what will probably be my final
    hearing as Chairman of this Committee, but you never know.
        During the four decades I have served in Congress, I have
    been a member of the Agriculture Committees in both the House
    and the Senate. Both of the Agriculture Committees regularly
    work in a truly bipartisan effort to develop policies that best
    serve the diverse and dedicated industry that is American
    agriculture.
        When I assumed the gavel nearly six years ago, I made it a
    priority that this Committee would be a platform for America's
    farmers, ranchers, growers, small businesses, rural
    communities, school children, and the hungry. Over 80 hearings
    and meetings later, I believe this Committee has done exactly
    that. We have deliberated on a variety of issues that directly
    impact our constituents, including farm and nutrition programs,
    trade policy, rural economic development, and conservation
    practices, just to name a few.
        I would be remiss if I did not take just a moment to also
    give a heartfelt thanks to all of my colleagues, and a special
    thank-you to all of our staff. We set out to accomplish and
    achieve our goals, but none of our success would be possible
    without the work and dedication of our staff members that
    support us. Thank you again.
        With all of the challenges and opportunities that our
    agriculture producers face, it is fitting that the topic of
    this hearing is agricultural research and securing the United
    States food supply.
        During my time in public office, the United States has
    witnessed one of its greatest untold success stories, Federal
    policies that have fostered a scale and efficiency of the U.S.
    agriculture system that would have been unimaginable to our
    predecessors. Agriculture research drives change, efficiencies,
    and productivity. It is the foundation that supports our modern
    food system miracle. It is essential, considering the growing
    chaos, hunger, and malnutrition in our world.
        Since the establishment of the land grant university system
    in 1862, the country has valued and prioritized agriculture
    innovation. Kansas State University, the first land grant
    institution created under that act, is no exception. Needless
    to say, I am so proud of our policy record on behalf of
    American agriculture.
        Working together, we have provided certainty and
    predictability by transitioning to a market-oriented farm
    policy. We have also fostered continuous improvement in
    research, science, and new technologies such as biotechnology.
    In Fiscal Year 1981, when I began my service in the House, $1.4
    billion in public funding was provided for U.S. agriculture
    research. By 2015, that annual investment more than tripled to
    $4.5 billion. Even more impressive, private sector investment
    in food and agriculture research rose over 660 percent over
    that same period, from $1.6 billion to more than $12 billion
    per year.
        Given the benefits this research has delivered to both
    urban and rural constituencies, every member of Congress should
    appreciate the wisdom of continuing to build on a strong
    foundation of agriculture research in the United States. This
    has been quite a year for American agriculture, and certainly
    so for our American consumers. Perhaps for the first time since
    the Great Depression, the significance of food security has
    resonated throughout the entire agriculture and food value
    chain, impacting nearly every kitchen table around the country
    and our world.
        We continue to learn hard and much-needed lessons about
    safety and security as we persevere through the COVID-19
    pandemic. For years there have been research efforts devoted to
    the threat of animal and plant disease. We have taken
    significant and important steps in agricultural security,
    especially as it relates to animal disease preparedness. We
    have worked to meet these challenges by identifying
    vulnerabilities and enacting policies that allow the
    agriculture and food sector to be better prepared and more
    secure.
        Still there is a great deal to do. We must take a fresh
    look at what agriculture security means, in terms of the
    defense of our agriculture sector and our food supply. This
    begins with continued support for agricultural research.
    Agricultural research has been a priority in all of the eight
    Farm Bills that I have had the privilege to work on. In a
    period of tight budgets and flatlined discretionary spending,
    the 2018 Farm Bill, with 87 bipartisan votes, provided an
    increase of $780 million in mandatory funding for agriculture
    research over 10 years. The Farm Bill also established new
    authorities and investments to bolster research and scientific
    understanding related to the security of our food supply.
        Authorities like the Agriculture Advanced Research and
    Development Authority, AGARDA, now allow the Department to
    carry out advanced research and to develop cutting-edge
    technologies and research tools. It is vital that we have the
    necessary authorities, capabilities, and scientific
    understanding of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19, to
    prevent and combat these diseases, protect the food production
    and supply chain, and meet the nutrition needs of a growing and
    ever-changing population.
        There is no doubt that we are in a better place today
    because those who came before us recognized the need for
    research and innovation in agriculture. I look forward to
    hearing from our panel about what these past efforts have meant
    and, more importantly, where we should go from here.
        With that I recognize Senator Stabenow for her remarks.

    STATEMENT OF HON. DEBBIE STABENOW, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE
                              OF MICHIGAN

        Senator Stabenow. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this
    important hearing. Thank you to our witnesses who will be
    testifying today. Mr. Chairman, of course, I want to start by
    recognizing this is our last hearing together. While we will
    deeply miss your leadership, your wit, and your determination
    on the dais, you will always be watching over us through your
    newly unveiled portrait that is in our Committee room. Since I
    will be looking at you, I wanted to return the favor as well by
    presenting you with this.
        Chairman Roberts. You better not tell anybody about this.
        Senator Stabenow. I know.
        Chairman Roberts. You are going to get in trouble. Thank
    you very much.
        Senator Stabenow. You are welcome.
        From showing you around Michigan to marking up the
    bipartisan Farm Bill, it has always been an honor to be your
    partner on the Committee as well as your friend. Looking back
    on all we have accomplished, I know your legacy will live on
    through the words you have written into law and the
    relationships you have built as you have carried on your work.
        In recognition of your dedication and hard work, on behalf
    of the entire Committee I would like to present you with the
    Chairman's gavel.
        Chairman Roberts. Thank you.
        [Applause.]
        Senator Stabenow. Thank you for your leadership and your
    partnership. I know that you will be leaving the Committee in
    good hands. I am looking forward to working with my friend,
    Senator Boozman, in the next Congress.
        For our last hearing together it is only fitting we
    reflect, as you said, on one of the most impactful issues we
    have worked on together--agriculture research and the important
    role it plays in protecting our food supply. Mr. Chairman, the
    importance of research to your home State certainly will not be
    lost on this Committee, particularly today, given the fact that
    we have three Kansans testifying today including former USDA
    Secretary Dan Glickman, who is a great friend of both of ours.
        While there is no shortage of support for agriculture
    research, as we both know, for too long the need for investment
    has outpaced the funding available. That is why we worked
    together closely in 2014 Farm Bill to create the Foundation for
    Food and Agriculture Research, which carries on today. Dollar
    for dollar, it matches public investments with private funds to
    support every corner of agriculture, from animal disease
    preparedness to pest management for fruit growers, to growing
    techniques for urban farmers.
        When we were working on the 2018 Farm Bill, it was a no-
    brainer for us to expand research, including The Foundation's
    innovative public-private partnerships, which are critical to
    addressing one of the greatest threats to agriculture, the
    climate crisis. Today we will hear from General Mills about
    their partnership with the Foundation to conduct critical
    climate research and expand regenerative practices for grains
    in Kansas and dairy in Michigan.
        We know that accelerating agriculture research is vital to
    feeding a growing global population and addressing the climate
    crisis which threatens farmers' livelihoods and our entire food
    supply. From floods to droughts, farmers are already seeing the
    devastating impacts of extreme weather. In fact, the GAO
    estimates that climate change will result in crop losses that
    could cost up to $53 billion in the coming years.
        Fortunately, there is momentum to scale up research that
    helps our farmers not only adapt but be part of the solution to
    the climate crisis. Last month, a new coalition of farm and
    environmental groups, led by the American Farm Bureau, National
    Farmers Union, and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
    issued 40 different recommendations to address climate change,
    including substantive new funding for agriculture research.
        I am very proud that this Committee has not only focused on
    this issue but we have been the one Committee that has done two
    bipartisan hearings on this issue, and I am very grateful that
    we have been able to do that.
        Again, Mr. Chairman, I so much appreciate the opportunity
    I've had to work with you, and I am going to miss you. It has
    been my great pleasure to have the opportunity to get to know
    you and Franki personally, and to understand all that you bring
    to not only the job but to life. I wish you the best as you go
    forward in your next steps and with what you and Franki are
    going to be doing. I wish you only the best. Thank you very
    much for everything.
        Chairman Roberts. Thank you.
        I now recognize the distinguished Senator from Arkansas,
    who has been our pulling left guard in everything that we have
    done.
        Please, Senator.

     STATEMENT OF HON. SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
                           STATE OF ARKANSAS

        Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and in a second I
    am going to sneak off for just a little bit, and either come
    back or catch the rest of the hearing on Zoom. One of our dear
    colleagues, Senator Enzi, is giving his farewell talk, as you
    know.
        I just wanted to take a second. You know, I have always
    been blessed. The Lord has always blessed me with coaches and
    teachers that made me better than I really wanted to be, at
    times, just by pushing me and helping me. Certainly, I do
    appreciate the fact that you have taken me under your wing
    these last several years and really just been so, so very
    helpful.
        I also want to thank our Ranking Member, Debbie Stabenow. I
    think the example that you just gave, you know, of the gifts
    that you gave, the pictures, says it all. We are blessed. We
    have a very, very bipartisan Committee, and as a result, you
    two have done a tremendous amount of work. The Farm Bills, we
    know how difficult those are. I think most of Congress
    understands how difficult, but for you all to get the last one
    out--and it was not perfect, but it was awful good--and to have
    a record number of votes truly is remarkable.
        Not only the Farm Bill, but so many other things that you
    all have been able to set the example for the rest of the
    Committee. I know, Senator Roberts, and Senator Stabenow, not
    only taking care of yourselves and each other, but taking care
    of the rest of the Committee, which is so, so very important to
    your members.
        To say that we are going to miss you is an understatement.
    Your experience, you have been around long enough that the
    modern Farm Bill--and this is not an exaggeration--the modern
    farm legislation that has been written, you have had a hand in
    either writing it or helping to write, and that really is
    remarkable, both on the House side and the Senate side.
        Again, thank you so much for the great work that you have
    done, and as Debbie said, we are going to look up and see you a
    great deal, hanging on the wall. Thank you very much.
        Senator Stabenow. Mr. Chairman, we do look forward to
    hanging you as we enter the new year.
        Chairman Roberts. We have already had the hanging, or the
    unveiling. Unlike Senator Leahy's portrait, whose eyes keep
    following us, I have not quite got that down yet, at any rate.
        Let me introduce the witnesses, if I might, and bring back
    every word that our great friend and Senator from Wyoming,
    Senator Enzi, says, so at least I will get to read it on the
    same day that he gave it.
        Our first witness, Mrs. Amy France, hails from Marienthal,
    Kansas, where she farms alongside her husband, Clint. Their row
    crop and livestock operation includes grain sorghum, corn,
    wheat, soybeans, and Black Angus cattle. They are diversified.
    Mrs. France currently serves on the National Sorghum Producers
    board of directors, as well as on the board of the Kansas Farm
    Bureau Foundation, and President of the Wichita County Farm
    Bureau.
        Amy and Clint are proud parents to five children, one
    granddaughter, and a second grandchild on the way. Welcome
    back, Amy. It was great to hear from you when we kicked off our
    farm bill hearings in Manhattan, and I look forward to hearing
    from you again.
        Next we have Secretary Dan Glickman, who served as our U.S.
    Secretary of Agriculture from March 1995 until January 2001.
    Previously, he represented the Fourth congressional District of
    Kansas for 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, where
    he was a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
        He currently serves as Vice President of The Aspen
    Institute. He also serves as a member of the boards of the
    Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the World Food
    Program, Food Research and Action Center, and the Chicago
    Mercantile Exchange.
        Dan happens to be one of my very best and dear friends, and
    I welcome him today. I thought about thinking of something
    funny to say, Dan, prior to introducing you, but this is a
    serious hearing and I think I will just let that go. Welcome
    and thank you for participating in today's hearing.
        Our next witness is Dr. Stephen Higgs. He is the Director
    of the Biosecurity Research Institute, the BRI, and Associate
    Vice President for Research at Kansas State University. He has
    conducted and directed research on multiple topics, including
    novel methods of virus infection and transmission.
        Dr. Higgs earned a doctorate from Reading University in the
    United Kingdom and a bachelor of science with honors in zoology
    from King's College in London. Dr. Higgs was recently awarded
    the prestigious Harry Hoogstraal Medal for outstanding
    achievement in medical entomology. Congratulations for the
    award and we welcome you, Dr. Higgs. We look forward to your
    testimony.
        Now Senator Klobuchar plans to introduce Dr. Rosenzweig,
    and if she cannot attend the hearing, I will. Senator
    Klobuchar, I recognize you at this time.

