[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
A REVIEW OF TITLE VII: USDA IMPLEMENTATION OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSERVATION, RESEARCH, AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MARCH 23, 2023
__________
Serial No. 118-4
Printed for the use of the Committee on Agriculture
agriculture.house.gov
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
52-371 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania, Chairman
FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma DAVID SCOTT, Georgia, Ranking
AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia, Vice Minority Member
Chairman JIM COSTA, California
ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD, Arkansas JAMES P. McGOVERN, Massachusetts
SCOTT DesJARLAIS, Tennessee ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina
DOUG LaMALFA, California ABIGAIL DAVIS SPANBERGER, Virginia
DAVID ROUZER, North Carolina JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
TRENT KELLY, Mississippi SHONTEL M. BROWN, Ohio
DON BACON, Nebraska SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
MIKE BOST, Illinois ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan
DUSTY JOHNSON, South Dakota YADIRA CARAVEO, Colorado
JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana ANDREA SALINAS, Oregon
TRACEY MANN, Kansas MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ,
RANDY FEENSTRA, Iowa Washington
MARY E. MILLER, Illinois DONALD G. DAVIS, North Carolina,
BARRY MOORE, Alabama Vice Ranking Minority Member
KAT CAMMACK, Florida JILL N. TOKUDA, Hawaii
BRAD FINSTAD, Minnesota NIKKI BUDZINSKI, Illinois
JOHN W. ROSE, Tennessee ERIC SORENSEN, Illinois
RONNY JACKSON, Texas GABE VASQUEZ, New Mexico
MARCUS J. MOLINARO, New York JASMINE CROCKETT, Texas
MONICA De La CRUZ, Texas JONATHAN L. JACKSON, Illinois
NICHOLAS A. LANGWORTHY, New York GREG CASAR, Texas
JOHN S. DUARTE, California CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine
ZACHARY NUNN, Iowa SALUD O. CARBAJAL, California
MARK ALFORD, Missouri ANGIE CRAIG, Minnesota
DERRICK VAN ORDEN, Wisconsin DARREN SOTO, Florida
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, Oregon SANFORD D. BISHOP, Jr., Georgia
MAX L. MILLER, Ohio
______
Parish Braden, Staff Director
Anne Simmons, Minority Staff Director
______
Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology
JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana, Chairman
FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma ABIGAIL DAVIS SPANBERGER,
MIKE BOST, Illinois Virginia, Ranking Minority Member
MARY E. MILLER, Illinois SHARICE DAVIDS, Kansas
KAT CAMMACK, Florida ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan
BRAD FINSTAD, Minnesota NIKKI BUDZINSKI, Illinois
JOHN S. DUARTE, California ERIC SORENSEN, Illinois
MARK ALFORD, Missouri JILL N. TOKUDA, Hawaii
GABE VASQUEZ, New Mexico
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Baird, Hon. James R., a Representative in Congress from Indiana,
opening statement.............................................. 1
Prepared statement........................................... 3
Miller, Hon. Max L., a Representative in Congress from Ohio,
prepared statement............................................. 6
Spanberger, Hon. Abigail Davis, a Representative in Congress from
Virginia, opening statement.................................... 3
Thompson, Hon. Glenn, a Representative in Congress from
Pennsylvania, opening statement................................ 5
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Witness
Jacobs-Young, Ph.D., Hon. Chavonda, Under Secretary for Research,
Education, and Economics and Chief Scientist, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Washington, D.C................................ 7
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Supplementary material....................................... 33
Submitted questions.......................................... 33
A REVIEW OF TITLE VII: USDA IMPLEMENTATION OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:01 a.m., in
Room 1300 of the Longworth House Office Building, Hon. James R.
Baird [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Members present: Baird, Miller of Illinois, Finstad,
Duarte, Alford, Thompson (ex officio), Miller of Ohio,
Spanberger, Davids of Kansas, Slotkin, Budzinski, Sorensen, and
Vasquez.
Staff present: Caleb Crosswhite, Ricki Schroeder, Erin
Wilson, John Konya, Paul Babbitt, Emily Pliscott, and Dana
Sandman.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES R. BAIRD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM INDIANA
The Chairman. Good morning. If everyone would find a place
to sit and take your seats, we are going to get started. So
with that, I will say this, the Committee will come to order.
Welcome, and thank you for joining today's hearing, and it
is entitled, A Review of Title VII: USDA Implementation of
Research Programs. After brief opening remarks, Members will
receive testimony from our witness today, and then the hearing
will be open to questions.
In consultation with the Ranking Member and pursuant to
Rule XI(e), I want to make the Members of the Subcommittee
aware that other Members of the full Committee may join us
today.
I would like to take this moment to make an opening
statement if you will.
Good morning, and welcome to the first hearing of the
Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology for
the 118th Congress. I also want to welcome Ranking Member
Spanberger, and she will be here in a moment, I think. She is
at another meeting. And I look forward to working with her as
we reauthorize the farm bill.
As a United States Representative for Indiana's 4th
Congressional District, I know how important agriculture is to
our nation's identity and for our economy. As some of you might
know, Indiana is home to a varied and immensely productive
agricultural industry, and it is the eighth-largest
agricultural exporter in the nation, with over 80 percent of
our land being used for agricultural production. Indiana is
also home to many great colleges and universities, and one in
particular being Purdue University, where agricultural research
is a high-ranking priority. I also know we have some folks from
the University of Illinois here today, so welcome.
So, despite historically strong bipartisan support for the
topic, today's hearing is the first time since 2019 that the
Committee has spent some time on research and the
implementation of Title VII of the 2018 Farm Bill. Since 2019,
we have witnessed the resiliency of the American producer. They
have seen record inflation, a global pandemic, geopolitical
turmoil, and how burdensome over-regulation has tested our
farmers and ranchers in ways that are unimaginable. Yet, our
producers responded to ensure our nation and many other nations
around the world had access to the safest, most affordable
food, fiber, and energy supply.
And much of that resiliency is based on the work of the
Department. Today, we will hear directly from the USDA on
implementation of key research programs, research program
efficacy, and opportunities within research to increase
productivity for future generations of farmers and ranchers.
While some programs like Agriculture and Food Research
Initiative and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative have
proven to be effective, other programs like the Agriculture
Advanced Research and Development Authority pilot program have
not been implemented. This specific program, known as AGARDA,
was created in the 2018 Farm Bill to conduct advanced research
on long-term and high-risk challenges for agriculture.
However, USDA just published the Congressionally mandated
strategic plan just 2 days ago. That is over 3 years after the
original deadline.
When the Committee marked up the bipartisan budget views
and estimates letter a few weeks ago, Chairman Thompson asked
us to look at the return on investment in each title of the
farm bill. According to the USDA Economic Research Service,
public spending on agricultural research has yielded the
economy $20 for every $1 that we spend.
Despite the benefits of investing in agriculture research,
public spending has steadily declined since its peak in 2002.
When accounting for inflation, the United States now spends
roughly the same amount on agricultural research that was spent
in the 1970s. While this is in and of itself concerning, it is
further compounded by the fact that our competitors including
China, India and Brazil have rapidly increased spending. In
fact, China is now the world's top investor in agricultural
research. As we seek to remain competitive with China, we
cannot forget about the importance of agricultural research in
ensuring the United States has the safest, most abundant, most
affordable food and fiber supply in the world.
I would like to thank the USDA Under Secretary Chavonda
Jacobs-Young for taking time to be here with us today. Dr.
Jacobs-Young has an incredible background, and I am looking
forward to her testimony.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Baird follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. James R. Baird, a Representative in Congress
from Indiana
Good morning and welcome to the first hearing of the Subcommittee
on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology in the 118th Congress. I
also want to welcome Ranking Member Spanberger, and I look forward to
working with her as we reauthorize the farm bill.
As the United States Representative for Indiana's 4th Congressional
District, I know how important agriculture is to our nation's identity
and for our economy.
As some of you might know, Indiana is home to a varied and
immensely productive agricultural industry and is the eighth largest
agricultural exporter in the nation, with over 80% of its land being
used for ``agricultural production.''
Indiana is also home to many great colleges and universities, one
in particular being Purdue University where agricultural research is a
high-ranking priority.
Despite historically strong bipartisan support for the topic,
today's hearing is the first time since 2019 that the Committee has
spent some time on research, and the implementation of Title VII of the
2018 Farm Bill.
Since 2019, we have witnessed the resiliency of the American
producer; record inflation, a global pandemic, geopolitical turmoil,
and how burdensome over-regulation has tested our farmers and ranchers
in ways unimaginable. Yet, our producers responded to ensure our
nation, and many others around the world, retained access to the safest
and most affordable, food, fiber, and energy supply.
And much of that resiliency is based on the work of the Department.
Today, we will hear directly from USDA on implementation of key
research programs, research program efficacy, and opportunities within
research to increase productivity for future generations of farmers and
ranchers.
While some programs--like the Agriculture and Food Research
Initiative and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative--have proven to
be effective, other programs--like the Agriculture Advanced Research
and Development Authority Pilot--have not even been implemented. This
specific program, known as AGARDA, was created in the 2018 Farm Bill to
conduct advanced research on long-term and high-risk challenges for
agriculture; however, USDA just published the Congressionally mandated
strategic plan 2 days ago--over 3 years after the original deadline.
When the Committee marked up the bipartisan Budget Views and
Estimates letter a few weeks ago, Chairman Thompson asked us to look at
the return on investment in each title of the farm bill. According to
the USDA Economic Research Service, public spending on agricultural
research has yielded our economy $20 for every $1 spent.
Despite the benefits of investing in agriculture research, public
spending has steadily declined since its peak in 2002. When accounting
for inflation, the United States now spends roughly the same amount on
agricultural research that was spent in the 1970s. While this in and of
itself is concerning, it is further compounded by the fact that our
competitors--China, India, and Brazil--have rapidly increased spending.
In fact, China is now the world's top investor in agricultural
research. As we seek to remain competitive with China, we cannot forget
about the importance of agricultural research in ensuring the United
States has the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food and
fiber supply in the world.
I would like to thank USDA Under Secretary Chavonda Jacobs-Young
for taking time to be here with us today. Dr. Jacobs-Young has an
incredible background, and I am looking forward to her testimony.
With that, I would like to recognize Ranking Member Spanberger for
any opening statement she would like to make.
The Chairman. With that, I now would like to welcome the
distinguished Ranking Member and gentlewoman from Virginia, Ms.
Spanberger, for any opening remarks she would like to give.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ABIGAIL DAVIS SPANBERGER, A
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM VIRGINIA
Ms. Spanberger. Thank you, Chairman Baird. I am so excited
to be here with you for our first hearing as a Subcommittee of
the 118th Congress. I appreciated your opening remarks,
particularly the focus on the research investments that we are
not making and their impact on American producers and
agriculture across the country.
I look forward to working with you on issues that are
important to growers and producers across the United States,
especially as they relate to strengthening voluntary
conservation programs at USDA, investing in our conservation
and research workforce, and of course, ensuring that the United
States remains at the forefront of agricultural research and
technologies. Knowing that as we work towards passing the 2023
Farm Bill, I am committed to working with you as a partner on
issues within our Subcommittee's jurisdiction. I am so proud of
what this Subcommittee accomplished last year, including
finally getting our Growing Climate Solutions Act (Pub. L. 117-
328) signed into law. And, Chairman Baird, I am thankful for
your support of that legislation last Congress. And today, I am
excited to work more closely with you this Congress when it
comes to bringing farmers to the table on all these issues.
Today, we are here to review how agricultural research
programs support our country's producers and our country's
economy overall. Over the past 30 years, we have seen the
benefits of agricultural research. A report from the Economic
Research Service showed that every $1 of public research and
development funding had a $20 return on investment in the
American economy between 1990 and 2011. Despite this nearly
unheard of return on investment, public agricultural research
funding peaked way back in 2002.
Over the past 20 years, the funding has declined by a
staggering 33 percent, and, as a result, we have less capacity
for research even as the need for innovation is more urgent
than ever before, both in Virginia and across the country.
Global temperatures rise, increasingly severe natural disasters
and the impacts of climate change on America's crop and
livestock producers should make it clear. We need to invest in
research, and we need to support American researchers who are
spurring innovation.
