August 5, 2024

Legislative Updates
Although there have been hearings and some action relative to the Farm Bill and FY25 Budget, there is little clear progress toward the passage of the needed legislation.

In May the House Ag Committee passed H.R. 8467, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. There is no timeline for when it may be brought to the full House for a vote.

Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow released the framework for the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, but the legislative language is not yet available. Following that Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee, unveiled a Senate Republican-drafted framework for the Farm Bill.

Having three competing versions of the Farm Bill and election season in full swing, coupled with a recently released updated budget outlook for 2024 to 2034 from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), makes passage of a Farm Bill this year seem unlikely. The CBO changes in spending estimates will likely make it more difficult for Congress to come up with the budget authority needed to pass a new Farm Bill.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture has passed the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025. It is now scheduled to be considered by the full committee on July 10. The version passed by the subcommittee includes several social policy riders that are unacceptable to the Democrats. The Senate is yet to act on their version, so a good deal of work remains.

Both pieces of legislation require some action by September 30. The FY24 Budget expires then, and last year the Farm Bill was given a one-year extension to September 30, 2024. It seems likely that both will require additional extensions.

Groundbreaking for New USDFRC Dairy
On June 10 the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Wisconsin–Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a world-class dairy research facility that will expand the two organizations’ long-standing partnership to tackle key issues affecting dairy farms across the country.

Scheduled for completion in 2027 and administered by the US Dairy Forage Research Center (USDFRC) of ARS in partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s CALS, the new facility and its associated buildings will house robotic milking systems, chambers for measuring greenhouse gas emissions, an advanced animal nutrition unit, and state-of-the-art laboratories for agronomy and dairy science, as well as offices and a visitor center. (Read More)

FASS Science Policy Coordinator Ken Olson, PhD, PAS, is a member of the USDFRC Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Photos of the event may be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/uwmadisoncals/with/53782908876.

Vote on FFAR Fellows’ “Lightning Talks”
Vote now on the best FFAR Fellows' Lightning Talks! The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) created the FFAR Fellows Program to provide professional development and career guidance to the next generation of food and agriculture scientists across FFAR’s challenge areas and strategic initiatives.

Each year, FFAR Fellows compete to clearly communicate the impact of their research in a short video. The goal is to communicate complex science in a compelling and accessible manner to general audiences. One of this year’s contestants is ADSA GSD President Conor McCabe from the University of California, Davis, a 2021–2024 FFAR Fellow. Criteria for voting is outlined on the Lightning Talks page.

Voting is open through July 25, 2024.

First State of the Science Address
The National Academies’ Strategic Council for Research Excellence, Integrity, and Trust hosted the first State of the Science address on June 26, 2024. NAS President Marcia McNutt provided the keynote address followed by discussions by experts across the scientific enterprise and representatives from government, industry, and academia who provided their perspectives on the state of the science across several complementary approaches.

“US science is perceived to be—and is—losing the race for global STEM leadership,” McNutt said. However, she expressed confidence that the nation can counter that trend by adapting its R&D model to the emerging research environment. “Our country has a remarkable ability to adapt, and to learn, and to try new things.”

In her address, NAS President Marcia McNutt identified six opportunities to improve US scientific leadership:

• Improve K-12 education. As competition for international talent increases, the nation should focus on developing its domestic workforce by strengthening K-12 science education.
• Reduce red tape. The United States should lessen red tape that can serve as a barrier for foreign students who wish to study in the United States, as well as for graduates who wish to remain in the United States and work. Regulatory burden should also be reduced for faculty researchers, who currently spend 40% of their nonteaching time on paperwork.
• Create a national research strategy. As industry and philanthropy become major funders of research alongside government, there is an opportunity to coordinate research for better impact.
• Strengthen university–industry partnerships. Rules of university engagement with industry should be modernized, and we should remain alert to possible conflicts of interest, which undermine public trust in science.
• Strengthen international partnerships. The United States should strengthen its partnerships with other countries, create well-communicated policies for where and when we should collaborate, and deploy procedures for evaluating the success of these collaborations.
• Cultivate trust in science. Scientists should demonstrate that they are producing research that is credible, is prudent, lacks bias, is self-correcting, and is beneficial—all qualities positively correlated with public support for science. Researchers at all levels should be rewarded for producing research that is excellent and trustworthy, and the research community should support excellence in communicating science to the public.

McNutt’s address was followed by a panel discussion that gathered experts from the scientific community to discuss themes from the speech and share ideas.

Watch the State of the Science address and panel discussion.

National Strategy to Reduce Food Loss and Waste and Recycle Organics
USDA, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the White House announced the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics as part of President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to tackle climate change, feed people, address environmental justice, and promote a circular economy.

The strategy provides tangible goals that the US government partners, along with retailers and consumers, can work toward to help further prevent the loss and waste of food; increase recycling of food and other organic materials to support a more circular economy for all; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; save households and businesses money; and build cleaner, healthier communities.

The strategy highlights actions that USDA, EPA, and FDA could take. Some of the priority actions that NIFA will lead include the following:

• Investing $2.5 million to rigorously test and measure the effectiveness of different consumer messages to encourage households to reduce food waste, in preparation for a National Wasted Food Prevention Campaign; and
• Funding a new NIFA $1.5 million Center for Research, Behavioral Economics, and Extension on Food Loss and Waste to create meaningful momentum on food loss and waste prevention among land-grant universities, their partners, and external stakeholders.

Read more about the national strategy and its objectives.

NCFAR Lunch and Learn
The next event in the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research’s 2024 Lunch-N-Learn series is a session titled “Coordination and Collaboration Across the Land-Grant System: The Western Water Network.” John McNamara, PhD, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, The National Academies, Chair of the FASS Science Policy Committee, and Kristi Hansen, PhD, University of Wyoming, will be the speakers discussing how solving complex agricultural and food challenges nationally and globally requires capacity building and coordinated, effective efforts among large, transdisciplinary teams involving both research and extension. It will include a discussion of the congressionally requested study on “Enhancing Coordination and Collaboration Across The Land-Grant System” by an ad hoc study committee (Blue Ribbon Panel) of the National Academies’ Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources to help ensure that regional and national investments will continue to provide a critical return on the investment. It is an in-person event.

Click here for speaker bios and more information about the session.

SPC at ADSA
The Science Policy Committee (SPC) was at the recent ADSA annual meeting sharing information with attendees in the Trade Show at the FASS booth, at the Production Division Extension Breakfast, and at other venues throughout the meeting. We were pleased to participate in the USD Undergraduate Career Roundtable Luncheon to visit about the importance of Science Policy involvement now and in the future.