    STATEMENT OF HON. SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
                           STATE OF MINNESOTA

        Senator Klobuchar. I am here, Mr. Chairman, thank you.
        First of all, I am glad that we broke the glass ceiling to
    have one non-Kansan here at your last hearing, for Dr.
    Rosenzweig. Before I introduce him, I just wanted to say to
    you, Senator Roberts, how grateful I have been for your
    chairmanship, how much I have enjoyed personally, like every
    member of this Committee, working with you on so many different
    things, from ag machinery to the food supply. I have so enjoyed
    your sense of humor, and we are going to miss that so much. As
    noted, we will see you there every single day when we are in
    the hearing room.
        One other thing I wanted to add, having been at your
    portrait unveiling, it was just incredible the outpouring of
    love for you from your former staff, from members, former
    members, and that is a legacy that not everyone can have. So
    congratulations, and I know you are going to have a great
    retirement, and I have a feeling we are going to see you again.
        Dr. Rosenzweig, our one and only Minnesotan here, is with
    us to talk about the work that Minnesota's General Mills is
    doing to invest in and promote regenerative agriculture as a
    way to overcome the challenges that are facing our farmers and
    food industry. He serves as Senior Agricultural Scientist at
    General Mills, where he leads research and outreach programs
    across North America to support farmers in implementing
    regenerative agriculture and to better understand how these
    systems impact the environment and also our farm economy.
        Both Senator Smith, who also serves on this Committee, from
    the State of Minnesota, and I welcome you, Dr. Rosenzweig.
    Thank you very much, and thank you, Senator Roberts.
        Chairman Roberts. Amy, thank you very much for those very
    kind comments. It is good to have you back, and thank you for
    your co-sponsorship or cooperation in regards to FFAR. I think
    that was a real step forward, so I appreciate that.
        It is time now for our first witness, Mrs. Amy France.
        Amy, why don't you proceed.

    STATEMENT OF AMY FRANCE, PRODUCER, NATIONAL SORGHUM PRODUCERS,
                           MARIENTHAL, KANSAS

        Mrs. France. Thank you, Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member
    Stabenow, and members of the Committee for this opportunity to
    present the view of National Sorghum Producers regarding
    agricultural research and securing the U.S. food supply. My
    name is Amy France and I farm near Marienthal, Kansas,
    alongside my husband, Clint, and our five children. We grow
    grain sorghum, corn, wheat, soybeans, and cattle. I hope my
    testimony as a farmer, on behalf of NSP, will be helpful to you
    and the Committee.
        First, Mr. Chairman, thank you for all you have done for
    farmers like me and my family. Your authorship of the Freedom
    to Farm Act acknowledged a trust in the American farmers to
    assess and meet the needs of the global marketplace. As a
    fellow western Kansan, I thank you for your legacy of
    leadership.
        The U.S. sorghum industry encompasses approximately six
    million acres, yielding over 350 million bushels of grain,
    supplying both domestic and international markets. We have
    witnessed challenges brought by COVID-19 and recent
    international trade disputes. Yet, sorghum farmers have
    persevered. Perhaps more concerning are extreme weather
    challenges in recent years, which could threaten our ability to
    grow a crop. Fortunately, with its inherent heat tolerance and
    robust root system, sorghum sequesters carbon and builds
    healthier soils, making it a sustainable model crop.
        Sorghum producers have craved innovation, and not just to
    respond to the challenges of today, but to prepare for
    challenges ahead. We applaud this Committee for establishing
    AGARDA. Sorghum producers have seen how investments and not
    just cutting-edge, but bleeding-edge science can result in
    significant leaps forward.
        In 2014, the Department of Energy launched ARPA-E to
    facilitate a government role in the financial risk to develop
    transformational technologies in the energy sector. One of
    these programs was Transportation Energy Resources from
    Renewable Agriculture, or TERRA, which selected sorghum as the
    model crop for its drought tolerance and genetic variability.
        In plant breeding, sequencing DNA is the easy part. It is
    confirming what genetic changes do in the field that slows new
    variety development. TERRA utilized advanced sensing
    technologies and high-performance computing to rapidly identify
    changes in the field. Building on the successes of TERRA, ARPA-
    E launched a program called ROOTS, to take what was being done
    above ground and deploy it below.
        We have learned more about sorghum genetics and root
    development in the last six years than we have in the previous
    six decades, and agriculture is just one small portion of the
    overall ARPA-E investment. Imagine what U.S. agriculture could
    accomplish with AGARDA if properly resourced and utilizing the
    ARPA-E philosophy.
        Often, the mile between scientific discovery and my seed
    bag is most challenging. This is why, in 2016, sorghum farmers
    participated and partnered with Kansas State University to
    create the Collaborative Sorghum Investment Program. To date,
    CSIP has established technology transfers for advances like
    herbicide tolerance and pest resistance toward seed innovation
    for sorghum.
        Remaining hurdles to innovation are frequently regulatory
    in nature. Gene editing, or CRISPR, for example, allows
    breeders to quickly make direct edits to the genome, changes
    that otherwise could take years or even decades to accomplish
    through conventional breeding.
        Last spring, USDA published their SECURE Rule, updating
    their biotechnology regulations. While not perfect, we believe
    this rule encourages the pursuit of innovations.
        In October, EPA took initial steps to modernize their Plant
    Incorporated Protectants regulations, and while we appreciate
    their efforts, the proposal falls short. In it, EPA
    acknowledges the precision of gene editing and its inherent low
    risk, but the proposal creates too many hurdles and stifles
    innovation. EPA's proposal regulates based on the process
    rather than the product, which is in contrast to the USDA
    approach and the recommendation of the National Academy of
    Sciences.
        We encourage this Committee to consider these regulations
    closely and engage with EPA and USDA on development. We must
    get this right. We have to tackle the environmental and food
    availability issues ahead.
        Sorghum farmers have long known the value of sound science.
    We have witnessed research at the local level to identify risk
    for crop insurance purposes and groundbreaking results to
    tackle global sustainability efforts. Looking forward, we are
    hopeful for a robust research portfolio and what we can
    accomplish with AGARDA.
        Again, thank you to the Committee and Ranking Member
    Stabenow for the opportunity to share these perspectives, and
    to Chairman Roberts, I especially want to thank you for your
    decades of service and unbridled support to Kansas farmers like
    me and my family. Thank you.

        [The prepared statement of Mrs. France can be found on page
    38 in the appendix.]

        Chairman Roberts. Amy, thank you very much, especially on
    the reasonable approach to regulations that affect all of
    agriculture.
        The Honorable Dan Glickman, Secretary Dan Glickman, please.

     STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DAN GLICKMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
                  THE ASPEN INSTITUTE, WASHINGTON, DC