This critical work is happening at land-grant universities
and USDA research facilities across America. My home State of
Virginia has two tremendous land-grant universities, Virginia
Tech and Virginia State University. These universities
collaborate with USDA to complete cutting-edge research. And,
for example, brilliant staff and students at VSU's Agricultural
Research Center have focused on new ways soil science can
contribute to the fight against climate change.
And recently, I had the chance to visit with professors and
students at Virginia Tech, and their researchers are focused on
agricultural innovation and ways to address climate change
through energy and greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable
transportation, climate justice, and forestry work. This is
incredible and necessary research of the future.
I am pleased to work with Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, and
I am pleased to see the work that she has undertaken. Despite
the need for more funding than Congress has provided for these
research initiatives, they have been extraordinary. Throughout
this hearing, I am eager to hear from her about how Title VII
has been implemented since 2018 and areas where Congress can
improve upon the title. I am particularly interested in your
thoughts on ways that research can further conservation
efforts, ways that we can shape a better future amid
devastating impacts of climate change on America's rural
communities, and how we can best prepare ourselves for the
challenges that our producers face, be they weather events or
issues like the avian flu.
With that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you again for
holding this hearing.
The Chairman. Thank you for those comments.
With that, I would like to recognize Chairman Thompson,
Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, for any opening comments
he would like to make.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. GLENN THOMPSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Thompson. Well, thank you very much. Good morning, and
thank you to Chairman Baird and Ranking Member Spanberger for
hosting this hearing to discuss the research title of the farm
bill.
Over the last couple years, I have traveled to nearly 40
states to hear directly from farmers, ranchers, and foresters,
and through these travels, I have come to realize that American
agriculture can be defined in three words: science, technology,
and innovation. Through advances in science, technology, and
innovation, American producers have increased outputs nearly
threefold since the 1940s with little to no change in inputs.
And we know these advances would not have been made, or
possible, without the great research, extension, and education
being done by our land-grant universities. Many of the programs
that these land-grant universities and even our non-land-grant
colleges of agriculture rely on to conduct cutting-edge
research are authorized in the research title.
As we look to write the 2023 Farm Bill, it is important to
hear from USDA about the implementation of new and existing
research programs to learn what is working, what isn't, and
what needs to be fixed.
Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, thank you for taking the time
to be here today, and I am excited to welcome you back to the
Committee to talk about the importance of agricultural
research, and I look forward to a productive discussion.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Thompson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Glenn Thompson, a Representative in Congress
from Pennsylvania
Good morning and thank you to Chairman Baird and Ranking Member
Spanberger for hosting this hearing to discuss the research title of
the farm bill.
Over the last couple years, I have traveled to nearly 40 states to
hear directly from farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Through these
travels, I've come to realize that American agriculture can be defined
in three words: science, technology, and innovation.
Through advances in science, technology, and innovation, American
producers have increased outputs nearly three-fold since the 1940s,
with little to no change in inputs. And we know these advances would
not have been possible without the great research, extension, and
education being done by our land-grant universities.
Many of the programs that these land-grant universities--and even
our non-land-grant colleges of agriculture--rely on to conduct cutting
edge research are authorized in the research title.
As we look to write the 2023 Farm Bill, it is important to hear
from USDA about implementation of new and existing research programs to
learn what's working, what isn't, and what needs to be fixed.
Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, thank you for taking the time to be
here today. I am excited to welcome you back to the Committee to talk
about the importance of agricultural research and I look forward to a
productive discussion.
With that, I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I might just say that the chair would request that
other Members submit their opening statements for the record so
the witness may begin her testimony and ensure that there is
ample time for questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Miller of Ohio follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Max L. Miller, a Representative in Congress
from Ohio
Chairman Baird and Ranking Member Spanberger, thank you for holding
this hearing to review vital research initiatives undertaken to
strengthen and sustain American agriculture, critical to farm
production in my Congressional district, and throughout the country.
These research efforts are the key to providing the tools for
farmers and livestock producers to remain competitive in the global
marketplace, create efficiencies in farm production and to meet growing
food security demands, while bolstering the agriculture economies and
sustaining vital natural resources.
Last week, I had the opportunity to view first-hand agricultural
research initiatives undertaken by Ohio State University, College of
Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Wooster Campus in my
Congressional district. I appreciate the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) collaboration with this important land-grant
institution and other research facilities to enable state-of-the-art
research endeavors.
Such crucial partnerships include USDA's Agriculture Research
Service (ARS) Application Technology Research Unit at Ohio State, which
utilizes a multi-disciplinary ``digital'' approach in developing
methods to enhance crop protection while safeguarding environmental
quality and food safety. One important innovative ARS/Ohio State
project I was able to witness involves a new intelligent spray
technology designed to precisely apply agrochemicals to protect crops,
significantly saving production costs for growers, and offering a
sustainable and environmentally responsible approach for crop
protection.
Additional research undertaken in Plant Pathology Research
addresses disease resistance through molecular genomics, integrated
disease management as well as epidemiology and risk prediction serve to
safeguard crops in my state and across the nation.
Ohio State-Wooster Campus is also privileged to house one of the
nation's three Biosafety Level Three (BSL) Agricultural Laboratories
through the Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research (PAAR) Facility,
conducting research regarding animal disease classified at a heightened
biosafety level, and working with plant diseases that could cause undue
economic hardship to agriculture if released into the environment.
Agricultural research programs also provide key information
directly to agricultural producers. These include scouting techniques
to identify diseases on crops, such as safeguarding soybean crops from
diseases such as Leaf Spot through interdiction and detection methods,
and integrated management practices, as well as sustaining grape
production from pests such as the Spotted Lanternfly, are a couple of
key programs making a difference for Ohio and U.S. farmers.
I would also like to reference the critical efforts of our 1890
Land-Grant Institutions, including Central State University reaching
into my district and throughout Ohio. Their vital agricultural research
and development programs efforts include developing and infusing
emerging technologies, development of robotic technologies, sustaining
plant and animal systems, enhancing nutrition, and safeguarding natural
resources.
Extension efforts are also [imperative] to empower local
agricultural and natural resources communities, providing outreach and
education on research to strengthen the economic viability of
agriculture production.
However, capacity resources including adequate laboratory,
technology and infrastructure issues remain challenging. Funding
through Smith Lever and Hatch Act is more important than ever before
for American agriculture to meet growing food security challenges, and
to remain competitive with our global competitors we must ensure that
our producers have the tools necessary through these critical research
endeavors.
I look forward to working with my colleagues [as] well as with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and remain committed to innovative,
science and technology-based research to enable vibrant sustainable
food and agricultural systems, strong rural communities, stewardship of
natural resources, and keeping Ohio and our nation's agricultural
producers positioned in the global economy.
The Chairman. Our witness for today's hearing is Dr.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young, the Under Secretary for Research,
Education, and Economics at the Department of Agriculture. And,
I would like to indicate some of her accomplishments. I mean,
the Department is responsible for ARS, ERS, NASS, and NIFA, and
the Office of the Chief Scientist, of which she is the Chief
Scientist. And so her accomplishments are varied, and she has
had experience in all of these various departments, and so we
really are proud and pleased to have her here and recognize all
the accomplishments that she has had in her career.
So, Dr. Jacobs-Young, thank you for joining us today, and
we will now proceed to your testimony. You will have 5 minutes.
The timer in front of you will count down to 0, at which point
your time has expired. But as the Chairman, I have some
leniency in that regard. But anyway, you may begin when you are
ready, and we are very pleased to have you here today.
STATEMENT OF HON. CHAVONDA JACOBS-YOUNG, Ph.D., UNDER SECRETARY
FOR RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND
ECONOMICS AND CHIEF SCIENTIST, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you so much. Chairman Baird,
Ranking Member Spanberger, and Members of this Subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to come before you today to
discuss the state of USDA's Research, Education, and Economics,
or REE, mission area, which includes the Agricultural Research
Service, the Economic Research Service, the National
Agricultural Statistics Service, the National Institute of Food
and Agriculture, and the Office of the Chief Scientist.
The success of the REE mission area is rooted in
partnerships, partnerships with technical assistance providers
that give producers the tools they need to adapt as they feed
the world, with institutions to advance agricultural innovation
and cultivate the next generation of agricultural leaders, and
with Congress to ensure that decisionmakers have the tools they
need to support farmers and ranchers across the country.
Publicly funded agriculture research and development often
have a less-told story, but we live and reap the benefits of
these investments every single day. The impacts of USDA-funded
research, in particular, shape the way we eat, clothe
ourselves, and adapt to a changing climate. In Indiana, for
example, NASS collects corn and soybean data while ARS is
spending upwards of $40 million this year to fund research on
sustainable biomass production, feedstock conversion
technologies, and new ways of turning agricultural waste into
clean energy.
NIFA, through its Bioproduct Pilot Program, is helping to
accelerate the development of a more circular economy where
agricultural resources are harvested, consumed, and regenerated
sustainably. In states like Virginia, where the Delmarva region
produces most of the poultry consumed by Americans on the East
Coast, ARS is spending upwards of $7 million this year to
combat the threat of avian influenza. ARS is currently
researching veterinary medical countermeasures, such as
diagnostics and vaccines for the early detection, prevention,
and eradication of disease outbreaks. This research helps
producers make well-informed decisions for their operations.
American farmers, ranchers, and producers are incredibly
resilient. Production agriculture requires constant innovation
and adaptation as farmers and ranchers pursue climate-smart
solutions to extreme weather, rural businesses require new
markets to increase profitability, and underserved communities
seek trusted partners to tackle systemic issues. Access to new
information and technology undergirds each of these objectives,
and when appropriately resourced, REE has a proven track record
in providing timely research, data, training, extension
service, and economic analysis to support farmers, ranchers,
and producers across the supply chain.
The U.S. has a long history of making investments in
research that pay off for farmers and our economy. Between 1948
and 2019, total agricultural output in the United States grew
by 175 percent. This rise cannot be attributed to increases in
agriculture land or labor, both inputs declined over that
period, but stem instead from the adoption of a whole suite of
publicly funded innovations in crop and livestock breeding,
nutrient use, and pest, farm, and field management. These new
practices have yielded significant dividends.
ERS found that public agricultural research and development
investments from 1900 to 2011 generated on average $20 in
benefits to the U.S. economy for every $1 of spending. Yet,
Federal investments in agricultural research have declined by
\1/3\ in the past 2 decades, falling far behind our
international partners. Once the world's leader, the United
States now trails far behind other major nations in public
agricultural research investments. This decline in investments
means we are missing critical opportunities to capitalize on
the powerful potential of our world-class scientists to conduct
the type of high-risk, high-reward research necessary to meet
the overlapping and rapidly emerging challenges our farmers
face. We are missing a chance to help our farmers, especially
small- and mid-sized producers, be profitable; to help rural
communities remain vital; and to ensure that our global food
supply chains are resilient to future shocks.
That is why I am pleased that President Biden and Secretary
Vilsack are strongly committed to supporting Federal
agriculture research, development, and deployment, which would
define innovation for decades to come. With Congress's support,
we are making unprecedented investments to train the next
generation of agricultural professionals and accelerate our
research to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry to
advance nutrition security and precision nutrition, build a
stronger economy, and ensure equitable access to our research
programs and data. This work is especially critical at a time
when, despite record farm incomes, over the past 2 years, ERS
reports that \1/2\ of farm households had negative farm income,
and most U.S. farm families rely mainly on off-farm income to
stay afloat.
Boldly reinvesting in our nation's public agriculture R&D
portfolio will again enable us to create a new revenue stream
for producers regardless of size and geography, drive
innovation and technology transfer to spur a new generation of
agricultural businesses, and ensure that we have a capable,
diverse workforce prepared to overcome emerging threats to our
farm and food system. The power of information and research is
undeniable, and REE is well-positioned to support farmers,
ranchers, scientists, and academics alike in tackling some of
the most pressing issues facing this country.
And I will yield my comments at that point. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Jacobs-Young follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D., Under
Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and Chief Scientist,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Chairman Baird, Ranking Member Spanberger, and Members of this
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to come before you today to
discuss the state of the United States Department of Agriculture's
Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area, which includes
Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Economic Research Service (ERS),
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), National Institute of
Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS).
The success of the REE mission area is rooted in partnerships--
partnerships with technical assistance providers, including the
Cooperative Extension System, that give producers the tools they need
to adapt as they feed the world, with institutions to advance
agricultural innovation and cultivate the next generation of
agricultural leaders, and with Congress to ensure that decision-makers
have the tools they need to support farmers and ranchers across the
country.