        Mr. Glickman. Thank you, Senator Roberts, thank you,
    Senator Stabenow, and thanks to all the Senators here. You
    know, the Roberts-Stabenow relationship has been a wonderful
    marriage, a perfect marriage of bipartisanship, working
    together, and a real legacy, not only for Pat and Debbie but
    for the whole Congress. I just want to commend you. It was this
    Committee that 25-1/2 years ago confirmed me as Secretary. I do
    not think any of you were there in this capacity, although Pat
    and I served together in the House with Senator Dole, Senator
    Leahy, Senator Lugar, and others. What a great Committee and
    what a legacy you all have put together.
        I hope my entire statement will appear in the record. I
    just want to mention a few things. I think there are six goals
    in agriculture research. One is really to have the resources
    and the prioritization of food and agriculture research
    generally. This is important stuff, and it needs to have the
    kind of priority and funding for the future. It needs to focus
    both on basic and applied research and it really needs to
    provide an opportunity for human talent for a new generation of
    young, bright scientists to enter the picture.
        No. 2 is to sustain farming and productivity, which Amy
    talked about and which all farmers want. No. 3 is to encourage
    consumer trust in the food supply. No. 4 is to fight hunger,
    and we are seeing hunger is a much more serious problem today
    than even two or three years ago, because of COVID. No. 5 is
    worker safety. That is worker in agriculture writ large. No. 6
    is to promote sustainability and environmentally friend
    agriculture, in an era of climate and weather volatility.
        Let me just--and, by the way, the Foundation for Food and
    Agricultural Research, which Debbie and Pat were actively
    involved with, and so was Amy and others on this Committee, I
    think is really a profound--will have a profound impact on the
    future of agriculture.
        First COVID. COVID has been a disaster for the country and
    agriculture, with 260,000 people dead, 100,000 people in the
    hospital today. COVID is an example of an animal disease that
    jumped to the human side of the picture, and it has caused
    chaos in human health, in the food and agriculture system writ
    large, agriculture workers, businesses, and a frightening
    increase in domestic hunger that we see.
        As we look at these viral-related diseases, we really need
    to dramatically increase the research and focus on that. A lot
    of this is being done at Kansas State University, but this is
    going to have to, again and again and again--and, Dr. Higgs, I
    think you may talk about this a little--but we must give it the
    attention that it needs, because the risks involved are just
    monumental, dealing with this.
        The second issue I would talk about is the issue of
    nutrition and health. Diet-related diseases are the leading
    cause of poor health and early mortality of not only people in
    the United States but around the world, and contribute to
    hundreds of billions of dollars of public and private spending
    to deal with preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes. I think
    the relationships, especially on the research side, between
    food, health, agriculture, and medicine are often neglected.
        The Federal spending alone for type 2 diabetes is over $160
    billion a year, and chronic diseases are the fastest growing
    part of the Federal budget. Agriculture needs to be a key
    player in discussing these issues of nutrition, both in Federal
    feeding programs as well as the basic research that is being
    done.
        Exactly 51 years ago today, President Nixon hosted the
    first White House Conference on Food Nutrition and Health, and
    this was a seminal event to bring people together to look for
    ways to improve nutrition in America. Out of that grew almost
    all of our feeding programs. Much of our Nation's poverty is
    still impacted by too much hunger and too poor of a diet in
    this country, but agriculture needs to play a key role in that.
        I believe the Committee and the Congress should encourage
    the next administration to hold another White House Conference
    on Food Nutrition and Health, bringing together the Nation's
    food and agriculture leaders and scientists and people in the
    food industry and the medical community to better understand
    the issues of nutrition.
        Third is in the area of climate change. I am really glad to
    see that there is bipartisan cooperation in the farm community
    to look at these particular issues, how weather, volatile
    weather and climate--drought, floods, heat--is critical to deal
    with the health of the agricultural system. It affects almost
    all crops across the world, but wheat and rice are particularly
    affected as is animal health, and the terrible damage done by
    the increasing number of forest fires in this country.
        I would add that more and more farmers and ranchers and
    others in the ag industry are working together on these issues,
    recognizing that climate change is real, not political, but we
    have to work together to find ways to develop sensible,
    reasonable, and impactful solutions.
        You know, I am one who believes that ag research and food-
    related research deserves a much higher priority, and it is
    more important than sometimes people outside of agriculture
    give it credit for. With all the vexing problems impacting
    agriculture, it is really important that there be an across-
    the-board system in our government to give priority to these
    issues.
        The National Academy of Sciences Breakthroughs 2030
    identifies innovative emerging scientific advances for making
    our food and agriculture more efficient, resilient,
    sustainable, and provides a good analysis of those things that
    could destroy the ability to produce the food supply. They
    asked two real good questions. What are the big questions in ag
    research that need to be answered in the next decade? What are
    the strategies needed to produce adequate food supplies
    sustainably to feed a hungry and healthy world, and how do we
    best achieve these new, enhanced technologies, that Amy talked
    about, in a safe and transparent manner, with the necessary
    human capital, people power, to get all these things done?
        I just might want to comment on two other things before I
    finish. The Foundation for Food and Agriculture, which you all
    were responsible for creating, particularly this Committee, was
    authorized in 2014. It has received nearly $400 million in
    Federal funds to date. It has engaged over 400 outside funders,
    the epitome of public-private partnerships. The work on all the
    issues that we have talked about has been leading the way in a
    new Agriculture Climate Partnership. Dr. Sally Rockey and her
    team have been extraordinary in advancing these new
    technologies. It is my hope that you will consider ways to
    provide more secure funding in the future for FFAR.
        I also want to commend the work of the Chicago Council on
    Global Affairs, where I serve as a Distinguished Fellow, which
    has been a seminal force in tying global and domestic hunger
    and research together. There are tens of millions of people in
    the world, the developing world, suffering from malnutrition
    and hunger, often facilitating violent ethnic and regional
    conflicts. The Feed the Future initiative, which is in USAID,
    was in large part developed through the work of the Chicago
    Council in collaboration with the USDA and USAID, and it is
    really important that that research continues.
        I might add that Feed the Future initiative, coupled with
    sustained U.S. financial assistance to the World Food Programme
    has continued to be transformation in feeding a hungry world
    during these turbulent times. It would be a mistake to give up
    on American assistance to hungry people around the world, and
    it is a mistake for America to go alone on these issues,
    whether eliminating hunger or fighting climate change at home
    or around the world.
        Mr. Chairman, my full statement gives a lot of these
    provisions in greater detail. A lot of other folks have been
    involved in the issues that I have been working on, and I will
    be glad to answer any questions. Thank you.

        [The prepared statement of Mr. Glickman can be found on
    page 43 in the appendix.]

        Chairman Roberts. We thank you, Mr. Secretary. Our next
    witness is Dr. Stephen Higgs, who is in charge of the
    Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University.

       STATEMENT OF STEPHEN HIGGS, Ph.D., DIRECTOR, BIOSECURITY
     RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH,
               KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, MANHATTAN, KANSAS

        Dr. Higgs. Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member Stabenow,
    distinguished members of the Committee, I am honored to appear
    before you today on behalf of Kansas State University, K-State,
    for this hearing. I am Stephen Higgs, Director of K-State's
    Biosecurity Research Institute, the BRI, which, as you know, is
    housed in Pat Roberts Hall here in Manhattan.
        In 2015, the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Study Panel on
    Biodefense concluded that the United States lacked leadership,
    a strategic plan, and a dedicated budget to address biological
    threats to U.S. agriculture. Nonetheless, with appropriate
    information and research data we can prioritize, predict, and
    perhaps anticipate pathogen introduction, and therefore focus
    resources or implement measures, and hopefully prevent an
    introduction.
        If a pathogen is introduced into the U.S., early detection
    and accurate identification is critical so that countermeasures
    such as vaccines can be rapidly deployed to contain and
    eradicate the pathogen before dispersal. Unfortunately,
    surveillance is never perfect because you cannot look for
    everything everywhere, all of the time.
        Open sources of information such as Promaid [phonetic] can
    provide us with the what, where, and when information, but
    research data, pathway analysis can direct surveillance and
    resources to high-risk locations.
        Reagents provide the knowledge and understanding of
    pathogens that we need to develop reagents and technologies for
    rapid pathogen-specific detection. Countermeasures such as
    vaccines and therapeutics all depend on research. Research
    enables strategic planning to optimize the use of our
    resources. To illustrate the importance of research, I will,
    unashamedly, use a few examples from the BRI. It is a unique
    facility working on threats to plants, animals, post-harvest
    food products. These include zoonotic pathogens that can
    directly infect people and cause fatal diseases.
        Research at the BRI has conducted evaluation of
    technologies to detect and identify pathogens that threaten our
    military by their food supply, and methods to control food-
    borne pathogens on livestock carcasses; development of wheat
    varieties resistant to wheat blast fungi; vaccines to protect
    birds from avian influenza and to protect swine from African
    swine fever virus.
        Reagents to identify pathogens of swine, including rapid
    diagnostic test kits for African swine fever virus, ASFV, have
    been developed at the BRI. Studies have demonstrated that the
    virus can survive in animal-free products, but if imported from
    endemic areas could introduce the pathogens here.
        Research on Japanese encephalitis virus has demonstrated
    susceptibility of North American mosquitos and of both domestic
    and feral swine. Research on Rift Valley fever has developed
    diagnostics and studied these diseases in sheep, cattle, and
    white-tailed deer.
        The National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, NABC, at Pat
    Roberts Hall, is leading efforts on threat assessment, disease
    response training and strategic planning, and communication
    networks needed to protect U.S. agriculture.
        In March, research at the BRI was quickly refocused to
    improve our understanding of SARS-CoV-2. Research proved for
    the first time that the virus neither affects nor is
    transmitted by mosquitos. Research has evaluated swine in cats
    as hosts and hamsters as small animal models. Vaccine
    candidates and approaches to reduce infections in meat
    processing facilities will be evaluated in the coming months.
        Complementing the research, the BRI has developed courses
    and training programs related to foreign threats to
    agriculture, several of which have now been completed for
    online delivery.
        Looking to the future, much still needs to be done. For
    example, funding of the AgARDA program in the Farm Bill is
    needed to support research on threats to both plants and
    animals. Strategic bio- and agrodefense legislation and
    enhanced congressional oversight is needed to develop and
    support long-term strategic approaches to protect U.S.
    agriculture and our food supply. This Senate Committee should
    lead these efforts to protect U.S. agriculture and food from
    natural and intentional biological threats.
        Research is absolutely essential in order for the U.S. to
    defend itself against foreign threats to U.S. agriculture and
    our food supply. However, funding must be strategic to support
    research that will provide the information, knowledge,
    understanding, and practical technologies that are needed.
        As we have seen with SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens,
    biological threats can emerge with little if any warning and
    spread far and fast. Funding must not only sustain what we have
    but build on this and give us what we need so that we can
    quickly respond and combat known and unknown future threats.
        The erosion of our capabilities through a lack of long-term
    strategic funding results in management-under-crisis
    conditions. Nature will not wait for us to get our act
    together, and those who wish us harm may take advantage of our
    lack of preparedness.
        Thank you for giving me the opportunity, and my personal
    thanks to everything that you have done, Senator, Roberts, for
    our country.

        [The prepared statement of Dr. Higgs can be found on page
    46 in the appendix.]

        Chairman Roberts. I appreciate that, Dr. Higgs.
        Our next witness is Dr. Steven Rosenzweig. Doctor, please.

      STATEMENT OF STEVEN ROSENZWEIG, Ph.D., SENIOR AGRICULTURAL
    SCIENTIST, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, GENERAL MILLS, GOLDEN VALLEY,
                               MINNESOTA

        Dr. Rosenzweig. Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member Stabenow,
    and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for the
    invitation to testify here today and for your bipartisan legacy
    of supporting public agricultural research. Your
    accomplishments in the last farm bill's research title should
    be applauded, and Chairman Roberts, I would like to especially
    thank you for your distinguished leadership on agriculture,
    nutrition, and national security in Congress over the last 40
    years.
        When I was a Ph.D. student studying soil science, I never
    imagined myself working for a global food company, let alone
    testifying to this Committee on its behalf. The fact that
    positions like mine exist reflects the importance of
    agricultural research to every level of the food system, from
    farmers to consumers.
        General Mills has been making food for over 150 years, but
    there are challenges facing agriculture today that threaten our
    ability to continue making food for another 150 years. Among
    the most urgent challenges include climate change and the
    continued degradation of natural resources. Unsustainable rates
    of soil erosion, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions,
    and water usage and pollution weaken the resilience of our
    agricultural systems, particularly in the face of climate
    change.
        As a growing number of farmers and ranchers are
    demonstrating, focusing their innovation on restoring the soil
    and biodiversity of the farm ecosystem through regenerative
    agriculture creates positive, cascading impacts for the farm
    business, the environment, and society.
        Regenerative ag is a farmer-led movement containing a
    diversity of ideas and beliefs, but at its core it is a
    holistic approach to farming and ranching that integrates
    principles of agricultural management that work to restore and
    enhance critical processes like water infiltration, carbon
    sequestration, and nutrient cycling. Farmers leverage these
    natural processes to reduce reliance on external inputs,
    leading to greater profitability and enabling the generation of
    a range of ecosystem services.
        At General Mills, we consider regenerative ag to be our
    greatest opportunity for meeting our commitment to reduce our
    climate footprint by 30 percent by 2030. Agriculture makes up
    almost 60 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in our value
    chain, making it essential that we address agricultural
    emissions.
        Regenerative ag empowers farmers and ranchers to play an
    important role in the fight against climate change, and it can
    and should be a part of an economy-wide strategy for tacking
    this important issue.
        General Mills is committed to advancing regenerative ag in
    one million acres by 2030. Over the last two years, we have
    worked to pilot a range of strategies for amplifying this
    farmer-led movement and accelerating adoption in key sourcing
    regions. To date, we have established pilots in Kansas, North
    Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Canada. Across every pilot
    there is a variety of farmer experience levels and production
    types, including both organic and conventional farmers. Our
    pilot strategies include a mix of different resources and
    incentives for farmers, including education, coaching, cost
    share, payments for ecosystem services, expanding markets for
    alternative crops, including perennials, and supporting State-
    level soil health coalitions, and more.
        We are leveraging a pilot social science research to
    identify the most effective and scalable strategies for
    promoting sustained adoption of regenerative systems, but we
    need more public research helping to identify effective
    strategies for increasing adoption.
        We have also made investments in research to advance the
    science of regenerative ag and improve our understanding of its
    potential impact to the environment and the economy. Chairman
    Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow, I want to thank you for
    your leadership in the creation of the Foundation for Food and
    Agriculture Research, or FFAR, in the 2014 Farm Bill. FFAR has
    built many public-private partnerships needed to help advance
    important research in the industry. Several of FFAR's flagship
    programs have been launched in partnership with General Mills,
    notably the Soil Health Initiative, Open TEAM, and the research
    arm of the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, or ESMC.
        General Mills, together with the Kansas Department of
    Health and Environment and the ESMC is carrying out one of the
    first pilots of this market in Kansas, and which will pay
    farmers for greenhouse gas reductions and water quality
    improvements and conduct the research necessary to create a
    scaled and efficient ecosystem service marketplace that
    benefits farmers and ranchers.
        Despite the many challenges facing our food and
    agricultural systems today, there are reasons to be optimistic
    about the future. Farmers and ranchers are increasingly
    innovating to regenerate farm ecosystems and businesses, and
    more than ever the private sector is looking for ways to
    contribute. With emerging opportunities like ecosystem service
    markets and public-private partnerships for research and
    innovation, the food and ag industries have opportunities to
    invest in securing the resilience of the American food supply.
        We encourage this Committee to consider more Federal
    investment, public agriculture research for public-private
    partnerships to address climate change and sustainability
    issues in U.S. food and agricultural.
        Thank you for the opportunity to testify on these important
    issues, and we look forward to continuing to work with you all.
    I am happy to answer any questions the Committee members have.