Publicly funded agricultural research and development often have a
less-told story, but we live and reap the benefits of these investments
every single day. The impacts of USDA-funded research in particular
shape the way we eat, clothe ourselves, and adapt to a changing
climate. In Indiana, for example, NASS collects corn and soybean data,
while ARS is spending upwards of $40 million this year to fund research
on sustainable biomass production, feedstock conversion technologies,
and new ways of turning agricultural wastes into clean energy. NIFA,
through its new Bioproduct Pilot Program, is helping to accelerate the
development of a more circular economy where agricultural resources are
harvested, consumed, and regenerated sustainably.
In states like Virginia, where the Delmarva region produces most of
the poultry consumed by Americans on the East Coast, ARS is spending
upwards of $7 million this year to combat the threat of Avian
Influenza. ARS is currently researching veterinary medical
countermeasures such as diagnostics and vaccines for the early
detection, prevention, and eradication of disease outbreaks. This
research helps producers make well-informed decisions for their
operations.
Production agriculture requires constant innovation and adaptation
as farmers and ranchers pursue climate-smart solutions to extreme
weather, rural businesses seek new markets, and underserved communities
seek trusted partners to tackle systemic concerns. Access to
information and new technologies underpins each of these objectives,
and when appropriately resourced, REE is well-positioned to be a
partner in providing timely research, data, training, Extension
services, and economic analysis to support informed decision-making.
American farmers, ranchers, and producers are incredibly resilient.
Production agriculture requires constant innovation and adaptation as
farmers and ranchers pursue climate-smart solutions to extreme weather,
rural businesses require new markets to increase profitability, and
underserved communities seek trusted partners to tackle systemic
issues. Access to new information and technologies undergirds each of
these objectives, and when appropriately resourced, REE has a proven
track record in providing timely research, data, training, Extension
services, and economic analysis to support farmers, ranchers, and
producers across the supply chain.
For example, ARS and the U.S. Forest Service through USDA's ten
domestic Climate Hubs deliver science-based, region-specific
information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource
managers. These Hubs link USDA research and program agencies to deliver
the timely and tailored support agricultural producers and
professionals need to make climate-informed decisions on the ground.
This model of providing science-based climate tools and strategies
through coordinated technical assistance has proven especially
effective at reaching underserved and vulnerable communities and
Tribes.
The U.S. has a long track record of making investments in research
that pays off for farmers and our economy. Between 1948 and 2019, total
agricultural output in the United States grew by 175 percent.\1\ This
rise cannot be attributed to increases in agricultural land or labor--
both inputs declined over the period--but stem instead from the
adoption of a whole suite of publicly-funded innovations in crop and
livestock breeding, nutrient use, and pest, farm and field management.
These new practices have yielded significant dividends; ERS found that
public agricultural research and development investments from 1900 to
2011 generated, on average, $20 in benefits to the U.S. economy for
every $1 of spending.
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\1\ Editor's note: footnote reference not included in submitted
statement.
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Yet, Federal investments in agricultural research have declined by
\1/3\ in the past 2 decades, falling far behind our international
partners. Once the world's leader, the United States now trails far
behind other major nations in public agricultural research investments.
This declining investment means that we are missing critical
opportunities to capitalize on the powerful potential of our world-
class scientists to conduct the type of high-risk, high-reward research
necessary to meet the overlapping and rapidly emerging challenges our
farmers face. We are missing our chance to help farmers--especially
small- and mid-sized producers--be profitable, to help rural
communities remain vital, and to ensure that our global food supply
chains are resilient to future shocks.
Alarmingly, another impact of these declining investments is that
there are not enough college graduates available to meet private- and
public-sector employer needs across the food, agriculture, renewable
natural resources and the environment (FARNRE) disciplines. According
to NIFA-supported research published by Purdue University in the 2022-
2025 Employment Outlook Report Summary,* employer demand for college
graduates with degrees and expertise in FARNRE will continue to exceed
the number of available graduates. Of the 59,400 annual job
opportunities expected within this period, 31% (or 18,400) are
projected to be for graduates from science and engineering fields.
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* https://www.purdue.edu/usda/employment/wp-content/uploads/2020/
12/USDA-2020-25-Employment-Report-Summary.pdf.
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This employment gap comes at a time when extreme weather is leading
to large crop and livestock losses for farmers and ranchers, resulting
in greater liabilities for producers. Innovative research in climate
science has never been so critical nor had such a positive impact on
the U.S. economy.
That's why I am pleased that President Biden and Secretary Vilsack
are strongly committed to supporting Federal agricultural research,
development, and deployment, which will define innovation for decades
to come. With Congress' support we are making unprecedented investments
to train the next generation of agricultural professionals and
accelerating research to support climate-smart agriculture and
forestry, advance nutrition security and precision nutrition, build a
stronger bioeconomy, and ensure equitable access to our research,
programs, and data.
This work is especially critical at a time when, despite record
farm incomes over the past 2 years, ERS reports that about \1/2\ of
farm households had negative farm income and most U.S. farm families
rely mainly on off-farm income to stay afloat. Boldly reinvesting in
our nation's public agricultural R&D portfolio will again enable us to
create new revenue streams for producers regardless of size and
geography, drive innovation and technology transfer to spur a new
generation of agricultural businesses, and ensure that we have a
capable, diverse workforce prepared to overcome emerging threats to our
food system. The power of information and research is undeniable, and
REE is well positioned to support farmers, ranchers, scientists, and
academics alike in tackling some of the most pressing issues facing
this country; to create a system where all farmers and ranchers, no
matter what size or what they are producing, can be successful.
Workforce & Partnerships
The challenges facing agriculture, human and animal health, food
supply and conservation are immense and growing under the pressures of
a changing climate and swelling global population. Our farmers are on
the front lines facing each situation as it arises, while planning for
the best possible next season, next year, and future generation. The
average age of American farmers, according to NASS's most recent Census
of Agriculture, is 58 years old. I know the USDA research, education,
and extension mission must support those producers' decisions every
day, meeting them where they are with what they need. At the same time,
we must also help attract and prepare a robust and diverse agricultural
workforce to meet the challenges of the next generation.
First this means ensuring that the REE workforce--USDA's scientific
enterprise--feels supported and able to carry out their mission. REE
faced significant staff losses over the past 5 years and rebuilding
that capacity has been a top priority for the mission area. ERS and
NIFA have demonstrated outstanding resilience during this time, working
hard to ensure their ability to deliver on their agency missions did
not falter. Our continued efforts to support these rebuilt agencies
will in turn improve our ability to support the nation's farmers,
producers, and consumers from our research labs to the farm to the
table. It's never been more critical to restore our employees' voices,
respond to their needs, cultivate their talents, and champion their
efforts to advance our research and extension mission.
The President and Secretary have both been very clear--this new
workforce must look like America. Investing in inclusion, diversity,
and inspiring future generations through formal and informal learning
is critical for the future. As an agricultural scientist myself, I know
that talent must be inspired, nurtured, and advanced across the country
if the United States is to maintain its global leadership in science
and technology. That's why Secretary Vilsack recently announced $250
million to enable Minority-Serving Institutions to create career
development opportunities in agriculture for next gen scholars. This
competitive funding, made possible through funding provided in the
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Section 1006, as amended by Section
22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act, is a necessary down payment for
attracting, inspiring, and retaining diverse and talented students for
careers in food and agriculture, and careers at USDA. It's also a
foundation and model on which, in partnership with Congress, we can
make changes that enable USDA internship, fellowship, and other
professional development opportunities to become career opportunities
for next gen scholars and professionals in food and agriculture.
USDA is especially dedicated to enhancing equity across its
programs and policies through the development of a more diverse
workforce that fully reflects the richness and diversity of the
communities we serve.
Building a future-proof agricultural workforce requires leveraging
existing partnerships with institutions to support programs that expand
skilled agricultural employment opportunities. Last year Secretary
Vilsack announced resources through American Rescue Plan funding to
support the expansion of meat and poultry processing options, including
$40 million for NIFA for workforce development and training to build a
pipeline of well-trained workers to meet the demand for both current
processors and increased independent processing capacity. The primary
investment will be through competitive grants to support workforce
training at community, junior and technical colleges with programs
specifically for meat and poultry processing.
Local and regional food systems will benefit from shortened or
branched supply chains that impart some redundancy and diversity. And
the availability of a trained workforce, with the right skills, at the
right location, and at the right time is critical to ensuring reliable
food and agricultural supply chains. This is particularly important as
the agricultural enterprise in the U.S. is redesigned to become
climate-smart, robust, culturally responsive, equitable, and resilient.
NIFA's broad array of workforce training programs and strong
partnerships with educational institutions, including community
colleges and Land-Grant Universities (LGUs), can provide an effective
way to implement additional workforce development initiatives.
Research
To best support producers and communities as they face new and
evolving challenges, we must ensure that USDA's research arm is
flexible, nimble, and working on timely and relevant research and data
collection.
In response to the immediate need for research, data, and analysis,
ERS developed the COVID-19 Working Paper Series as a ``rapid response''
vehicle for publishing non-academically reviewed research and analyses
on the impacts of COVID-19 for policymakers, other researchers, and the
public. ERS researchers are also actively contributing to USDA efforts
around tracking supply chain challenges and food prices.
REE agencies conduct essential research on climate mitigation and
adaptation and translate that research to inform our farmers as they
work to feed the world. In 2021, NASS and ERS released the first
results from 2019 Survey of Irrigation Organizations (SIO). ERS's
analysis of the data in the report Irrigation Organizations: Water
Storage and Delivery Infrastructure,** suggest that, in many cases,
water delivery organizations may not be able to supply all water
demands, even under normal water supply conditions. ERS is also
evaluating the impacts of climate change on U.S. field crop farm
productivity using farm level data.
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** https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=102395.
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NASS collects a broad range of information from U.S. farmers and
ranchers, and produces data on land use and production practices,
specifically found in the Census of Agriculture, the Agricultural
Resource Management Surveys, and geospatial products. While many of
these statistics can be used in the evaluation of climate adaptation
science and results, NASS does not yet have any programs directly
related to climate adaption but looks forward to coordinating with USDA
agencies to develop new survey tools.
REE research also plays a critical role in advancing nutrition
security by defining the role of food and its components in optimizing
health throughout the lifecycle for all Americans. ARS seeks to more
precisely understand the nutritional needs of under studied groups and
is eager to utilize machine learning and AI approaches to better
predict interactions between food and nutrition-related data and health
outcomes. NIFA, through critical programs like the Gus Schumacher
Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), enables income-eligible consumers
to increase their purchase of fruits and vegetables. REE and the Office
of the Chief Scientist are also proud to help advance the President's
goal of cutting the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over
the next twenty-five years. We are working across government to
accelerate the preventative science and research necessary to improve
nutrition in support of better health outcomes for all Americans.
USDA's enhanced focus on precision nutrition will allow us to better
understand the specific needs of underserved communities--particularly
those most impacted by diet-related diseases including cancer. In
December, USDA launched a new initiative called the Agricultural
Science Center of Excellence for Nutrition and Diet for Better Health
or ASCEND for Better Health. ASCEND's mission is two-fold--accelerate
research on diet-related chronic diseases and translate that research
into impactful solutions that improve public health.
We are also working swiftly to provide quality science to help the
global community understand and respond to high consequence animal and
zoonotic diseases and other challenges. For example, REE has been a
leader in making progress on the fight against African Swine Fever
(ASF), a high-mortality disease impacting global hog populations that
is considered to be the biggest threat to pork production worldwide,
including here in the United States. No commercial vaccine for ASF is
currently available in the United States, but significant progress has
been made.
In 2020, ARS scientists published findings about a new ASF vaccine
candidate, the most promising, safe and efficacious vaccine tested to
date. Our scientists were invited by the Vietnamese Government to help
establish a Material Transfer Research Agreement with the Vietnamese
company NAVETCO to further research and develop the vaccine. ARS
scientists provided NAVETCO technical support to rapidly advance the
development of the vaccine.
The Vietnamese Department of Animal Health is further evaluating
the vaccine under field conditions in a two-phased approach for
integrating the use of the vaccine in their national ASF control
program. ARS is working closely with APHIS to determine the steps
necessary to develop an ASF vaccine that could provide control and
management options for the United States.
This is a perfect example of the impact that collaboration and
quickly executed research can have on agriculture. Because we maintain
excellent in-house expertise, we have the power to react quickly and
partner with producers to carry them into the future of farming.
Conclusion
In my time leading REE and in my 20 years of Federal service, I
have had the opportunity to travel across the country and meet with
many of the people we serve. I have visited states in every region of
the country--in many of your districts meeting with the people you
represent. They are optimistic about the future of agriculture, and so
am I. President Biden, Secretary Vilsack and REE are poised to catalyze
food systems transformation--we can meet and expand our commitment to
farmers and ranchers as they work to feed the world, and I look forward
to working with the Subcommittee and broader Agriculture Committee to
support this mission.
The Chairman. Thank you, Madam Under Secretary, for that
very informative and important testimony.
Now, we will proceed to Members that will be recognized for
questions in order of seniority. We will be alternating between
Majority and Minority Members, and in order of arrival for
those who joined us after the hearing commenced. You are
recognized for 5 minutes each in order to allow us to get to as
many questions as possible. And I recognize myself for 5
minutes.
So my first question, Madam Under Secretary, deals with
African swine fever simply because we have so many pork
producers in our area and because you mentioned it in your
written statement. So I want to know if there has been any
progress by ARS scientists toward the development and testing
of a vaccine for African swine fever. And is there an estimate
on when a vaccine might be commercially available in the United
States, and are there other vaccines that ARS has either helped
develop or that are in the process of being developed?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you. Thank you for the question and
the opportunity to share more about our work on African swine
fever.
As you know, the African swine fever is a highly contagious
and deadly viral animal disease affecting domestic and feral
swine of all ages. ARS, in our Plum Island facility, has been
hard at work on the African swine fever vaccine for quite some
time. We have four vaccine candidates that have been licensed
to 14 companies worldwide. Currently, Russia, Europe, and Asia
are experiencing outbreaks with African swine fever. Working
with Vietnam, ARS licensed two of our vaccine candidates, which
have now been commercially produced and implemented in Vietnam,
and we are seeing great progress and great efficacy with those
vaccines. And we are also working with our land-grant
universities who are working in the area of helping us with the
important task of surveillance and detection methodologies, and
so we have made some significant progress on the African swine
fever vaccine.
The Chairman. That is really, really good news. And you
mentioned something that I hadn't thought about. But, feral
swine is becoming an increasing problem in the United States,
and so they are also susceptible, but they could be carriers.
And we don't have African swine fever in this country yet, and
we hope we never do, but I really appreciate that update on
what the vaccines are doing.
My second question deals with biostimulants. In accordance
with the 2018 Farm Bill, the USDA published a report on plant
biostimulants, which included potential regulatory options and
definitions. Madam Under Secretary, as we seek to learn more
about biostimulants, has the REE mission area dedicated any
research efforts to understanding these products and the
impacts they may have on yields and soil health?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Sir, I would say I am not certain about
the biostimulants. Could you just tell me just a little bit
more about what you mean by biostimulants?
The Chairman. Yes. There are ways to stimulate plants, and
then we are doing the genetic changes in plant and animal. And
so the biostimulants, in my opinion, can stimulate those plants
to grow faster or grow in a different way. One example that I
can think of would be like the sunflower, how they always face
the sun. And there is an enzyme on the dark side of that plant
that stimulates it to grow more than less. So I think studying
those kinds of stimulations in plants and animals are useful to
improving our yields and productivity. And that to me is what I
mean by biostimulants.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you so much for that. My apologies.
Certainly, we have some of the world's best genomic, genetic,
and germplasm collections in the world. And so part of our
everyday processes is to continue to look at that germplasm
collection and find traits and other opportunities to be able
to manipulate the genome sequence to be able to produce plants
that are resistant to abiotic and biotic stresses. And so we
are looking at lots of different types of techniques to be able
to use the tools in our toolbox to improve productivity and, in
some cases, nutrition as well.
The Chairman. So thank you very much. I see that I am about
out of time, and so now I will turn it over to the Ranking
Member for her questions.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you.
Ms. Spanberger. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Dr. Jacobs-Young, I really again appreciate you being here
today. And it is my understanding that USDA made your
implementation plan for the Agriculture Advanced Research and
Development Authority, AGARDA, public this week, and we thank
you for that. And we have certainly seen the lack of funding
for AGARDA, and this is for background for those who may be
watching at home, a program authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill to
increase U.S. leadership in agricultural research and
development. And while we created a program with tremendous
potential from my perspective, and I am looking for your
thoughts, Congress has only appropriated a small one-time
amount that did not even provide enough funding to officially
even establish AGARDA at USDA.
In your opening comments, you talked about the research
that is happening in other countries, the need for American
competitiveness. Could you just talk a bit more about AGARDA,
what it could be, what it should be, and what you want Members
of Congress to know?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you for your question. First, let
me just say that we are excited about the concept of AGARDA to
be able to benchmark off of the success of our Federal sister
agencies, with DARPA, with ARPA-E, with ARPA-H. And what we
know is that this opportunity to take some risk, having high-
risk projects that potentially could be gamechangers. And to do
that, we need resources. And so we are excited about the
potential of the program.
And as we look across the Federal Government, we recognize
that resources are going to be needed to be successful. For
example, we look at some of our sister agencies, they are $2
billion. Even some of our newer-created AGARDA, DARPA-type
programs are in the billion-dollar range. And to this date, we
have received $2 million, $1 million in Fiscal Year 2022 and $1
million in Fiscal Year 2023.
Ms. Spanberger. And as you mentioned the other agencies
where there has been extraordinary development and innovation,
I mean, leading to major innovations that have changed society
and our economy and our community and propelled our national
security, in a kind of blue-sky world, what sort of things do
you think that a well-funded, mission-oriented AGARDA could
achieve or could look at or could dream of bringing to bear?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, so I think about some of our most
innovative scientists in ARS and how we have had to sort of
work around the fringes to find opportunities for them to look
at new and different ways of conducting research, changing a
paradigm and some of the belief systems we have about how
plants or animals fundamentally work. It would give us the
space to be able to take those risks and still be responsive to
the stakeholders who depend on us to do a lot of the work that
we do every day. And so how do we build that into our DNA and
make sure that our scientists have enough to be successful?
I used to run competitive programs for the National
Institute of Food and Agriculture with CSR-EES, and I remember
having a project and it would be a beautiful project, but if we
cut the funding in half so we can fund two people because we
don't have enough for one big award, we have now handicapped
the ability of that PI to be successful.
Ms. Spanberger. And these are the types of programs, to the
Chairman's point, looking at what new developments, what new
scientific research could really drive agriculture.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Right.
Ms. Spanberger. And to your point, I think the investments
and the return on investment that we saw in the last century,
kind of what is the new frontier, the way that we can lower
input costs, increase output, and support our producers. Thank
you very much. And I look forward to speaking about this issue
a bit more at length. But in the remaining minute, could you
comment on some of the workforce challenges certainly across
the agriculture sphere? I hear back home in the district
challenges related to technical assistance. And I know that you
all are just as impacted. Could you speak to kind of the skill
set and the workforce challenges you may or may not be facing?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Yes, absolutely. I will share with you
that we experienced significant workforce loss when ERS and
NIFA were moved to Kansas City. We lost about 75 percent of our
workforce. We have now worked very hard to build both of those
agencies back up to full manpower, and we are very excited
about that. However, we do know that in 3 years, \1/3\ of our
workforce is eligible to retire. Having been head of the
Agricultural Research Service, that is a large number of
institutional knowledge walking out of the door potentially.
And on the farm, our farmers' average age is somewhere between
58 and 60. So if we don't pay deliberate strategic attention to
training the next generation of agricultural professionals, I
think we are going to be in a tight spot.
Ms. Spanberger. Folks on the farm and folks at USDA,
folks----
Dr. Jacobs-Young. And under secretaries and all the people
who will replace us.
Ms. Spanberger. Well, thank you for being here. I hope you
don't plan to retire anytime soon. Thank you for bringing your
experience to bear. And Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Ranking Member. And now, I
recognize our Chairman, who has returned, from Pennsylvania, GT
Thompson.
Mr. Thompson. Chairman Baird, thank you so much. Once
again, thank you to you and the Ranking Member for this hearing
and I am just thrilled to have our witness once again before
the Committee. Thank you for your leadership and your service.
Under Secretary, in your written testimony, you mentioned
how the REE mission area works with other agencies across the
USDA like the U.S. Forest Service and the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service. Can you talk more about how you
coordinate with other USDA mission areas to advance
agricultural research across the Department, and can you share
a couple real-world examples of this collaboration?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Yes, absolutely. We just talked a little
bit about avian influenza and African swine fever. I will tell
you with emergency preparedness, ARS and APHIS are partners. We
are building on a long-term cooperation that we have between
our agencies. When we experience something like avian
influenza, our scientists are right there with the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service, helping to come in and detect
and diagnose what exactly we are dealing with. And they are
using science and data to help drive the mitigation strategy,
some of our response strategy, some of our biosecurity
management practices. So we really partner with them on any
instance that we see of an animal outbreak in the country.
I think about an example in the grain community. We had an
issue where some of our producers were not receiving the
complete value for their grain. Our scientists went in and
determined what was impacting the price, and it turned out it
was an issue of elevation. And so our scientists worked with
NASA using some of their zero-gravity facilities to be able to
create conversion factors, with that being able to return some
of those financial and economic advantages back to the
producers.
So we are dealing with real-world challenges. Science is
one of the strategic goals of the Department. It has been
integrated into everything we do. So REE is very fortunate. We
get to work across the entire Department.
Mr. Thompson. Well, thank you for that collaboration, that
synergy, all grounded in science.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Real grounded.
Mr. Thompson. You really provide us some well-grounded and,
quite frankly, workable solutions as a result of that, much
appreciated.
You mentioned in your testimony that there are not enough
college graduates available to meet private- and public-sector
employer needs within food and agriculture. How can we further
support the work youth development programs like 4-H and FFA
are doing to develop the next generation of agriculturalists?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So let me first say I had my first FFA
conference last year, and that was quite the experience. I was
just with the 4-H youth a couple of weeks ago here in
Washington, D.C. They are an important component of the system
that we have for the pipeline. And I think it is critically
important that they see people that look like me, that see
people that look like everyone in this room today to recognize
that this is what an agriculturist looks like, and that there
are many wonderful opportunities.
I also think that there is an important role for our
community engagement. We partner with a high school in Chicago,
Illinois, in the southside of Chicago with our Three Sisters
program. It is the high school that is a lottery program,
having kids out of the southside of Chicago studying
agriculture. They have a farm, they have animals, they have a
farmers' market, and our scientists are in there working with
them hand-in-hand. And they did not go to that school because
they were interested in agriculture. They were chosen by a
lottery. And our goal is that as many of them as possible who
are now FFA members and they will one day be in our
laboratories and in our hallways down the street here on
Independence Avenue, just really making sure that we make kids
aware about the interesting things that agriculture holds. It
is so high-tech.
Mr. Thompson. Yes, I share your passion for that, and I
appreciate that. In fact, we worked hard in the 2018 Farm Bill
to create an agricultural youth coordinator at USDA. However,
it is my understanding that this position is currently vacant.
Previously, when the position was filled, how did REE mission
area work with a coordinator to ensure youth want to pursue
careers in agriculture?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. That is a great question, Congressman. I
don't have the answer to that. I think it might have predated
my time in this role, but we would be wonderfully happy to
follow up with you on that.
[The information referred to is located on p. 33.]
Mr. Thompson. Sounds good. And I am hoping that position,
once again, is filled. I think that is critical to the future
of this nation's number one industry, which is agriculture, and
the future of agriculture, which is, quite frankly, all those
young folks that are out here.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And next, we have Ms. Budzinski from Illinois.
Ms. Budzinski. Thank you. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It is a privilege to hear from you today, Dr. Jacobs-Young.
And, Under Secretary, I have a question for you regarding
artificial intelligence. Advances in artificial intelligence,
as you know, continue to be increasingly important across many
industries, including agriculture. I represent the University
of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, which proudly hosts the
AIFARMS (Artificial Intelligence for Future Agricultural
Resilience, Management, and Sustainability), one of the four
USDA-funded AI institutes. Over the past 2\1/2\ years, AIFARMS
has already made significant advancements in small robot
autonomy in computer vision for more labor-efficient livestock
production and AI algorithms for improved measurements of
carbon sequestration. AIFARMS, as well as the other AI
institutes for agriculture, have collectively attracted many
prominent AI researchers to collaborate on important problems
in the ag domain. But these collaborations could easily be lost
without continued investment in research on AI for agriculture.