        [The prepared statement of Dr. Rosenzweig can be found on
    page 60 in the appendix.]

        Chairman Roberts. We thank you for your testimony, and I
    will try to make my questions very brief, and I know others are
    waiting patiently.
        Amy, let's start with you. The sorghum industry has shown a
    great deal of resourcefulness in pursuing both the traditional
    and non-traditional funding sources in sorghum research, in
    particular, the success of sorghum projects under the
    Department of Energy's Advanced Research Project Agency--we
    call that ARPA-E; everything in Washington has to have an
    acronym--inspired the creation of AGARDA in the 2018 Farm Bill.
    How do you believe the robust use of this advanced research and
    development authority at the USDA can benefit U.S. agriculture
    generally, and individual producers specifically? Feel free to
    talk again about overregulation.
        Mrs. France. Sure. Thank you, Senator. I think just as Mr.
    Glickman alluded to, it is successful because it is the
    private-public efforts, and it has commercialized real-world
    results, which I think is a key factor in moving forward and
    really why it plays such an important role.
        Sorghum has been already chosen to be part of the things
    that are moving forward because we already have so much on our
    side, water-sipping, things like that. The agency's choice of
    sorghum as a model crop is just an ag-related endeavor as well.
        As we look at things that are--as I said in my testimony,
    often-times the final step is a hiccup in the regulatory steps,
    and I think it is really interesting and something to think
    about. We want technology moving forward in all areas. We want
    the best in technology from medicine. We want the best in
    technology or automobiles, and everything we use on a daily
    basis. Something like this would continue to move us forward as
    agriculture, and something that is very necessary and almost
    puzzling why agriculture is held back.
        Chairman Roberts. I appreciate that very much. Thank you,
    Amy.
        Dr. Higgs, we are still facing, obviously, the devastating
    impacts of COVID-19. That is, in fact, a zoonotic disease that
    has become a human health crisis. As we face this, in light of
    the pandemic, what are some ways in which the zoonotic disease
    research priorities have already changed, or should change, and
    let me emphasize the ``should change,'' both for the
    institutions here in the U.S. and globally?
        Dr. Higgs. Thank you for the question, Senator Roberts. You
    know, with respect to zoonotic disease research priorities,
    something that COVID-19 has shown us is that we never seem to
    be prepared. That is true even if the warning signs are on the
    horizon and heading our way.
        Most of the emerging threats to human health are zoonotic,
    and jump from animals to people. It is really quite rare that
    we do not know something about these threats, even if it is
    about a closely related pathogen.
        I think our priorities should really not be changed. We
    have to be vigilant. We have to have the tools and the people
    that we need. We have to have a strategic plan, and dare I say,
    like a Boy Scout, always be prepared. Knowledge is power and
    research provides that knowledge to combat these pathogens.
        We need a system of sustained funding, not a system that
    has to be reinvigorated or, worse still, reinvented. Our sort
    of funding with a pattern of famine, to feast to famine, is
    just not a good strategy. We need sustained funding so that we
    cannot lose our expertise, our work force, and our abilities to
    deal with these pathogens.
        Chairman Roberts. Thank you, Doctor.
        Secretary Glickman, you bring obviously a broad perspective
    on how both public and private investment in ag research can
    leverage funding to have the greatest impact. As we continue to
    face our budgetary constraints, what recommendations do you
    have to encourage continued growth in private sector engagement
    and investment in ag research?
        Mr. Glickman. That is a great question. First of all, the
    private sector has a huge amount of resources they could offer
    in partnership. FFAR is an example where we have brought the
    private and public sectors together on issues like soil health,
    photosynthesis, using less water to produce crops, and stronger
    nutrition initiative that is part of our public health
    programs.
        You cannot just rely only on the public sector because they
    just do not have the resources, even though I think USDA and
    the ag resources have been underfunded for several years, not
    because of what your Committee has done. Just because of the
    nature of the beast. I think that other parts of our national
    budget, with the NIH and the Department of Defense, have
    actually done a lot better on the R&D side, from a funding
    perspective, than USDA has done.
        There is a lot of genius in the private sector. They have
    good ideas about how this will impact people. Just look at the
    development of the COVID vaccine. A lot of that work was done
    in the public sector, in terms of the basic research, but
    getting a vaccine into the hands of the people and doing the
    research that was necessary to find out if it was safe was done
    by the private sector.
        The same thing is true in agriculture as well. You just
    have to work together, and FFAR has been a great example of how
    that is done.
        Chairman Roberts. I appreciate that. Senator Stabenow.
        Senator Stabenow. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and
    thanks to all of our witnesses. First, Dr. Rosenzweig, in your
    testimony you mentioned that the Foundation for Food and
    Agriculture Research has been a critical partner for General
    Mills' efforts to help farmers adjust soil health and take
    advantage of carbon markets.
        Can you talk a little bit more about the foundation's
    public-private partnerships and what they can do in terms of
    supporting the climate change research that we need?
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Thank you, Ranking Member Stabenow, for the
    question and for your leadership in helping create FFAR, along
    with Chairman Roberts. Establishing the FFAR model in the farm
    system was a bold commitment to agriculture research, and they
    are a critical partner for us and others in the industry to
    advance climate change and agriculture research.
        We are proud to have been the first company in any sector
    to set a goal approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative
    to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value
    chain. There are now over 1,000 companies that have such a
    commitment. We have critical knowledge gaps to fill and new
    tools and insight we urgently need in order to help our sector
    fight climate change and meet the ambitious goals we have set,
    and further funding the FFAR model to tackle climate change and
    sustainability with the private sector would help to accelerate
    progress and help our farmers thrive.
        We need more tools and technology, like those we are
    developing at ESMC and Open TEAM, for measuring and verifying
    the impact that regenerative agriculture has on climate change,
    and water and biodiversity, and all of these other really
    important benefits.
        Regenerative agriculture is also really context specific,
    so we need research on which practices work where. I also saw
    today that FFAR announced their support for the development of
    perennial crops that can sequester large amounts of carbon, and
    that is something that General Mills is collaborating with them
    on as well.
        The research in the climate-agriculture intersection is
    fragmented, and FFAR can help create the collaboration between
    the farmers and ranchers, the scientists, the public sector,
    and private industry, so that we can address these issues as a
    coordinated force.
        Senator Stabenow. Thank you very much, and I do have to use
    this as an opportunity to mention, as we are doing more on
    research and creating the technologies and information for our
    farmers. I see my good friend and partner Senator Braun here.
    Certainly what we are trying to do is establish a home for that
    information at USDA, develop technology and the technical
    assistance for our farmers. This information will help farmers
    and will create a commodity market on carbon that will be
    supportive of them as well as tackling climate. I think it is
    so important as we move forward that we have developed this
    structure at USDA.
        Ms. Amy France, you have described the sorghum industry's
    success with utilizing the Department of Energy's ARPA-E
    research programs, which have significantly increased the
    public understanding of biotechnology and plants. Of course, as
    you and Chairman Roberts talked about the 2018 Farm Bill
    created AGARDA to accelerate the development of new research
    tools and agricultural techniques that enhance U.S. economic
    competitiveness and respond to threats to the food supply, like
    extreme weather events.
        Can you talk a little more about how this new authority at
    USDA could help researchers and farmers mitigate and respond to
    the threats of the climate crisis?
        Mrs. France. Yes. Thank you, Ranking Member Stabenow. Much
    like ARPA-E, AGARDA could be a commercialized and real-world
    program, and organizers would do well to study DARPA and ARPA-E
    significantly on the outset. Solving practical problems private
    industry cannot yet tackle is the very essence of the public-
    private partnership, and if AGARDA applies with concept as
    sustainability problems like drought tolerance and nitrogen use
    efficiency, the effort will be a success.
        It is our ultimate goal to limit our footprint, but we do
    have a long ways to figure out sustainability and what that
    looks like. I can tell you, from a farmer perspective, if we do
    not have good soil we do not have a job. So, that is definitely
    something that I am excited to see. I have seen, first-hand,
    farmers continuing to see what they can do best, cut input
    costs, and it is encouraging to see those that have input and
    the funds that have been inputted into helping the farmers keep
    doing what we know we can do best.
        Senator Stabenow. Thank you. Of course, the great news, as
    we discovered with our soil health projects in the 2018 Farm
    Bill, is that we want that carbon in the soil, so you have
    carbon-rich soil, that it is creating a situation where we have
    healthier, more productive crops and so on. We want carbon in
    the soil and not in the air, creating air pollution. It is a
    win-win that we are working on right now.
        Dr. Higgs, in your testimony you mentioned several times
    that zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19 post serious threats to
    agriculture and biological security. Given your extensive
    experience in the area, how is climate change impacting the
    prevalence of zoonotic diseases, and where are the gaps in
    understanding these diseases, and how has that been highlighted
    by COVID-19?
        Dr. Higgs. Thank you, Senator Stabenow, for the question.
    Most of the pathogens we are dealing with are not closely
    associated with climate change. Something close to my heart is
    blood-borne pathogens and other anthropod-borne pathogens, and
    they can be very sensitive to climate variation because they
    are poikilothermic and, therefore the warmer it is, the faster
    they grow and move, and the higher density the populations are
    those of arthropods. This is why the abundance of these
    anthropods and the diseases associated with them are seasonal,
    with peaks in the summer months.
        Certainly that is something that we have to keep a very
    close eye on, because as environmental change is happening we
    may see a potential redistribution of those arthropods to areas
    which have become warmer. If you think of something like Zika
    and chikungunya and dengue, the mosquitos that transmit those
    have temperature tolerance levels, and with increasing
    temperatures they will spread, and that increases the potential
    threat to humans and animals. There is a pathogen called
    bluetongue virus, which we have in the United States, which has
    spread very widely in Europe, perhaps because culicoides
    midges, its major vector, may be spreading because temperatures
    have increased. To date, however, there are still no conclusive
    examples to indicate that climate changes has influenced the
    distribution and incidence of any of these diseases. Movements
    of people and commerce is a major factor in the spread of these
    diseases.
        Senator Stabenow. Thank you. We have seen Zika in Michigan
    because of the increases in temperature, warmer weather in
    September, October, and it has caused deaths in Michigan, so I
    understand what you are saying.
        Mr. Chairman, I know my time is up so I am not going to be
    asking Secretary Glickman any questions. You are safe, Dan. I
    just want to say welcome, as always. It is great having
    Secretary Glickman as part of our discussion.
        Mr. Glickman. Can I just comment, just quickly, on your
    last question, though, if I might?
        Senator Stabenow. Sure.
        Mr. Glickman. Okay. What I have noticed, though, is that to
    focus on the issues of zoonotic disease, climate, and health, I
    noticed that in our all discussion about COVID there has been
    virtually no discussion by all the highly educated scientists
    at the highest level about the relationship between food,
    agriculture, and health. It just does not exist. Part of it is
    because a lot of people stovepipe these positions into their