Could you share USDA's plans for continuing this important
investment in promoting advances in ag through AI technology?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Absolutely. So artificial intelligence
has been integrated into our DNA, not just in our scientific
space, but also in our administrative space. I don't know how
many times you have applied for something for the Federal
Government. We now have AI that can come in and help you put
the information in once and have it filter out to every
document. So we have integrated it into our DNA.
We have established a Center of Excellence around
artificial intelligence. We recognize that to do that, it is
going to need a systems approach, and so we are building on the
work of our colleagues over in the Rural Development area who
are working so hard to get broadband into some of those rural
communities where we want to apply this AI. We are working on
training the next generation of bioinformaticists, AI
professionals. We are also retraining some of our workforce to
work in this space. We are looking at ways to be able to help
the producers be more successful.
We heard at the Ag Outlook Forum, we had a wonderful panel
of producers who suffer from labor shortages. And we know that
innovation is a way to help accomplish some of those needs. It
starts with our plant breeders who can breed varieties that can
be mechanically and automatically harvested, and then all of
our engineers and our AI specialists to be able to develop
those robotics and other sensors we need.
Ms. Budzinski. Thank you for that, Doctor. I have a second
question. I just wanted to take a minute to talk about the
Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, FFAR. We know
that FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill as a means of
leveraging Federal agricultural research dollars by requiring
the Foundation to obtain matching funds from non-Federal
entities to invest in priority areas that do not normally
receive adequate funding from either public or private sources.
Since, however, it has been unable to obtain self-sustainable
status. In your opinion, have the Federal funds allocated to
the Foundation in the past two farm bills been a good
investment of those resources? And could you speak to the value
of the research that is being done?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, I will share with you that the
establishment of the Foundation for Food and Ag Research, the
goal was to be able to help us to build better and stronger
public-private partnerships, some things that are outside the
authorities of the Department of Agriculture. So they are
really established to be our partner.
I serve as an ex officio member of the board. The
Agricultural Research Service and NIFA leads also serve as ex
officio members of the board. And we work very, very hard to
ensure that we have some coordination around the topics that we
study. We are working with the Foundation for Food and Ag
Research at this time around a big AIM (Agriculture Innovation
Mission) for Climate Summit that we are going to be holding in
May, using their convening power, any ability to bring the
right people together and to partner with us. So I will share
that I have had a very positive experience working with FFAR.
In terms of sustainability, I believe that those questions
would be best answered by someone else, maybe Saharah Moon
Chapotin, who is the Executive Director for FFAR. But I do see
great value in what they have brought to the table, and I enjoy
working with them.
Ms. Budzinski. Wonderful. Thank you. And if I could sneak
in one more question for you. I wanted to ask you about the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Farm and Ranch
Stress Assistance Network. Do you feel NIFA's interpretation of
the term network, to mean regional and not within a state and
the decision to operate FRSAN as it did was the right approach?
It is my understanding that, as a result, land-grants in the
state ended up competing against the Department of Agriculture
in the same state. Is there a reason why you didn't focus on
allowing states to build up the networks in their states as
opposed to now having regional networks that may be duplicating
efforts and taking resources away from the successful state
efforts?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. I see that we are short on time. What I
would promise you is a follow-up conversation. We stand ready
for TA in any legislative conversations you would like to have,
and we want to implement the program in the way Congress
intended. So we want to help our producers. I think we are all
on the same page, so I look forward to those conversations.
Ms. Budzinski. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Thank you, Madam Under Secretary, for helping
keep us on time, I appreciate that.
Next, we have another gentlewoman from Illinois,
Representative Miller.
Mrs. Miller of Illinois. Thank you.
Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, thank you for coming this
morning. According to data collected by USDA's Economic
Research Service, China's public investment in agricultural
research and development has been outspending the U.S. by
roughly 2:1. In your opinion, what has this research funding
disadvantage meant for U.S. agriculture in recent decades?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So I would sum it up that we have missed
opportunities. And when we look at the state of public
agricultural research in the United States, we recognize that
there are a couple of needs that we have. We need increased
public investments. If we are going to push the envelope and do
some of the innovative things that we talked about, we have to
have resources to do that. And so are we missing opportunities
to grow in areas that we have not had enough resources to do
infrastructure-wise? The need for increased public investments,
we look at the backlog of deferred maintenance, not just in the
government, but even at our land-grant universities. Those are
missed opportunities. And then we talk about the next
generation of ag professionals. We need funding to train those
people and be prepared.
Mrs. Miller of Illinois. Thank you. I have another
question. I have heard from stakeholder groups about the need
to provide the National Agricultural Statistics Service with
better resources to improve alfalfa price estimates. Can you
describe briefly how NASS currently estimates alfalfa prices,
and what resources would be necessary for them to improve their
estimate?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So, first, I will share about our
opportunities to modernize the systems that undergird NASS's
processes. I think that they have the best and most trusted
data around, and so I really am committed to working with NASS
to not only have a robust program, but also have modernized IT
infrastructure under that program. I would suggest that we
follow up with Administrator Hamer to get more specifics on the
alfalfa cost estimates segment of their work. We are delivering
reports every week and really working very hard to be the
trusted source of data for the American people, and so I would
look forward to following up with you on that specific survey.
[The information referred to is located on p. 33.]
Mrs. Miller of Illinois. Okay. I would appreciate it. Thank
you.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you.
Mrs. Miller of Illinois. I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you for those questions.
And now we have another representative from Illinois, Mr.
Sorensen.
Mr. Sorensen. Three in a row, Midwest is best.
Now, Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, thank you for joining us
today to help us identify how Congress can improve our USDA
research enterprise.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of
our nation's premier land-grant universities. The U of I
extension is purposefully designed to ensure that research-
based knowledge is not confined to the academic space, but also
it is shared within farmers and local communities. As a
professional meteorologist, I have looked through and needed
the data that the U of I extension has provided me in my
career.
The problem is the U of I extension provides over $600
million of value to the State of Illinois each year, but it is
ten times more than its budget. Yet, the next generation of
agricultural scholars are still learning in facilities that are
built in the 1950s. We must improve the Research Facilities Act
(Pub. L. 88-74) to address our deferred research maintenance
backlog.
So my question to you is how do we increase investment to
modernize research and agriculture infrastructure not only in
Illinois, but across the nation?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Yes, how do we do that? Having most
recently been the Administrator for the Agricultural Research
Service, this has been a broken record around our need to
modernize our scientific infrastructure. It only takes walking
around a land-grant university campus and seeing the
engineering facilities, seeing the medical schools. I mean,
even some of the chemistry buildings are better. And then there
is our 1964 building right there. If you have ever been to Penn
State's campus, it is right across from the Creamery. It is
hard to hide. So yes, and so students are walking around that
campus and that is what they see.
And so how do we attract the best and the brightest
visually, we are not even competitive with some of the other
industries that are represented? But more importantly than
that, we want to attract the best and brightest scientists from
anywhere to work in agriculture, both within the university
system and within the Federal Government. And they must be in
modernized facilities with modernized equipment. Yet, I was
riding in with the Administrator of ARS this morning, and we
are up it is almost to $1 billion in deferred maintenance
across the country, so let alone rebuilding buildings, we
cannot keep up with deferred maintenance. And that story is the
same in the land-grant university system.
And so I look forward to working with Congress to have
conversations about how we address this need for modernized
facilities.
Mr. Sorensen. And just could you give us any examples on
what Congress' role should be in making sure that this occurs?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, I will give you an example for the
Agriculture Research Service. In 2015, based on a Capital
Investment Strategy, we received the first $45 million in terms
of reinvesting in our capital across the country. Since that
point, we have received $1.3 billion. And I will share with
you, because of Congress's support, ARS has been able to build
facilities and to begin facilities, and most of them are on
land-grant university campuses. So I am very excited that in
that effort, I was not only able to help ARS, but they help our
university partners as well.
At U of I we have the RIPE (Realizing Increased
Photosynthetic Efficiency) project. I am a little frustrated
because some of my scientists are walking down the hall and
joining your team at U of I, but that is how we work. We are
seamless. You could walk into some universities and you can't
tell who is an ARS scientist and who is a university scientist.
That is the strength of the partnership that we share.
Mr. Sorensen. As a professional meteorologist, I know the
unpredictable pace of change with our weather and markets. It
dictates the need for ongoing learning and professional
development. The reality is that few careers are static. They
require lifelong learning. How can the USDA ensure that our
producers of all levels of experience have access and
continuing access to the education they need to thrive?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Oh, great question. And that is where
extension, like you said, is so important. And we have a
growing partnership with technical cooperatives across the
country. Instead of rebuilding the wheel, we are working with
community organizations and others that are already out there,
working with the producers, and working hand-in-hand with them
to help raise the awareness about programs that they are
eligible for, talk about things like financial planning, how to
be more successful in their production, what does science say
about when to till and not to till? And so we are out there
every day working across the country, multiplying our efforts
with those cooperators.
Mr. Sorensen. Thank you, Madam Under Secretary, for being
here today. I yield back.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Now, we go to the middle part of the country, Minnesota.
Mr. Finstad, do you have questions?
Mr. Finstad. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the
opportunity here today, and I thank you for holding this
important hearing on USDA research programs, especially when we
approach the reauthorization of the farm bill.
And to you, Madam Under Secretary, thank you. Thanks for
your leadership, and thanks for being here today and your
testimony.
So I am a proud fourth-generation farmer of southern
Minnesota and a product of the University of Minnesota, our
state's land-grant university. Go Gophers. And I understand the
importance of strong investment in ag research through both the
Ag Research Service and the National Institute for Food and
Agriculture. Investments in ag research result in direct value
for our farmers in rural communities. And as a farmer, I see it
firsthand. Farm and food security really is our national
security, and it is so important that we link those areas
together. And, that is really why we must write and pass a
strong farm bill to help our farmers to continue to compete on
a global stage and really feed and fuel the world for years to
come.
So on that note, when we talk about our job as farmers and
as folks involved in agriculture to feed and fuel the world, we
just have to look at some recent data. Last November, the world
population reached eight billion. And from the Green
Revolution, from Norman Borlaug, from all of the advancements
that we have seen to most recently self-driving tractors, which
my kids love the idea of. By the way, my father, not so much.
But on our farm, we have adapted to a lot of those
technologies, and really our 112 land-grant universities have
played a critical role in that. And as we look at the future
and more cutting-edge technology is needed to secure our
domestic and global food supply throughout America's history,
we really look to those land-grant universities as partners in
that.
But with that being said, all farmers should have the
freedom to utilize practices that work on their operation. What
works for me doesn't work in Illinois. What works for me
doesn't even work in northern Minnesota. And so we can't put
all our eggs in one basket. So, for instance, America can't
rely solely on rooftop gardens. We can't rely solely on organic
agriculture. It needs to be an all-of-the-above strategy. And
that is really what will allow us to remain the breadbasket for
the world.
So, Madam Under Secretary, how can we ensure that
competitive grants provided by NIFA to land-grant universities,
land-grant organizations prioritize the needs of on-the-ground
production agriculture that will really help us spur the next
Green Revolution, which will enhance productivity and
profitability while meeting the needs of a growing population?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Thank you. And yes to everything you
said. And that is why, at USDA, we are really working very hard
to have local-led, voluntary-based, incentive-based
opportunities. I think about the way we are distributed across
the country. We are in every county. We recognize that, no,
there is not one size that fits all, and so that is why we have
that decentralized approach.
We are really working to build a system that has
opportunities for all so that that fourth generation and the
fifth generation, the sixth generation really has something to
come home to, come back to. And so how do we help all farmers
be more resilient? And the only way we know that is being on
the ground, talking to the farmers about what is important to
them.
We have set up climate hubs across the country. And those
climate hubs are taking all of the science and peer-reviewed
journal papers that we produce, and I know ARS does some 300 to
400 climate science papers a year. I don't expect a producer to
read those papers, but we have people in the climate hubs who
are trained to take that information and translate it into
digestible bites for producers to know exactly what works for
their farming production based on their variables. That is very
important.
We have Long-Term Agroecosystem Research network sites, 18
across the country, where producers are brought in to practice
some of those things like crop rotation, like no-till to really
de-risk some of that because adoption is really where we find
most of the challenges that we deal with is we have great
suggestions, great guidance even in the nutrition space, I know
what I need to do to lose weight, how do we get people to do
and follow the guidance that we give?
Mr. Finstad. Yes, thank you for that. And I will just add
maybe a couple of thoughts here as I close out my time. But, I
mean, I will tell you as a farmer and someone that works with
and beside farmers day in, day out, we are the best
environmentalists that we have in this country. I cannot risk
my backyard, my fields to the next generation if I am not
taking care of it and leave it better than I found it. So I
think that the more we can allow producers opportunities and
flexibilities, the more we can decentralize programs. The next
farm bill has to be for farmers, by farmers. It can't be for
D.C. by D.C. And these programs have to relate to the backyard
of the people that we are trying to serve. So I appreciate your
comments and look forward to working with you in the future.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you very much for those questions.
Now, we go to the Southwest part of our country, New
Mexico, Representative Vasquez.
Mr. Vasquez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you so
much, Under Secretary, for being here.
This hearing is focused on a topic that affects the future
of farms across the country and one that New Mexico contributes
to every day. My district is home to my alma mater, New Mexico
State University, and it is one of the largest land-grants and
it conducts critical agricultural research across the state and
is also home to one of the Southwest climate hubs that you just
spoke about.
Some programs include optimizing sustainable production on
arid lands, partnerships that we have with countries overseas
to aid in that research and production of crops on arid lands,
and how to re-vegetate lands after devastating wildfires. And
programs like these are invaluable in the fight against climate
change nationwide. And we need to support climate-smart
initiatives and reinvigorate ag practices at research
institutions like New Mexico State University, now more than
ever.
Now recently, I met with researchers from Las Cruces, and I
heard about the aging infrastructure both at New Mexico State
facilities, extension facilities, and other research
facilities. In fact, there is a $100 million deferred
maintenance backlog at New Mexico State University for this
very type of research. And some of the facilities that we are
using that are housing our students and our researchers are
more than 50 years old.
So, Under Secretary, how does USDA plan to address the
infrastructure problems and backlogs to make sure that our
institutions of higher learning like New Mexico State are
equipped to find solutions to these modern problems?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So we have had a number of opportunities
to work with Congress around this topic. I shared just recently
that, as ARS Administrator, we developed a Capital Investment
Strategy for ARS, the Agricultural Research Service. We have
some 3,100 buildings across the country, a $6 billion portfolio
of buildings, and the deferred maintenance is up toward $1
billion. Our university system, our land-grant partners, I know
that APLU has been leading an effort to really look at the
infrastructure challenges that the land-grant universities are
facing.
A third of the ARS labs are located on land-grant
university campuses, and that is where we have an opportunity.
Thus far since 2015, we have received about $1.3 billion to
invest in buildings and facilities. We have just cut the ribbon
on our brand new Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in
Athens, Georgia. We are going to cut the ribbon on two new
facilities in May, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility,
and a new facility in Kentucky. So we have some momentum. I am
a former track athlete. I just feel like somebody is in the
third and I am still back in the second because we have a long
way to go to catch up. And so every day we don't invest in the
deferred maintenance, we have to re-build a building instead of
modernize or make minor changes, so we have to find an
opportunity. And I look forward to working with Congress to
figure out how do we get our arms around this big challenge of
modernized infrastructure for science?
Mr. Vasquez. Thank you, Under Secretary. I look forward to
partnering with you on that because I think it is much needed,
especially in remote places and rural communities like the ones
in New Mexico State.
Now, we also have research and weather stations across the
state that measure and record statistics important to things
like wildfire mitigation crucial to our state after one of the
most destructive wildfire seasons in our history. In fact, New
Mexico's two largest wildfires happened just last year,
eliminating and decimating our agricultural industry in many
parts of our state and my district.
Researchers have to drive to some of these very remote and
rural stations just to download the data because these sites
are not eligible for a majority of broadband grants. So, Under
Secretary, what is USDA doing to ensure that academic
facilities like NMSU and other places are eligible for these
broadband programs to make it easier to collect the data that
we critically need to help understand the challenges that we
face in the future?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, certainly, I will suggest that you
may want to have a conversation with my colleagues at the Rural
Development who are in charge of ReConnect because I am not
exactly certain about all of the eligibility for that grant.
However, I will share that when I first became Administrator of
the Agricultural Research Service in 2014, I had this bright
idea that I would communicate with people around the country,
and we talk, and I learned quickly that they couldn't get the
feed because their broadband and the service was just too weak.
And so for the first year, I had to back up, instead of doing
high tech internet infrastructure for high-performance
computer, we had to do things that put basic administrative
broadband in so we could just get our jobs done. And in some
places, we had to put in infrastructure because it just didn't
exist.
We have come a long way since 2014, and I think that
together, working with our mission area partners and working
with Congress, that we can get our arms around this challenge.
I mean, we are the most advanced country in the world. We
should definitely have our arms around this.
Mr. Vasquez. Thank you, Under Secretary. I appreciate your
comments today. Thank you for being here.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you for those questions.
And now we go to the middle part of the country into
Missouri and Representative Alford.
Mr. Alford. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Dr. Jacobs-Young, thank you so much for being here. You are
quite an asset to the Department, and I appreciate your
testimony today.
Missouri is the sixth-largest producer of hogs in the
United States of America. That is a lot of hogs. Porcine
reproductive and respiratory syndrome, also known as PRRS, can
really wipe out an entire operation, and so we are ever-mindful
of that. The University of Missouri has done some great
research on that. They have been doing some gene editing. They
have come up with a PRRS-resistant hog actually. You probably
know about this. Unfortunately, the FDA regulatory approval
process has kind of stymied this. When are we going to get to
the point to where the FDA is helping us instead of hindering
us so we can get PRRS under control and make sure that our hog
farmers are secure?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, first, yes, we are working with the
University of Missouri on that project, and I am just very
excited about it. We have one of the most advanced processes in
terms of data-driven, science-driven processes in the world. I
noticed by talking to a number of my colleagues, chief
scientists from the G20 countries, it is going to require a
systems approach of all of us working together. When we talk
about the agricultural enterprise that we envision, it is a
systems approach. I think that my colleagues at FDA will be
best at answering the question on when, and USDA stands ready
to have those conversations with whoever would like to have
them.
Mr. Alford. I guess, in general, how do we get through the
process faster so we are not hampering research and development
and that we are supporting it as a nation?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So I would share that we haven't stopped
researching. We don't wait until we have all the perfect, that
is the beauty of public investments in agriculture research. So
we have been studying that, and University of Missouri, those
public scientists have been studying this all along. We are
doing science. We are pushing the envelope on science because
that is what we should be doing. We should be thinking about
the science for 20 years from now, 50 years from now. And then,
you are right, there is going to be a system that is going to
be needed to facilitate the implementation of some of those
discoveries and technologies.
I mean, I think about a decade ago, we couldn't imagine
CRISPR/Cas9, which has now been instituted across many
industries. And so what is the CRISPR/Cas9 for 20 years from
now? We can't start then. We started yesterday trying to plan
for that, and then some things have to catch up.
Mr. Alford. We were visiting with some farmers a couple of
weeks ago down in the southern part of our district, and they
are young farmers who want to stay on their family farms. There
is a bill moving through the State House right now for some
state tax incentives to do that. I know that in the 2018 Farm
Bill one of the programs that was reauthorized was the
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant Program. Where
do we go with that? How do we expand that? And would you be in
favor of Federal tax incentives to get more young people into
ag?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, I will share with you that we are
very excited about the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
Development Grant Program. It is a program that really puts the
need for a pipeline for new producers as a high priority. We
are working with farmers and producers who have less than 10
years in the business to be able to remove barriers, to be able
to enter farming. We want to make sure that we are there hand-
in-hand teaching them some of the things that need to happen
around financial planning and to be economically successful. We
are working with organizations across the country to make sure
that this happens.
One of the things we want to do as well is to emphasize
equity and really focus in on some of those producers who have
been underserved and never served and so making sure that they
can return to the farm and for our veterans. We want to make
sure that our veterans have an opportunity if he or she comes
back to the United States or was in the military and retired,
if they want to begin farming, how do we help them? And then
AgrAbility where we work with our producers who may have some
disabilities who want to be on the farm.
I am more apt and able to talk to you about the things that
I know that we have the control over and that we can do from a
USDA perspective than about tax incentives. But I will share
with you that we are doing all we can to help people stay on
the farm and, if they are interested in farming, become
farmers.
Mr. Alford. Thank you. I appreciate it. I yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you. And now we are going to stay in
the middle of the country with Representative Davids from
Kansas.
Ms. Davids of Kansas. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank
you, Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, for joining us here today.
So I am in the Kansas 3rd District, which is in the Kansas
City Metro Area. I didn't know we were going to be so
outnumbered by the Illinois folks, but that is okay.
So I want to build on some of the things that you have
already touched on through various questions today, including,
how Title VII supports the internal and external research
engines of the USDA and the Federal Government in general, and
then how our farmers and producers are getting so much of the
data from that research that USDA agencies, the National
Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service,
we have been hearing about this during this conversation today.
And, there are a number of land-grant institutions, either in
my area or in my district, including a K-State Extension.
Haskell Indian Nations University is right next door. And I
know there is just a lot of conversation happening around the
ways that these institutions help support. And hearing that \1/
3\ of the ARS labs are at land-grant universities is pretty
enlightening.
I am curious, as we look at--and I have been having these
roundtables and listening sessions with folks who are doing
that work and farmers and producers in my district. The
deferred maintenance has come up a number of times, and then it
came up a number of times today. I am curious if you can talk
about what are some of the maybe provisions or areas that we
should be looking at to make sure that the things that I am
hearing about from folks at K-State or Haskell or other land-
grant universities, what they are sharing about the deferred
maintenance? Like, let's say we get some funding there for that
to address the billion-dollar backlog. What are some of the
specific things we should be thinking about as Congress to
ensure that the prioritization happens in a way that is going
to be most beneficial for the land-grant universities?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So I know that that APLU, the Association
of Public and Land-grant Universities organization, has been
leading an effort with the land-grant universities. We have had
several meetings probably in the last, I would say, 7 or 8
years talking about our shared interests and goals around
deferred maintenance and investments in new, modernized
infrastructure. The Federal Government, we cannot commingle
funds. And so when I build a building and then I put it on a
campus and the university scientists use our facility at NC
State, for example, they have just built a brand new plant
science building with public-private partnerships. And some of
our scientists work in their facility. We are building a
facility which is going to be a totally different type of
facility, much, much smaller, \1/3\ of the size and cost.
However, their scientists will also, as appropriate, use our
facility. So we can share. We can have that sort of, I would
say family relationship where we can share facilities.
So internally, in the Agricultural Research Service, we
have created a Capital Investment Strategy. We have looked
across the country at our facilities, all of our facilities. We
have determined where we are doing our highest priority
research in the lowest quality facilities. And so that is how
we are prioritizing. We will reinvest. At K-State University,
we will be cutting the ribbon on the National Bio and Agro-
Defense Facility. As you know, it is the first BSL 4 facility
for agriculture. It is an amazing facility. I was just there I
think the week before the Super Bowl, a $1.25 billion building.
The facility itself is $1.25 billion. And so the goals or the
commitments that we need to make sure that that is successful
requires resources.
Ms. Davids of Kansas. Yes.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. And so it is a conversation I think we
should have more time to go into where the needs are. I know
that we can point to where the biggest investment needs are and
then talk about maybe strategies to address them.
Ms. Davids of Kansas. Yes. And I will look forward to
following up actually so we can have those conversations.
And then in the short amount of time I have left, I do want
to just mention, I am going to talk to the Chairman about the
youth coordinator position and how we can make sure that that
gets filled. And then also, I will probably follow up with you
about the USDA collection of responses from farmers and
ranchers for the 2022 Agriculture Census because I would love
to make sure that we are doing everything we can to get the
best data possible.
And I will yield back.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Yes, just can I quickly share on the
Census of Agriculture that we have for the first time gone to
online, we are doing a parallel online/paper process, and I am
just so excited that a lot of our responses are coming in
online. And we just continue to try to modernize NASS's
infrastructure and the way they do business.
The Chairman. Thank you for those questions.
And now we are going to go all the way across the United
States to California and Representative Duarte from California.