    own categories, and they all relate to each other.
        I hope that in the future, the White House takes a whole-
    of-government approach to these issues, and this Committee
    works to include discussions with people in the human health
    field, because they relate to each other, and these are areas
    that I think have been under-discussed in the past.
        Senator Stabenow. I very much agree. Thank you so much. Mr.
    Chairman?
        Mr. Glickman. Thank you.
        Chairman Roberts. Senator Hyde-Smith.
        Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and before I
    get into the questions I just want to take a moment right now
    to just commend on your tremendous contributions and your
    career since you have been in Washington, DC. It has just been
    an honor to serve under your leadership. When I first got here
    and sat down in that chair, in the powerful Agriculture
    Committee, you were very kind, accommodating, and I will never
    forget that. I appreciate that in you, and certainly as a
    former Commissioner of Agriculture, the laws that govern
    agriculture and our food programs, they are much better since
    you have been serving in Congress. I wanted to say thank you,
    for you and your staff. You have accomplished so much, and I
    hope you are proud of that, because you should be.
        Chairman Roberts. Thank you.
        Senator Hyde-Smith. My first question is for Dr.
    Rosenzweig. As we heard in your testimony and from other
    witnesses, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, or
    FFAR, which was established, of course, in 2014 in the Farm
    bill, and reauthorized in 2018, has played such an effective
    role in leveraging private funds with Federal dollars to
    support research that we all know is so very critical.
        I am really proud that Mississippi State University
    President, Dr. Mark Keenum, serves as chair of FFAR. He is
    chairman of the board. It is my understanding that General
    Mills, as a partner in this important public-private
    cooperative effort, has just gone beyond the call of duty, and
    I am truly grateful for that.
        Would you please elaborate on some of the work General
    Mills is doing, in its partnership with FFAR, maybe some of the
    recent work that you have been doing?
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Sure. I would be happy to. Thanks for the
    question.
        You know, we are partners with FFAR on a number of the
    flagship programs, like I mentioned, the Soil Health Initiative
    to create one of the largest soil health research programs
    through funds to The Nature Conservancy, the Soil Health
    Partnership, and Soil Health Institute.
        Right now we are in the midst of partnering with the
    Ecosystem Service Market Research Consortium, the research arm
    of ESMC, to figure out how we conduct the research and develop
    the tools and protocols we need to verify that farmers are, in
    fact, creating ecosystem services. When we are looking to pay
    farmers through an ecosystem service market for these types of
    services, we need assurance that they are actually being
    created. The work that we are doing right now with ESMC and
    FFAR is to create those tools that can help us measure those
    outcomes.
        You know, one of the critical objectives is to reduce the
    costs of those things, because that is really what is going to
    be limiting the funds going into farmers' pockets is how
    expensive it is to conduct those measurements. The work that we
    are doing is to reduce the costs while still maintaining the
    certainty of those estimates.
        I am happy to expand on any of those other initiatives if
    you would like.
        Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you very much. For Mr. Secretary,
    with the global demand for food on the rise and only a finite
    amount of agricultural land, we must continue finding safe and
    innovative ways to produce more on the land that we have,
    because they are not making any more land. Do you believe
    public-private partnerships such as FFAR are a model for the
    future of agriculture research?
        Mr. Secretary? Mr. Glickman?
        Mr. Glickman. Yes. Can you hear me Okay?
        Senator Hyde-Smith. We can.
        Mr. Glickman. Okay. Yes, I am sorry. I was going to say
    Mark Keenum has been a great leader at FFAR, and I know he is
    from your home State, and he is a good friend of mine. I would
    say the answer to that is yes, there are a few areas.
        First of all, these issues are global. They are not just
    United States. If you look at the rest of the world, problems
    of yields, problems of water utilization, they are particularly
    acute in the developing world, where your yields are half of
    what they are in the United States, and hunger is just prolific
    over there. We all share in this thing, and public-private
    partnerships have been very valuable overseas as well as in the
    United States. Whether it is in water utilization, soil health,
    or as I mentioned, photosynthesis, getting crops to grow
    faster, you are right, we do not have any more land and we have
    to make sure that soil health is at the top of our priority.
        This cannot be done without public and private
    partnerships. I might add that at FFAR and other kinds of
    private-public partnerships, agriculture needs to be at the
    center of climate change mitigation. It is part of a
    comprehensive approach, I think, to coordinate science and
    adopt new techniques. All aspects of the supply chain need to
    be involved in this.
        Clearly for agriculture to be at the center requires
    public-private cooperation, and it requires cooperation of
    people in the non-ag world as well.
        Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you very much. That is all, Mr.
    Chairman. Thank you.
        Chairman Roberts. Senator Braun.
        Senator Braun. Thank you, Chairman Roberts. It has been a
    pleasure for the two-years I have been in the Senate to be on
    the Agriculture Committee. I've probably become the freshest of
    any Senator from participating in farming, as a tree farmer,
    and I have been an investor in land and deal with many farmers
    on a weekly basis, to the extent I still have time. The
    hearings that you have held on this Committee have been
    interesting to me because I can draw so recently and vividly on
    experience I have had in the agricultural sector. Thank you for
    that.
        We did hear earlier, Ranking Member Stabenow said we
    introduced the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which is, I
    think, kind of the first manifestation of coming together on
    something that makes so much common sense because it takes the
    good stewardship of tree farmers, of ag farmers, and tries to
    give them the portal of information to actually take advantage
    of voluntary markets that are out there. I think that is an
    important first step.
        My first question is for Dr. Rosenzweig. I know that
    General Mills has done stuff with a definite interest in
    climate. I want to thank you for joining 50 other groups,
    including the American Farm Bureau, that endorses the bill that
    we have introduced, groups like The Nature Conservancy as well,
    and I think we are off to a good start.
        I would like to ask you the question. Legislation like the
    Growing Climate Solutions Act helps farmers and companies like
    General Mills in research and implementing sustainable
    agricultural practices. How do you see that really benefiting
    what you have already done in your own effort to lower the
    footprint that General Mills has?
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Thank you, Senator, for the question, and
    thank you for your work on the Growing Climate Solutions Act.
    We support the bipartisan legislation, like you mentioned, and
    this legislation would help to establish a greenhouse gas
    technical assistance provider and third-party verifier
    certification program through which the USDA would provide
    endorsement of third-party verifiers and technical service
    providers that help private landowners generate carbon credits
    through a variety of aggregate culture and forestry-related
    practices.
        As the demand for carbon markets grows, it is important
    that we have qualified technical advisors working alongside
    farmers to help them develop the most beneficial practices for
    their land. That is why, in our pilot with ESMC and Kansas, we
    have provided farmers one-on-one coaching to help them develop
    and implement their own regenerative management plan and
    helping them navigate the data collection needed to access the
    market.
        Building the capacity of service professionals that
    understand these market opportunities, protocols, and standards
    will support ecosystem service markets' operation at scale. I
    will add that a number of companies like ours have deeply
    invested in the ESMC, and we want to make sure that the
    implementation of the GCSA should be thoughtful and with input
    from the private sector. Thank you.
        Senator Braun. Thank you. My next question is for Mrs.
    France. Before I ask the question, I want to acknowledge how
    important it is what family farms like yours do, that play into
    conservation and sustainability. Earlier in the year, we had
    Brent Bible, a Hoosier, who testified before the Committee and
    talked about, with an eye to soil health and to actually making
    the farm have a lower carbon footprint, it was interesting to
    see how much farmers are already doing.
        In regards to, again, the Growing Climate Solutions Act,
    one of the things my bill would do is kind of give that one-
    stop shop, website information, maintain that the USDA Farm
    Service Agency, which farmers are familiar with, interfacing
    with on a weekly, monthly basis. As you and other producers
    look toward innovations that are both economically and
    environmentally sustainable for your farm's next generation, do
    you believe that it would be helpful to have that singular
    point? What does that mean, especially with the familiarity you
    have already, working with the Farm Service Agency's part of
    the USDA?
        Mrs. France. Thank you, Senator. FSA certainly does provide
    a hub for us. The individuals we work with, we worked with for
    years and generations before us, and I am sure they will have
    our children as well.
        I think that would be very beneficial, you know, having one
    spot for our information. We already bring them so many
    records. They have, really, the bible of our farm at their
    desk. It seems like although I am not completely familiar with
    your potential bill, but from the sounds of it, initially,
    without digging in deeper, it does sound like that could be
    very beneficial to a farmer.
        Senator Braun. Thank you so much, and keep up the good work
    on the farm.
        Mrs. France. Thank you very much.
        Chairman Roberts. Sherrod, are you there?
        Senator Brown. I am.
        Chairman Roberts. Yes. In this Zoom world we live in, when
    we have two Senator Browns, spelled differently, of course----
        Senator Brown. Well, one is Brown and one is Braun.
        Chairman Roberts. Yes, I understand that. I understand
    that.
        Senator Brown. I just want to go before Casey, Mr.
    Chairman.
        Chairman Roberts. Well, you and Bob will have to work that
    out, but I am going to recognize you next.
        Senator Brown. Thank you, and first, thanks to Chairman
    Roberts for his decades of service to the people of Kansas. His
    stewardship of this Committee, I was privileged to serve for a
    little while with Senator Roberts in the House, and I have been
    on this Committee with him for years, and his commitment to
    ensuring this Committee, and in particular, the 2018 Farm Bill,
    remained bipartisan. I appreciated Secretary Glickman's work
    on--his work as Agriculture Secretary and his work with
    Chairman Roberts, but especially Chairman Roberts' work on that
    Farm Bill reminds us how major legislation becomes law. I
    appreciate the work that you did.
        Secretary Glickman, thanks for your testimony today. A good
    reminder of the role that USDA and other Federal agencies play
    in driving the research that is critical to so many of the
    challenges facing our country and the world. We know that
    funding is flat or declining, despite the myriad challenges
    from COVID to climate change facing agriculture.
        I appreciate the role that FFAR plays in bringing in the
    private sector, but I have two questions, Secretary Glickman.
    How should this Committee approach USDA research programs and
    funding levels, and together, absent a renewed focus and
    substantial funding increase for land grant and other research
    institutions, is our country at risk of ceding our role as the
    global leader in food and agricultural research, in your mind?
        Mr. Glickman. Yes, I think we are at risk. I think that the
    Chinese and the Brazilians have both shown an inclination to
    vastly increase the research in food and agriculture, and ours
    has been relatively flat. We fortunately have had some other
    good examples of the private sector getting involved.
        Levels of research are important, but also the quality of
    research and how it is done. That is why I mentioned two
    things. No. 1 is we have to have human capital. We have to have
    a new generation of young scientists who are willing to tackle
    these problems, who find them sexy, who find them interesting,
    and they are going to be solving the problems of the future.
    That is really a critical thing, I think, in agriculture, and a
    challenge for both the land grant and the non-land grant
    community. I think it is a pretty important part of the mix.
        The other thing I said is I mentioned this Breakthrough
    2030, which is the National Academy of Sciences' report on what
    are the challenges for agriculture over the next decade. I
    think we have talked about some of them today. I think in food
    and agriculture policy, at home and globally, we need to really
    sit down and focus our resources on what the serious threats
    are, what I call the asteroids, that could come and wipe out
    agriculture, a pest that could destroy wheat across the world
    or rice across the world. Or answers to nutrition problems.
    What do we need to reduce the amount of preventable deaths that
    occur in this world as a result of bad diets? There are just a
    whole litany of answers. We cannot do everything in the public
    sector, and that is why these public-private partnerships are
    so important, because they give us the extra room for the
    public sector to focus on those really important threats that
    are facing the world.
        Senator Brown. Thank you, Secretary. We know that one
    administration is leaving, an administration that, frankly, and
    representing a political party that has mostly rejected
    science, from COVID to climate change, and we have an
    administration coming in, as you know, that believes in
    science, and that is why I appreciate having real scientists on
    this panel today.
        This Committee can play, obviously, a key role in smart
    farming practices for climate. Talk to me about, if you would,
    how you see climate change affecting global food supplies and
    agriculture, particularly in the developing world, for decades
    to come. Less about what the solution is but just what you see
    as the effects of climate on agriculture internationally.
        Mr. Glickman. Well, look, in my judgment, Senator,
    agriculture is probably the most impacted industry to volatile
    weather and climate change. After all, droughts, floods, heat--
    those are the three things that are destructive of the ability
    to produce crops to feed the world. The responses have to be
    led by the United States, and your Committee has really done a
    great job of trying to highlight these issues. Unfortunately
    the funding base has not followed suit very well, and it is not
    just the Committee's fault. It has to do with the nature of
    Federal budgeting.
        The main thing is to strategically look at what those
    threats are, both to American farmers and to the global
    agriculture system, and focus research on those particular
    things, and I think climate and nutrition are key parts of that
    particular discussion. Also, the White House has to be very,
    very involved in this effort as well, you know, and sometimes
    agriculture just does not get the attention at the White House
    level. This is a bipartisan criticism, in my judgment. It takes
    leadership at the White House and leadership at the Department
    of Agriculture, and leadership in Congress to make this happen.
        Senator Brown. Okay. Thank you. Dr. Rosenzweig and Ms.
    France, thank you both for being here too. Thank you, Mr.
    Chairman.
        Chairman Roberts. Bob Casey, you are up.
        Senator Casey. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much, and I want
    to thank you and Ranking Member Stabenow for this hearing.
    Chairman Roberts, we are all giving you kudos today as we
    consider this as your last hearing. I want to thank you, in
    particular, for your service in the Senate on behalf of farmers
    and ranchers, and I know the people of Kansas more broadly. I
    am also grateful for your leadership on the Committee, working
    with Senator Stabenow, as many of have noted, as you noted, the
    2018 Farm Bill being one of the most recent indicators of that
    leadership. Thank you for that work. I want to thank our
    witnesses for joining us today. I will have a question for
    Secretary Glickman as well as Dr. Rosenzweig, and we will get
    to those in a moment.
        I just wanted to start with what we are facing today. We
    know that our Nation is facing the greatest public health
    crisis in a century, and then a jobs crisis and an economic
    crisis on top of that. There is suffering all around. There is
    no question that these crises are significantly affecting our
    Nation's farmers and our agricultural communities.
        We have long lines for COVID testing that are only
    exceeding by the long line for food assistance, all across the
    country, no matter where you live--big cities, small towns,
    rural areas, suburban communities. Our farmers, our farm
    workers, our meat processing workers, grocery store workers,
    food banks, and others who are helping our supply chains stay
    afloat are on the front lines every single day.
        The farmers, their families, and the businesses I hear from
    in my home State of Pennsylvania tell me that more relief is
    needed and that relief is needed now, not three or four months
    from now. Right now. This month.
        In addition to the immediate relief that Congress should
    provide, agricultural research plays a critical role in
    supporting the innovation that is essential for the resiliency
    of our food system and supply chains. We know that climate
    change is not just a challenge for our Nation, an existential
    challenge, but also we know of the role that farmers play in
    mitigating climate change.
        I want to start with Secretary Glickman on food security,
    an issue that you have worked long, twilight hours on for many,
    many years, even decades now, and I appreciate that work. I
    appreciate your comments today regarding that undeniable
    linkage between and among poverty, hunger, nutrition, and
    health. I know that communities in Pennsylvania and across the
    country, as they continue to struggle with the devastating
    reality of food insecurity, we need to be addressing this
    challenge from all angles, including research investments.
    Especially concerning for so many of us is the disproportionate
    impact we are seeing in communities of color, both in terms of
    the adverse impact of the virus, the depth and devastation of
    the virus, as well as the rising rates of food insecurity.
        My first question, Secretary Glickman, is, could you
    elaborate on your perspective on the critical relationship
    between poverty, hunger, and nutrition, and in particular, how
    should we be thinking about research investments as it relates
    to food insecurity and the growing racial disparities across
    the country?
        Mr. Glickman. Well first of all, you have been an amazing
    leader in this area, particularly in the global food security
    area, and I want to compliment Senator Casey on that.
        You know, everything is inextricably linked. Who would have
    thought that COVID, an animal virus, could have killed 260,000
    Americans, put 100,000 people into the hospital right now?
    Thank God we had good scientists in all areas who were able to
    develop a vaccine, both here at home and around the world.
        Good science is the key to certainly solving these problems
    in the short term. We have seen this rapid increase in hunger.
    Thank God we have the food stamp, the SNAP program. The levels
    of lines of people seeking relief on an emergency basis, we
    have never seen those kinds of numbers before.
        All these issues are linked to each other. One of the
    interesting things that we have found is folks who suffer from
    COVID often are people who are victims of comorbidities often
    caused by bad medical conditions, so cardiovascular, diabetes,
    those kinds of things. Health, agriculture, food security, they
    all kind of relate to each other.
        This whole COVID thing almost destroyed the meat and
    poultry industry in this country. Who would have thought
    anything like that could ever happen? Then what you see
    happening around the world, where people are suffering in
    underdeveloped countries that do not have access to the
    techniques and tools that we do.
        I would just add one more thing. Farmers have been
    fortunate. You all have been extremely generous. We have been
    able to at least reduce the amount of hurt to some degree in
    terms of farmers in this country through direct help. I do not
    know whether you are going to be able to afford to do that in
    perpetuity, in the future. There are so many alternative needs
    in agriculture as well, in terms of research, in terms of our
    nutrition programs, both domestically and globally. It is going
    to be a big challenge for you to kind of put all these things
    together and come out with a fair solution.
        You know, given what we have gone through, I do not think
    we have dodged a bullet, but we certainly have prevented total
    catastrophe that could have happened without kind of the
    holistic thinking, particularly in the private sector and
    particularly in the Congress. You guys have done a great job.
        Senator Casey. Well, we have got more to do, and Mr.
    Secretary, I want to thank you. I will send you another
    question about the global food security in writing, and Dr.
    Rosenzweig, I will make sure that you get a question in writing
    as well. I want to thank Dr. Higgs and Amy France for their
    testimony as well.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Roberts. We appreciate that. Thank you very much.
    Senator Fischer. Senator Fischer, we can see you. Let's unmute.
        Senator Fischer. Okay. Am I on now?
        Chairman Roberts. You are certainly on.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too would like
    to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your wonderful service to this
    country. It has been a pleasure to have you as Chairman of the
    Agriculture Committee during my membership on this Committee.
    You have been a mentor to me. I am part of your posse that is
    out there, and it was wonderful to be able to welcome you to
    the State of Nebraska a couple of years ago. Sometimes
    Nebraskans and Kansans fight over things, like water, but
    usually we find ways to always work together and be able to
    serve our constituents. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
        This question is for everyone, but I would like to start
    with you, Secretary Glickman, if I could. The report that you
    mention in your testimony from the National Academies of
    Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine States ``data will be at
    the center of the next revolution in food and agriculture.'' Is
    there a gap between the increasingly data-driven nature of
    agriculture and the availability of decision support tools for
    agriculture producers that is based on modeling or
    visualization, integration of that data from the farm and the
    ranch?
        You need to unmute, sir.
        Mr. Glickman. That is an excellent question. I think that
    the data to farmers from centralized sources about the use of
    fertilizer, pesticides, soil health is better than it has ever
    been. I am not sure that every farmer has been eligible for
    this, and smaller farmers sometimes feel like they have been
    excluded from this. I think you are correct. Data and data
    analysis is going to be critical for the future of production
    agriculture, in terms of inputs, in terms of science. That is
    one of the reasons I keep going back to this issue, is one of
    the challenges for you all, I think, and this Committee, is to
    make sure that we have a pool of talent, smart people, all
    around the country, in both land grants and non-land grant
    schools, that can help farmers cope with these challenges.
        Senator Fischer. How are we going to get USDA, get the
    focus there to get this information and these tools out of
    research and into usage? You know, and I am talking about
    tools. I am a cattle rancher, and I am talking about tools. I
    want to be able to not just answer questions and provide
    information that ag producers do for research, but then have it
    come back to us and make it practical. How important is that
    for USDA to take that step?
        Mr. Glickman. Well, I do think partnerships with private
    sector is one way to transfer those technologies into
    understandable ways that help the private sector, and that is
    one of the things the Foundation for Food and Agriculture is
    working on, is how to move the companies, whether they are seed
    companies, crop input companies, and also the data companies,
    the tech companies that have not necessarily traditionally been
    involved in agriculture, to make the exact link that you have
    been talking about.
        I do not have the exact answer to your question, but I
    think you have gotten to the heart of one of the real issues,
    is how do we transfer that information into a workable plan for
    farmers and ranchers to actually use.
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Senator Fischer, if I may, you know, we
    have been working with Open TEAM, the Open Technology Ecosystem
    for Agricultural Management, which is a FFAR-funded initiative.
    You know, part of the challenge is there are data silos within
    agriculture. We are collecting farm management data but that
    data cannot be used really to make decisions because we cannot
    connect those decision support tools with that data. It is not
    in the right format. It is not collected with that in mind.
        What we are doing through Open TEAM is really creating this
    interoperable ecosystem of tools and technologies and creating
    these tools with farmers. I mean, that is part of the process
    of how we get it out of research and into farmers' hands is we
    co-create them with farmers on the ground. That is the work
    that is happening right now through Open TEAM, and there are
    some really cool advancements coming out of the work.
        Senator Fischer. Do you think it would be important,