Mr. Duarte. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate it.
Thanks for being here, Dr. Jacobs-Young. I appreciate
having you.
I am a farmer. I have researchers on staff, and I work with
a lot of farmers and industry, and I see some trends coming and
some stuff in the industry I would really like to get your
input on. One is a lot of our ag startup companies, plant
sensing, environmental sensing, irrigation management, drones
are coming out of Israel, and they are tied into the Israeli
defense complex if there is such a thing. And I am wondering,
are there greater opportunities for us in the U.S. agricultural
research to engage our Department of Energy, Department of
Defense, even Department of Health and Human Services when it
comes to molecular biology and other tools and make sure that
we are really extending out what some of the industrial,
military, energy, and medical research is and what its
implications are for agriculture? Do you feel we are doing
enough of that, or is there a way we can help you do more of
it?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Well, I will share with you that we
partner with our sister agencies all the time. And some of our
biggest discoveries in agriculture have been implemented by the
Department of Defense. We just think about something as simple
as mosquito repellent, DEET, that was developed by the
Agricultural Research Service to protect our war-fighters. So
we are partnering with the Department of Energy around
producing 36 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel that
the airlines have committed to by 2030, and they want to be
able to move in a sustainable direction.
So we are working very hard with those agencies, and in
some cases, important for us to work with them, because their
budgets are much larger than our research budgets, and so there
are some synergies, and there are also some opportunities to be
able to help strategize how they invest on some things.
Mr. Duarte. Sure. Well, I would specifically ask that you
seek opportunities. My perception is that there is more to get
and that we haven't gotten all there is to gain there. And I do
think that if there are opportunities there, I would sure love
to help facilitate that any way we can, Memorandums of
Understanding between agencies or, again, anything we need to
do to facilitate that because I personally have seen some
technologies come out of the Los Alamos Laboratory on peptide
research that have huge implications for plant health. And not
to be specific about that, but there is more to get there. And
Livermore Laboratory is right next to my district, and I would
love to see it helping us more.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Yes.
Mr. Duarte. Another question I have, there are a lot of
gains being made in big data, environmental sensing, drone
flyovers, AI models that crunch big data and come up with
different conclusions that we can apply commercially. And I am
concerned that we don't understand, and I hope that we do
understand somehow, how are we taking the AI modeling, the big
data crunching, and facilitating our land-grant universities to
have a specific empirical standard and a specific standard that
allows those new AI methods and big data gathering methods to
kind of start to replace the statistic variables, the single
statistic multivariate models that we use to give 95 percent
confidence, 99 percent confidence? What are those methods, and
what does it mean to be publishable when we are talking about
AI models and big data research methods?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So big data is a big deal. We began
investing in high-performance computing in ARS 2015, 2014. We
began just with a small investment because we were kind of
ahead of the curve. We now have a robust scientific network
that is separate than administrative networking, but what we
can do high-performance computing, and store all this data. I
remember touring with one of your scientists out in California,
and he was ahead of the curve many, many years ago, and he was
telling us how much data he was producing a second, and I just
thought that was crazy. And now I think we have tripled it.
But where do you store it? How do you share it? How do you
visualize it? How do you do computations? We have invested in
scientific networking, and now we are partnering with some
land-grant universities. We have partnered with Iowa State
University and we have partnered with Mississippi State
University.
Mr. Duarte. Sure. Let me ask you another question. How do
we make sure that there is a set of data standards and
empirical standards where we can communicate that to farmers to
where they know what it means. We know what 99 percent
confidence means if we have a single-variant trial. How do
farmers develop the skill set to understand what this
empiricism that we might derive from big data means in terms of
their ability to read land-grant university information and
apply it on their farm with confidence?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So our goal is to build the tools that
producers can use that can be on their phone, that can be on
their laptops, and that hopefully they never have to understand
all of the equations and the derivatives and everything that
happens in the background, but that it would be user-friendly.
I talked about setting up the climate hubs so that our people
are taking that data and translating it into digestible nuggets
so that it can be easily applied by producers on their farms.
And so I really feel that is part of our onus to be able to
do a lot of that, and we have lots of teams working together on
what is called FAIR, data that is findable, accessible,
interchangeable, and reproducible. So there are a number of
standards that have been created around the data world, and we
have experts working in that. We have a Center of Excellence on
Artificial Intelligence. And so I am hoping we will do all of
that and that all they have to do is pull up their phone, put
in their variables, and have a decision tool that can tell them
which direction to go in for their specific issue.
Mr. Duarte. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you for those questions.
We have one more individual from Ohio, Representative
Miller, 5 minutes.
Mr. Miller of Ohio. Chairman Baird and Ranking Member
Spanberger, thank you for allowing me to participate in this
Subcommittee hearing to review vital research initiatives
undertaken to strengthen and sustain American agriculture
critical to farm production in my Congressional district and
those throughout the country.
Last week, I had the opportunity to view firsthand the
agricultural research initiatives undertaken by Ohio State
University College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental
Sciences on the Wooster Campus in my Congressional district.
These innovative research programs included deployment of
state-of-the-art technologies and partnerships with USDA's
Agricultural Research Service throughout Ohio State's
University's Application Technology Research Unit, utilizing a
multidisciplinary digital approach to enhance crop protection
while safeguarding environmental quality. Additional Federal
research programs also included plant pathology research,
molecular genomics, epidemiology, and risk prediction to
safeguard crops in my state and across the nation, as well as
the nation's biosafety level 3 agricultural laboratories.
Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, in your testimony, you
highlight the fact that production agriculture requires
constant innovation and adaption, and access to information and
new technologies underpins each of these objectives. Please let
us know how USDA's Research, Education, and Economics mission
area supports advanced agricultural technologies to accelerate
innovative research tools critical to meet growing agricultural
challenges.
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Yes, that is who we are. That is our
role. Our role is to be the leading experts in the development
of technologies and research and discoveries that agriculture
is going to need to move us into the future.
We talked a little bit about needing to be able to take
some more risks and giving some of our scientists space to take
risks, because with risks sometimes come failure, and so we
need to have a system that supports that because also with that
high-risk research, we have an opportunity to be
transformative. And so what you had an opportunity to see at
Ohio State is just a taste of what is happening across the
country, and they can only do that because of the continued
support from Congress and the investments that you are making
in both the USDA researchers and the land-grant university
researchers. And if we can do what we have done with what we
have had, imagine what we could do if we were on par with our
colleagues around the world.
Mr. Miller of Ohio. It is unbelievable. When you look at
the technology and you go to the campuses and where all this
technology is being produced, it just makes you so proud that
we are taking care of the American farmer in this country, but
I believe that more can be done to go ahead and enhance that to
make sure it is more efficient across the entire country.
I just wanted to say, let's see. Under Secretary, please
let me know how the USDA is collaborating with its interagency
partners. In addition to serving on the House Committee on
Agriculture, I am also seated on the Committee of Science,
Space, and Technology. Recently, the Science Committee held a
hearing to examine the interagency research partnerships,
including with the Department of Agriculture. We welcomed
USDA's witness testimony. However, I understand it was not able
to be provided. Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, can you talk
about how USDA works with other Federal agencies that may have
larger research budgets, such as the Department of Energy, the
National Science Foundation, and others to ensure that
investments in agriculture research are broadened and not
limited to USDA?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. Oh, absolutely. And NASA. We work with
NASA as well. We must. I am a 21 year career Federal employee,
and so it is just part of what we do, working with our sister
agencies, in the Department of Energy working in the space of
bioenergy and biofuels. USDA has a unique role in that the
feedstock development, the feedstock production, and then there
is some conversion technologies, and then working with NIH in
spaces like nutrition and working in spaces where we talk about
things like bridging that gap between public health and the
nutrition space, National Science Foundation, well, water-
energy-climate nexus.
So we have been able to really partner with our Federal
agencies. As I said before, many of them have larger budgets
than us. And what is fortunate is that we have some common
areas of prioritization, and so we are able to partner on
those. And through the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy, many of our interagency groups were brought
together, and I have chaired a number of those over the years.
So it is just we wouldn't be successful if we didn't have these
strong partnerships with our Federal agencies.
Mr. Miller of Ohio. Good. I love to hear it. And I just
want to say thank you for your time here this morning.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member. I
yield back.
The Chairman. Thank you. And that is all the questions I
have. Ranking Member, do you have any other questions or
comments?
Ms. Spanberger. I would just want to say in closing, thank
you for being here. I think it has been an extraordinary
conversation. Mr. Chairman, thank you for putting this hearing
together. I really appreciated a lot of the comments that you
made in your written testimony and your opening statement that
I think for any Member on this Committee, with all of our
geographic diversity, certainly, we see the good work that your
employees do and your team does on behalf of the producers and
the agricultural communities that we all represent.
I think there are many action items for us as we head
towards the 2023 Farm Bill to make sure that we are leveraging
the tremendous investment that comes in recognizing the value
of research. And certainly, I appreciate the Chairman for
having this be our first Subcommittee hearing. I think that
speaks a lot to the priorities that you are putting before us,
and I appreciate that as a Member, but also as a Representative
to so many agricultural communities. And so thank you for being
here. Mr. Chairman, thank you for this great conversation. And
I yield back.
The Chairman. Well, thank you. And I have a few comments.
And thank you for your appreciation of the Under Secretary for
being here. And I want to add mine. I really appreciate your
comments and your willingness to bring you and your staff to be
with this Committee. I think I better understand why you have
all the responsibilities you do. My figures show that you were
outnumbered 12:1, and you handled it very well, so thank you
for being here.
I would just say that this first hearing of the
Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology in
the 118th Congress is also taking place during the National Ag
Week, so I think how fitting that you are here today and that
this group is here and we are having this Committee hearing.
So I really appreciate the Ranking Member. I look forward
to working with you and having this Committee do other things.
I don't think any of us can--and we have heard that all day
today--I don't think any of us can forget the importance of
agricultural research. This $20 to $1 return on investment is
very telling. And to do that and to feed all the people in the
world, we are going to have to have that kind of research if we
are going to keep the most abundant and most affordable food
and fiber supply. And so continuing American leadership in ag
research is critical to our national importance.
And so with that, I thank you for being here. Before we
adjourn, though, I have to tell you that under the Rules of the
Committee, the record of today's hearing will remain open for
10 calendar days, and so you have the opportunity to add
additional material or supplementary written responses from the
witness to any question proposed by Member.
So if I hear no other comments or questions, this meeting
is adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 11:27 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
[Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:]
Supplementary Material Submitted by Hon. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D.,
Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and Chief
Scientist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Insert 1
Mr. Thompson. Yes, I share your passion for that, and I
appreciate that. In fact, we worked hard in the 2018 Farm Bill
to create an agricultural youth coordinator at USDA. However,
it is my understanding that this position is currently vacant.
Previously, when the position was filled, how did REE mission
area work with a coordinator to ensure youth want to pursue
careers in agriculture?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. That is a great question, Congressman. I
don't have the answer to that. I think it might have predated
my time in this role, but we would be wonderfully happy to
follow up with you on that.
When the position was filled, USDA Research, Education, and
Economics Mission Area (REE) participated in activities that the USDA
Youth Coordinator organized to encourage USDA employment. Examples
include presenting on REE employment opportunities at the HACU National
Conference, the MANRRS annual conference, and with the Conference on
Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL). REE also participated in
accelerated hiring events that recruited for positions at each of these
conferences and encouraged a ``quick hiring'' of applicants.
Additionally, REE engaged with the Coordinator to ensure USDA STEM and
workforce efforts were represented at the White House National Science
and Technology Council and in workforce reports.
Insert 2
Mrs. Miller of Illinois. Thank you. I have another question.
I have heard from stakeholder groups about the need to provide
the National Agricultural Statistics Service with better
resources to improve alfalfa price estimates. Can you describe
briefly how NASS currently estimates alfalfa prices, and what
resources would be necessary for them to improve their
estimate?
Dr. Jacobs-Young. So, first, I will share about our
opportunities to modernize the systems that undergird NASS's
processes. I think that they have the best and most trusted
data around, and so I really am committed to working with NASS
to not only have a robust program, but also have modernized IT
infrastructure under that program. I would suggest that we
follow up with Administrator Hamer to get more specifics on the
alfalfa cost estimates segment of their work. We are delivering
reports every week and really working very hard to be the
trusted source of data for the American people, and so I would
look forward to following up with you on that specific survey.
USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) collects
price information for alfalfa each month from a variety of sources,
including our cattle on feed survey, milk production survey, and hay
auctions. To meet the needs of our USDA partners, we collect and
publish data for combined premium and supreme alfalfa in addition to a
total alfalfa price. These published estimates are based on the data
collected from the above-mentioned sources and therefore their accuracy
is directly tied to the accuracy and completeness of these sources.
______
Submitted Questions
Questions Submitted by Hon. Glenn Thompson, a Representative in
Congress from Pennsylvania
Response from Hon. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D., Under Secretary for
Research, Education, and Economics and Chief Scientist, U.S.
Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Question 1. As you know, the National Agricultural Statistics
Service conducts a census every 5 years to gather data on agricultural
production in the United States. Recently, NASS wrapped up data
collection for the 2022 Census of Agriculture, and it is my
understanding that results will be released in the Spring or Summer of
2024. Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, can you explain why there is such a
long delay between the time the data is collected and when the results
are released?
Answer. USDA would like to take this opportunity to thank all the
farmers and ranchers across the nation who have responded. NASS data
collection for the 2022 Census of Agriculture is still ongoing. Since
these data remain the most comprehensive in the industry and paint the
whole picture of U.S. agriculture down to the county level, the
response deadline was extended through the spring to ensure the best
possible representation in the data. Once the data collection is over,
NASS will spend the subsequent several months reviewing the responses
for accuracy and finally, summarizing the data for publication. As a
Federal statistical agency, NASS also takes great care in making sure
no individual data is disclosed. NASS makes every effort to publish the
data as quickly as possible but given the size and scope of the Census
of Agriculture, that process does take time to complete. USDA hopes
that an increased trend in online response will help reduce processing
time for future censuses.
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
Question 2. The 2018 Farm Bill amended the Specialty Crop Research
Initiative (SCRI) so that technologies improving mechanization and
automation in specialty crop production are eligible for funding. Under
Secretary Jacobs-Young, have you seen an increase in projects focused
on mechanization and automation since this change? Can you discuss some
of the mechanization and automation projects that have been funded?
Answer. The Specialty Crop Research Initiative has invested over
$50.6 million in projects supporting mechanization and automation since
the 2018 Farm Bill made technologies improving mechanization and
automation in specialty crop production eligible for funding. This is a
major increase in investments, as the total support since 2008 for new
innovations and technology is $95.5 million--meaning over 50% of
funding for these projects has happened in the last 5 years. For
example, a project led by Pennsylvania State University, funded in
2021, is leveraging smart agriculture and harvest automation to address
the labor shortages on mushroom farms. In 2020, a project led by
Cornell University was funded that uses machine vision and robotic
tools to optimize apple tree crop loads. A project led by Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University investigates edamame
varieties for mechanized production.
National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics
Advisory Board
Question 3. The 2018 Farm Bill amended the composition of the
National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics
(NAREEE) Advisory Board, which was created in 1977. The purpose of this
board is to evaluate and make recommendations to the Secretary of
Agriculture on Federal agricultural research priorities. Under
Secretary Jacobs-Young, can you talk about your experience working with
the NAREEE Advisory Board and if the current composition is adequate to
provide USDA with both stakeholder input and science-backed
information?
Answer. USDA appreciates the selfless, volunteer service of the
members of the NAREEE Advisory Board (and the Board's three Committees
and Subcommittees). In total, there are 38 agriculture stakeholders on
this Federal Advisory Committee that provide recommendations and advice
on our agriculture science and research priorities.
Under my leadership as Under Secretary for Research, Education, and
Economics (REE) and USDA's Chief Scientist, the Board and its
Committees have provided USDA, REE, and the REE agencies key feedback
on: increasing diversity and inclusion in REE research efforts;
evaluation of the agriculture climate mitigation and adaptation
programs being implemented by REE; Agricultural Research Service's
National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) Plan, as directed in the 2018
Farm Bill; numerous genetic resources recommendations for plants,
animals, microbes, and insects; research priorities for the National
Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Emergency Citrus Disease
Research and Extension (ECDRE), and a program and grant projects'
evaluation of NIFA's Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI).
I look forward to continuing robust engagement with the Board,
especially their ground truthing of the soon-to-be-released USDA
Science and Research Strategy given the constituents these key external
stakeholders represent.
Commission for Farm Transitions--Needs for 2050
Question 4. Although this provision was not included in the
Research Title, the 2018 Farm Bill established the Commission on Farm
Transitions--Needs for 2050, to study the issues impacting the next
generation of farmers and ranchers. To date, this provision has not
been implemented; however, your written testimony repeatedly mentions
supporting future generations. Based on your testimony, it seems as if
this Commission could play an important role in addressing the
challenges facing beginning farmers and ranchers. Under Secretary
Jacobs-Young, can you shed light on why this provision has not been
implemented and do you see a role for the REE Mission Area once the
Commission has been established?
Answer. The Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area (REE)
at USDA could play a vital role by working collaboratively with our
land-grant university partners, as well as with local customers,
producers, farmers, and ranchers at the grassroots level; ensuring the
presence of subject matter experts to respond to and capture comments;
transitioning those comments into recommendations; and delivering those
recommendations to the Commission for consideration. In addition, REE
can provide information on Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network
(FRSAN) reports, From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next
Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals (NEXTGEN)
accomplishments, and information on Extension, capacity, and
competitive projects that benefit the next generation of farmers and
ranchers. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Beginning
Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) is another program to
improve the successes of beginning farmers and ranchers by providing
training and technical assistance to enhance their sustainability
through established farm enterprises. BFRDP does address some of the
challenges of the next generation of farmers and ranchers by focusing
on business planning, financial literacy, access to land, estate
planning (to include, finding adequate acreage with sufficient farm
infrastructure and housing to support a new operation), access to
financing/credit, farm production, and marketing skills.
NIFA Funding Lines
Question 5. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture has over
60 funding lines covering the entirety of the agricultural research,
education, and extension realm that need appropriations every year. In
addition to those funding lines, there are many authorized programs
that have never been funded. Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, does NIFA
face challenges in administering programs across so many funding lines?
Are there opportunities to streamline programs that receive fewer
appropriations under programs with broad authorities like AFRI?
Answer. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has
several programs that could be combined to achieve synergies, economy
of scale, and remove administrative hurdles.
Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network
Question 6. The purpose of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance
Network, as reauthorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, is to establish a
network that connects individuals involved in agriculture to stress
assistance programs. Can you discuss how this program has been
implemented? Do you see a role for the Cooperative Extension Service in
implementation of this program since Extension has a presence in every
county across the United States?
Answer. In FY 2020, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture
awarded 3 year continuation awards totaling $28.7 million to four
regional entities to help ensure vulnerable agricultural producers and
their families have increased options for access to supportive services
where they live and work. The awards were made to the University of
Illinois (North Central Region), National Young Farmers Coalition
(Northeast Region), University of Tennessee (Southern Region), and
Washington State University (Western Region). The regional lead
institutions make sub-awards within their regions with the goal of
providing access to mental health services in all states and U.S.
Territories. Collaborators may include the following: Indian Tribes,
state departments of agriculture, state cooperative extension services;
and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The suite of services offered
through Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) include: (1)
farm telephone helplines and websites, (2) training programs and
workshops, (3) support groups, and (4) outreach services and activities
(including the dissemination of information and materials).
The Cooperative Extension Service plays a critical role in
delivering programs and services in each region. Extension personnel
are the project directors for three of the four regional lead
institutions. Additionally, Cooperative Extension has been the
recipient of multiple sub-awards in each region.
In October 2021, USDA NIFA announced an investment of nearly $25
million for 50 grants supporting FRSAN State Department of Agriculture
(SDA) projects. This funding was made available by the Coronavirus
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, (FY) 2021, which
was contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, (FY) 2021. Funded
projects must have initiated, expanded, or sustained programs that
provide professional agricultural behavioral health counseling and
referral for other forms of assistance as necessary through farm
telephone helplines and websites; training programs and workshops;
support groups; and outreach services and activities.
Research Facilities
Question 7. The FY 2023 Omnibus provided USDA with the first $2
million for the competitive grant program established in the 2018 Farm
Bill under the Research Facilities Act. Can you discuss how USDA will
implement this program?
Answer. USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has
been expeditiously developing the Research Facilities Act Program
(RFAP) for competition. A public listening session was held on April
13, 2023, to obtain public input for the development of the RFA for
this program. A draft report on the listening session has been
prepared. In addition, a draft RFA is currently under review and is
expected to be published for proposal submission once all approvals are
received. As part of the RFA, NIFA will prioritize projects proposing
building, modification, acquisition, modernization, refurbishment, or
remodeling of agricultural research facilities that are located at or
primarily benefit minority-serving institutions (MSI) when making the
award, as per appropriations language accompanying the funding. In
addition, the program will have three funding levels ranging from
$75,000 to $500,000.
Plan of Work & Time and Effort Reporting
Question 8. The 2018 Farm Bill streamlined the plan of work and
time and effort reporting processes for land-grant formula funds to
ensure that university research and extension personnel can spend their
time on actual projects rather than on completing unnecessary federally
mandated reports. Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, did these provisions
adequately remove some of the burdens our land-grant university
personnel were facing or is further work needed to streamline these
requirements?
Answer. USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has
developed time and effort reporting guidance and resources to assist
stakeholders and allow them to follow internal policies and controls
for supporting personnel expenditures. The Plan of Work module in the
NIFA Reporting System (NRS) was completed in December 2022. NRS users
can now submit their Plan of Work in a streamlined system and provide
information on planned research, education and extension activities
which address critical state agricultural issues. NIFA offers users
regular support on use of the system through monthly informational
webinars, resources posted to our external web pages and a dedicated
help desk email. The Plan of Work sets the stage for all other
reporting requirements for capacity funding, carrying over data from
each submission to make reporting more efficient and less burdensome.
Competitive Grants versus Capacity Funding
Question 9. There is a longstanding debate on the proper ratio for
competitive grants versus capacity funding to support agricultural
research, education, and extension at our land-grant universities.
Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, do you believe the current makeup of
competitive grants and capacity funding is sufficient? Should one be
increased relative to the other?
Answer. Land-grant universities are key partners at USDA, and our
research, education, and Extension programs provide crucial support for
their work. For an unbiased assessment of this landscape, an
independent study could analyze the current ratio of competitive grants
and capacity funding that supports agricultural research, education,
and extension at our land-grant universities.
Nutrition Education
Question 10. While not authorized in the research title, two
nutrition-related programs, SNAP-Ed and the Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program, rely heavily on Cooperative Extension Service to
implement the program. Under Secretary Jacobs-Young, can you walk
through the benefits and outline the challenges, if any, of using
Extension in delivering nutrition education to low-income populations?
Answer. Since its early days, the Cooperative Extension System
(CES) has played an important role in improving the health of the
nation. CES is well-suited for community-based nutrition education
programs for low-income populations, for multiple reasons. CES has an
extensive network, reaching most of the more than 3,000 U.S. counties,
Territories, and the District of Columbia and having natural
connections for information sharing and consistency in programming. CES
is deeply nested within communities through long-standing and
continually evolving relationships with community and state partners
conducive to achieving individual, policy, systems, and environmental
change. Specific to the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
(EFNEP) and SNAP-Ed, Cooperative Extension employs people from the same
neighborhoods and with similar experiences as those they serve and
thus, engenders trust among marginalized and historically underserved
populations. University Extension staff work closely with local staff
to ensure that subject matter content and methods of learning are
current, relevant, practical, and appropriately tailored to the
audience served. This tailored focus on content and delivery methods
facilitates improved nutritional health and well-being of low-income
populations served. Finally, through CES, local voices inform practical
and applied research priorities among universities within and across
states, and even nationally.
Regarding challenges, the number of communities that Cooperative
Extension can serve is limited by the number of faculty and staff that
it can deploy in those local offices based on the amount of current
available resources. While the footprint of CES in local community
offices has decreased in recent decades, universities and local offices
are utilizing technology and working collaboratively within local
Extension offices to help overcome this obstacle. Second, CES wages for
community nutrition educators have not kept pace with other local job
options, which can make hiring and retaining staff difficult. NIFA is
partnering with FNS to cultivate comprehensive and sustained solutions
for EFNEP workforce development. Notably, wage challenges are not
limited to Cooperative Extension. Other community-based, public health
programs are experiencing similar employment challenges.
[all]