    though, to be able to have USDA more involved, to have a
    specific office to make sure this gets out? Every day an ag
    producer does not have a lot of time to do the research and
    figure out where this all is. Usually it is through a county
    extension person or, as you said, with private industry who
    gives them a heads-up on things.
        I really am interested in getting practical usage out of
    all the research that we see, and really, literally, seeing it
    on the ground--on the ground.
        Dr. Rosenzweig. No, I agree, and one of the challenges we
    have to overcome there is data privacy and permissions. Farmers
    have to have control over their data and have the ability to
    share it with their county extension or an NRCS officer. They
    have to have control over that data, but ease of sharing with
    their agronomists or their coach, or whoever it might be that
    can help them with that. That is another kind of issue that we
    are tackling through Open TEAM is how do you maintain the
    ownership while still allowing them to transfer the data and
    open it up to those they want to see it.
        Senator Fischer. I know I am way over time here. I would
    really appreciate if you folks on the panel, if you have
    thoughts on that if you could write us about that. I would
    appreciate it, because it is something that I think is
    extremely important that we get all the great new research that
    is out there, the technology, and get it in the hands of people
    who are making a difference in feeding this world. Thank you.
        Senator Boozman. Senator Smith.
        Senator Smith. Well, thank you very much. It is great to be
    with all of you. I do not know, should I be calling you Chair-
    elect or Chair today?
        Senator Boozman. Whatever.
        Senator Smith. Well, I cannot see all of you but I think
    that this must mean that Chair Roberts has stepped away to go
    vote, and so I was just going to remind him about how much I
    appreciate him and how much I have learned from serving with
    him these last three years. I will do that personally in
    another way. I am just really glad to be a part of this panel.
        I wanted to maybe just start with Secretary Glickman. I
    want to just highlight a point that you made a bit ago, and at
    the tail end of somebody else's questions, which is the really
    important link between animal health and human health, and how
    we do not make that link as strongly as we should. Particularly
    as we are living through the very dark weeks of this COVID-19
    pandemic that just seems so important.
        I talk to folks in my home State, where there is a big
    emphasis, of course, on animal health and human health. The
    animal health people tell me that the bigger issue is trying to
    get the human health people to understand that they have a real
    vested interest in cooperating and collaborating with them.
    Actually Senator Young and I have a bill to bring forth a one-
    health approach, much more broadly, in the Federal Government.
    I wonder if you just want to comment on that a little bit, not
    necessary on the bill specifically, but I would welcome that.
        Mr. Glickman. I just concur totally with what you said, and
    it has to do with our government and how our private sector,
    and even how our university world is so stovepiped. We have
    seen this with COVID. There was an animal disease that
    transferred to humans and 260,000 Americans have died. People
    just need to be talking to each other a lot more. If your bill
    does that, that is terrific.
        Senator Smith. Yes. It reinforces the need to do that
    collaboration sooner rather than later, and so thank you. I
    just think it is such an important point.
        Dr. Rosenzweig, I just want to welcome you to the panel, as
    my fellow Minnesotan. About 36 years ago I was just graduating
    from business school with my brand-new husband, Archie, and we
    moved to Minnesota so that I could take my first job out of
    graduate school at General Mills. I always feel as if I am a
    proud alum of General Mills, and I really appreciated your
    comments today. I am very encouraged and excited by the MBOLD
    coalition that General Mills and other corporate citizens in
    Minnesota are leading.
        I want to just talk about this a little bit in the time
    that I have. You know, you do not need to talk to Minnesota
    farmers or food producers about the realities of climate
    change. They see it every year in the impacts of drought and
    heat and floods, and it is having a significant impact on their
    ability--their resilience, as you said.
        I am wondering if you could just talk a little bit more
    about the MBOLD coalition, and I am especially interested,
    given that today we are talking about research, just talk a bit
    more about how that partnership with the University of
    Minnesota is working and what we might learn from that.
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Sure. Thank you, Senator. Yes, MBOLD is a
    recently formed coalition of Minnesota's globally leading
    clusters of businesses, researchers, and food and agriculture
    producers, and we are working to accelerate solutions to some
    of the most pressing challenges that food and agriculture is
    facing today, particularly climate change and the growing
    demand for food. It is led by General Mills chairman and CEO,
    Jeff Harmening, along with other leaders in the food and ag
    industry in Minnesota.
        Together we are working to address a couple of key areas--
    soil health and water stewardship, packaging sustainability,
    catalyzing innovation and entrepreneurship, and fighting food
    insecurity. Across all of these different areas we are piloting
    these solutions in Minnesota, where we are all based, really
    with an eye toward scaling nationally and even globally.
        Like you mentioned, the University of Minnesota is playing
    a critical role across a number of the different pilots that we
    have ongoing as part of MBOLD. You know, along with Cargill, we
    have launched a project in the Red River Valley of Minnesota
    and North Dakota really focused on helping farmers adopt soil
    health practices, and the University of Minnesota is going to
    be leading a lot of the work in that project, leading the soil
    health and soil carbon testing, and also a social evaluation
    that will help us understand the effectiveness of that program
    at promoting understanding about soil health and increasing
    adoption across the region.
        I will also note that the University of Minnesota's Forever
    Green initiative is leading another project with MBOLD to
    create market opportunities for alternative crops, to help
    farmers in the State diversity beyond the typical corn-soybean
    system. The Nature Conservancy is also leading a pilot of ESMC
    in the State. Those are just a couple of the different
    initiatives we have going on through MBOLD.
        Senator Smith. Thank you. I am really proud of the
    innovation that Minnesota farmers and producers are pursuing,
    and they are showing something that I believe is so true about
    adapting and dealing with climate change, which is we can
    either lead or we can follow. If we lead, we create more
    opportunity, we create innovation, and especially with that
    focus on research we can really increase our competitive
    advantage rather than feeling as if it is damaging our
    competitive advantage. I appreciate that.
        Thank you, Mr. Chair.
        Senator Boozman. Thank you. Senator Hoeven.
        Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too want to
    start out with some comments thanking our Chairman, Pat
    Roberts, for all his work on behalf of farmers and ranchers.
    Maybe if I go on long enough he will get back for some of it,
    but if not I certainly want it in the record.
        I have truly enjoyed working with Chairman Roberts, and I
    think it is fitting that as he finishes up this term in the
    Senate, in this Congress, that he really goes out on such a
    high note, because he did a remarkable job leading, along with
    our Ranking Member, as well as the Chairman and Ranking Member
    in the House, the way forward in terms of building a remarkably
    good Farm Bill.
        That just seems fitting and appropriate for somebody who
    has really dedicated his life to working on behalf of farmers
    and ranchers across our country, coming from Kansas and truly
    understanding the heartland and understanding agriculture, and
    that the work that our farmers and ranchers do benefit every
    single American, every single day, with the highest quality,
    lowest cost food supply. When we pass a Farm Bill every five
    years that is not just something that benefits farmers and
    ranchers. That is something that benefits every single
    American, every single day. That is remarkable in and of
    itself, but then when you look at this last Farm Bill that we
    were able to pass, with Chairman Roberts' leadership, I think
    we got something like 88 votes on the floor. Is that right,
    Ranking Member?
        Senator Stabenow. Eighty-seven.
        Senator Hoeven. Eighty-seven. You know, that just shows the
    bipartisan work, the quality of the work that was done in
    finishing that Farm Bill. For our future leadership on this
    Committee, and as Senator Smith said so well, I truly enjoy
    being part of this Committee. Agriculture is No. 1 with me and
    always will be. What a marker there for us all as we go forward
    and try to finish future Farm Bills.
        He certainly leaves having done incredible work on behalf
    of not just farmers and ranchers but certainly the people of
    Kansas and the people of this great nation. We thank him for
    that and we are truly appreciative.
        I would like to ask a couple of questions here with my
    remaining time. One is to Secretary Glickman. I was at Chairman
    Roberts' unveiling of his portrait, and as I recall you spoke
    by video. I probably misheard, because I thought you did not
    say you were there for the hanging of his portrait. You said
    you were there for his hanging. I am sure I just misunderstood
    that. One, I thought you might want to touch on that for a
    minute. It was probably something with the, the video. Then I
    also wanted any thoughts you have on how we can do the very
    best job possible in terms of building ag research, which is so
    vital. Secretary Glickman.
        Mr. Glickman. Yes, Okay. There we go. I will leave the
    answer mysterious, whether it was his hanging or the hanging of
    his portrait. As you know he and I are very close personally,
    and we have spent a lot of time making fun of each other. I
    want to say----
        Senator Hoeven. Who has the better humor? I mean, if you
    really had to say, who is better at humor, you or Chairman
    Roberts? Remember, you are under oath.
        Mr. Glickman. I guess I would have to say him, because I am
    smart enough to know that if I said it was me he would probably
    never talk to me again. I will leave it that way.
        I think the answer to your question is that this
    prioritization of agriculture research is really important
    because we will not get additional resources without that. You
    know, I think the Congress has really done a good job, but I am
    disturbed over the last many years to see kind of the real
    amount of spending not go up, and see it go up in other areas
    like the NIH or the Pentagon. I think part of that is that the
    general world, the general non-food and agriculture world does
    not realize the value of agriculture research on an everyday
    basis.
        It is just continuing to tell the story of how important it
    is, is just something I would say.
        Senator Hoeven. Thank you. Then with the indulgence of the
    Chairman I would ask one more question for Dr. Steven
    Rosenzweig, and that is talk just a little bit about your work
    with your partnership with NDSU, and also the progress you are
    making on oat research.
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Sure. I would be happy to. You know,
    General Mills has their own oat-breeding program, and we
    collaborate with public universities throughout the Dakotas and
    Canada really to advance new oat genetics. It is really a great
    partnership with public universities because there are no
    private breeding efforts really happening in oats, which is a
    minor crop, and so that work is really important. That public-
    private partnership is critical.
        You know, along with NDSU, I mentioned a little bit before
    about our project in the Red River Valley, working on sugar
    beets and wheat, which are critical crops from General Mills in
    the Red River Valley. We are looking forward to a partnership
    with NDSU in addressing soil health in sugar beet systems. Just
    some recent research out of NDSU suggests that you can get a
    cover crop established in those sugar beet systems and it does
    not hurt sugar beet yields, and it helps provide that cover for
    what is otherwise a pretty destructive crop to the soil, as you
    pull out a giant root to try to harvest it. That is really
    promising, and we look forward to working with North Dakota
    State on sugar beet research moving forward.
        Senator Hoeven. Thank you for that work. I appreciate it so
    much. I think it is so impactful and I am a strong proponent of
    NIFA and will continue to be. Again, thank you very much. We
    love the bison.
        Senator Stabenow. As the Chairman is coming up, Mr.
    Chairman, I am going to go and vote right now. As I leave I
    also want to take just a moment to thank your staff. We have
    such a wonderful partnership and I want to thank James and all
    of the members of your staff who have done such an incredible
    job for you. James and Joe are the team, and we know we could
    not get things done without our very capable staff. We have, I
    think, the best professionals in agriculture, nutrition, and
    conservation on the Hill, so I appreciate all their work.
        Chairman Roberts. Thank you very much. Senator Thune. Oh,
    he is on a Zoom, for goodness sakes. All right. Senator, I
    figure this is the last time I can call you Coop in public, so
    I am going to do that. Coop, you are up.
        Senator Thune. Okay. Can you hear me, Mr. Chairman?
        Chairman Roberts. Of course. I can always hear you.
        Senator Thune. Okay. Well, thank you, and I have got to
    tell you, I am going to miss that. I am going to miss you and
    your staff and all the great work that you guys have done
    through the years for agriculture. You have been a tireless
    advocate, and I can tell you the farmers and ranchers in South
    Dakota are forever grateful, and across the country, for
    everything you have to create that stronger safety net. As you
    often say, greater certainty and predictability for
    agriculture. We are grateful for all you have done and for your
    service and you will create a big void in American agriculture.
    We know you will be out there speaking up wherever you go.
        Thanks for holding this hearing, to you and the Ranking
    Member, Senator Stabenow. Dr. Rosenzweig, now that you have
    addressed North Dakota State let's deal with the really
    important business and I am going to ask you about South Dakota
    State, jackrabbit country. My understanding is that you partner
    with South Dakota State as well, and I am wondering if you can
    describe the value for private enterprises like General Mills
    of partnering with land grant universities like SDSU to advance
    research that helps to secure the U.S. food supply, and maybe
    more specifically, talk about what General Mills has been able
    to accomplish through its partnership with SDSU.
        Dr. Rosenzweig. Sure. Thank you, Senator. Yes, we gain
    significant value from our public-private partnerships,
    particularly at land grants that have top-notch research
    personnel and facilities. You know, we can just do so much more
    when we work together. As an example, South Dakota is the
    second-biggest oat producer in the country, and General Mills
    is one of the largest oat buyers in the North America.
        In 2016, we partnered with SDSU to establish a state-of-
    the-art oat variety development lab on campus, where our oat-
    breeding team works in tandem with the top researchers and
    students at the university to improve the supply of quality
    oats in the U.S. and through that partnership we have been able
    to expand our oat research program, and that includes
    collaborating and funding SDSU oat expertise, plus all of the
    advancements in oat varieties and genenetics are in the public
    domains, that we can grow the knowledge base of oats that has a
    reach beyond South Dakota to most of the Upper Midwest States
    and Canada.
        You know, along with SDSU, we have been able to fight this
    fact that climate change and a lack of investment historically
    in oat research has been pushing oat production farther and
    farther north, into Canada and out of the U.S., which limits
    market options for farmers across the Midwest. Partnership with
    SDSU has enabled advancements in oat-breeding technology,
    genomics selection, and oat nutrition measurement that allow
    for new and additional oat markets for the growers of South
    Dakota. We just recently granted $350,000 to South Dakota State
    to better support oat production in organific and regenerative
    systems, to improve oat performance as more and more farmers
    adopt these systems.
        Senator Thune. Thank you. Secretary Glickman, as you know,
    agriculture and the food supply face significant strain due to
    the pandemic, and I think we all saw first-hand in South Dakota
    when the Smithfield pork plant in Sioux Falls temporarily
    closed due to the COVID outbreak. You mentioned the importance
    of cross-agency collaboration to address food and agricultural
    issues, and I agree that this is something that is very much
    needed.
        Based on your previous role as Secretary of Agriculture,
    what suggestions do you have for facilitating that kind of
    collaboration?
        Mr. Glickman. First of all, let me say that oats are a
    great cholesterol-reducing food. As somebody who has to watch
    my cholesterol, I am a big oats fan.
        You know, look, we saw what COVID did to the entire food
    supply chain, from farmers and ranchers to processors to
    restaurants to the way people eat. I think that one of the
    things that we learned is that the issue of farm workers and
    workers in these plants in many cases--not in all cases, but in
    many cases--just were not given the attention on the public
    safety side of the picture. I think that many of the companies
    have learned from this and are doing a better job now with it.
        While I was at USDA I would have to say that we focused a
    lot on food safety issues, but we did not focus very, very
    significantly on farm safety issues in plants. Theoretically,
    that is part of the Department of Labor's jurisdiction and
    OSHA, and there were always some conflicts between USDA and
    OSHA and Labor, in terms of the regulatory issues. Everything
    has to be done with good judgment. The number of people who
    work in these plants who got COVID and died was
    disproportionately greater, and similar to what you found in
    nursing homes, to some extent.
        We have got to do a better job analyzing public health
    issues as it relates to workers in these processing plants, and
    I think most companies really want to do that, because it
    affects their productivity. I hope that we continue to work
    with them and find ways to both be efficient in the production
    of food and resilient in the production of food, but deal with
    this issue of health of the workers.
        Senator Thune. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I do not have a
    clock, but I am sure my time has expired. I have got some other
    questions for other panelists, but I want to thank you again
    and we will miss you. I will miss you calling on Coop when it's
    my time to ask questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Roberts. Thank you. For the education of those who
    do not understand why I call the Senator Coop, I thought he
    looked like Gary Cooper in High Noon, and I realized, and he
    realized at one time, after about the third time around, that
    nobody in the entire hearing room knew who Gary Cooper or what
    High Noon was all about. Anyway, that is that.
        Before I conclude the hearing, I would like to ask the
    Secretary, and I would like to ask Dr. Higgs, if either one of
    our other witnesses wish to respond. We have talked a lot about
    the current COVID-19 situation. We had swine flu. We had avian
    flu prior to that. There will be something else that we will
    have to contend with.
        My question is, we have not, for the last, what, 10 or 15
    years, really paid as much attention to something that happened
    some time back under the Nunn-Lugar Program, we were allowed in
    the secret cities in Russia. Of course, when Putin came in that
    stopped. I was able to go to a lab called Obolensk, about 60
    miles away from Moscow, and discovered warehouses full of
    pathogens with the intent of attacking a country's food supply.
        Now that is a whole different ball game. I know that we
    have NBAF out of K-State. I know we want to make it a national
    security program. I know we used to have exercises about that,
    and Dan, I probably bored you to death with those stories,
    especially with your post as Secretary of Agriculture.
        I do not know of any exercises that we have conducted since
    that time, but I do know that those warehouses existed. I do
    not know what has happened under Putin, but I can imagine that
    situation could still exist, if not ongoing. Again, we do not
    have access to that. Think of Iran. Think of China. There is a
    lot of talk about China, you know, anyway.
        Would you have any comments to make on that, Dan?
        Mr. Glickman. I would just say the U.S.--if you can hear me
    Okay----
        Chairman Roberts. Yes.
        Mr. Glickman [continuing]. the U.S. cannot disengage from
    the world, and global collaboration in terms of not only the
    pandemics but these potential acts of terrorism require us to
    keep good relations with potential threats. They exist whether
    it is in the Middle East or whether it is in Russia or China or
    Iran or wherever. You know, you need a pandemic strategy at the
    White House level, not just at the department level, where
    people are kind of anticipating.
        Prevention is always tough. Dealing with a problem once it
    is on top of you, we are smart enough to find solutions. I
    think your point is really a good one. How do we deal with
    prevention of these kinds of threats. It has just got to be a
    high national security priority.
        Chairman Roberts. Dr. Higgs, part of the reason why you are
    there at the BRI but also at NBAF, which will be concluded in
    the next several months, we hope, and it should be a national
    security issue. That is how this was born, from the revelations
    that we had certain countries, primarily Russia at that
    particular time--well, it was the former Soviet Union--with
    intent to really take down a country's food supply.
        As I said, that led to quite a few exercises. They have
    tailed off. It is not as if the dog is not barking. We all
    wonder about these zoonotic diseases that happen from time to
    time. If it is intentional, we have got a whole different
    problem to work with. Would you have any comment?
        Dr. Higgs. One of the issues with these biological agents,
    Senator, is that they are relatively cheap compared to other
    conventional weapons. So, we know, for example, that al Qaeda
    was considering various pathogens--hog cholera, foot and mouth
    disease, rice blast, and so forth--that they might consider to
    use against us.
        Those threats have not gone away. They probably never will.
    Russia had an incredible biopreparat, secret bioweapons program
    with, huge numbers of people, perhaps 60,000, working on agents
    that could potentially be used against us. Your revelation and
    your experience of going to Obolensk was critical in us
    building the BRI and having our awareness raised.
        At the moment, as we are speaking today, the United
    Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany are slaughtering thousands of
    chickens because of H5N8 influenza. Russia has already killed a
    lot of birds because of that and detected it in wildlife.
        That is something already on our horizon. It is a natural
    threat. The last time we had a serious outbreak of avian
    influenza here in the United States, in the space of less than
    a year, between 2014 and 2015 we lost 50 million birds, and it
    cost $3.3 billion to the United States.
        We just cannot afford to ignore what we know is out there,
    and it is very difficult to prepare for what we do not know,
    but that is what we have to do. It is as simple as that. We
    still conduct exercises, for example staff of the National
    Agricultural Biosecurity Center in Pat Roberts Hall regularly
    with the Kansas Department of Agriculture on FMD preparedness.
        Mr. Glickman. Pat, may I make one more comment, if I might?
        Chairman Roberts. Certainly.
        Mr. Glickman. Okay. This is both a national security issue
    and it is also a regulatory and staffing issue. You know, we
    have made some changes in recent years in terms of APHIS,
    Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, in whose agency it is,
    where it reports to. It has been bifurcated. I think that we
    not only have to deal with the intelligence side of this
    picture, to make sure we have all the data coming in from our
    talented people who are looking at these issues from an
    analytic and operational point of view, but we also have to
    have enough inspectors in the United States, with authority, to
    examine at our borders the food products that are coming into
    this country.
        Chairman Roberts. As I indicated before we did have several
    exercises that dealt with this issue. The consequences were
    unimaginable. I know because I served as president--there was
    not anybody else in town so somebody had to do it. I think Ann
    Veneman was the Secretary, come to think of it, and she
    appeared. It was hoof-and-mouth disease. By the time Texas went
    to close its borders it was into Oklahoma and all the way up to
    North Dakota, and that was largely hoof-and-mouth disease. You
    could name any other possible attacks. As I indicated, the
    former Soviet Union had pathogens in warehouses.
        I will leave it at that. I really want to thank the
    witnesses very much for your contribution. It was a good
    hearing. I will simply say that concludes our hearing today.
    Thank you to each of our witnesses for taking time to share
    your perspectives on agricultural research and securing the
    United States' food supply.
        To my colleagues, I appreciate all of your efforts. Thank
    you for your comments. I wish you the best in the new Congress.
    We ask that any additional questions you may have for the
    record be submitted to the Committee Clerk by five business
    days from today, or by 5 p.m. next Wednesday, December 9th.
        The Committee is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 4:30 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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                                DECEMBER 2, 2020

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