RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS

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MISSION

 

The Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area is assigned Federal leadership responsibility for the discovery, application, and dissemination of information and technologies spanning the biological, physical, and social sciences through agricultural research, education, and extension activities and economic and statistical analysis.  REE responsibilities are carried out by four agencies:

 

·        The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency in USDA in the area of natural and biological sciences.

 

·        The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is the Federal partner with land-grant and non-land grant colleges and universities in carrying out extramural research, higher education, and extension activities.

 

·        The Economic Research Service (ERS) is the principal intramural economic and social science research agency in USDA.

 

·        The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts the Census of Agriculture and provides the official current statistics on agricultural production and indicators of the economic and environmental welfare of the farm sector.

 

 

 

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE (ARS)

 

ARS provides access to scientific data, conducts research to develop new scientific knowledge, and transfers technology to the private sector to solve technical agricultural problems of broad scope and high national priority.  ARS houses the National Agricultural Library (NAL), the Nation's major information resource in the food, agricultural and natural resource sciences.  ARS has over 100 locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Beltsville, Maryland is the site of the world's largest multi-disciplinary agricultural research facility. 

 

The 2004 budget recommends $987 million for ARS Research and Information, an increase of $29 million above the 2003 budget.  There are increases of $14 million for pay costs and
$16 million for selected, high priority programs.  The 2003 budget proposed reductions in all projects earmarked by Congress in fiscal years 2001 and 2002.  The 2003 budget also proposed reductions in base programs of $15 million.  For the most part, the 2004 budget extends proposals made for 2003.  Highlights of the proposals for the main program areas follow:

 

·        Soil, Water, and Air Sciences.  This area of research emphasizes development of a sound scientific basis to provide advanced technical assistance and education to producers to manage and conserve soil, water, and air resources to optimize agricultural productivity and environmental quality.  The 2003 budget proposal for a $5 million increase in air and water quality is scaled back to $3.5 million for 2004.  The increase will be used to deal with animal waste related problems.

 

·        Plant Science.  Ongoing ARS research addresses a wide range of crop production issues, including pest and disease management through use of biologically-based technologies, plant genome mapping, and the maintenance and improvement of plant germplasm.  The 2004 budget includes a proposed $3.5 million increase for plant/crop genomics.

 

·        Animal Science.  Research in this program is directed toward solving major issues faced by producers and consumers of meat and poultry products.  Areas of emphasis include disease prevention, genetics and genome mapping, animal reproduction, food quality, and safety.  The 2004 budget includes a $3.5 million increase for animal genomics financed with additional appropriations and an increase of $8.3 million for emerging diseases and biosecurity.

 

·        Commodity Conversion and Delivery.  This research focuses on post-harvest food safety and quality concerns, development of new food and industrial uses for agricultural commodities, and elimination of barriers to the export of commodities.  

 

·        Human Nutrition.  Six ARS centers conduct research to enhance the understanding of nutritional needs of diverse populations, including children, the elderly, pregnant and lactating women, and healthy adults.  Results of this work identify the impact of nutrients in reducing chronic disease risks and predicting health outcomes.

 

·        Integration of Agricultural Systems.  Research in this category includes projects to integrate the results of specific programs into production systems which are sustainable, environmentally-benign, and profitable for farmers and ranchers.  Projects include the development of models and decision support systems to assist producers in making production decisions and managing natural resources.  The 2004 budget includes an increase of $3.0 million for information technology cyber security.

 

·        Information and Library Services.  NAL provides access to scientific agricultural data through its online database and CD-Roms.  NAL provides agricultural information electronically and is expanding efforts to catalog, manage, and disseminate agriculture-related data through the Internet. 

 

COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE (CSREES)

 

 

 

 

 

CSREES has primary responsibility for providing linkages between the Federal and State components of a broad-based, national agricultural research, extension, and higher education system.  CSREES provides funding for projects conducted in partnership with the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, State Cooperative Extension Systems, land-grant universities, colleges and other research and education institutions.  Federal funds are distributed to universities and institutions by statutory formula funding, competitive awards, and special grants.  CSREES is responsible for administering USDA's primary competitive research grants program, the National Research Initiative (NRI), which supports investigator-initiated research with strong potential to contribute to major breakthroughs in agricultural science.

 

The 2004 budget recommends $1 billion for CSREES, a net decrease of $13 million from the 2003 budget.  The 2003 budget proposed $240 million for the National Research Initiative.  While the 2004 budget scales this ambitious proposal back, the proposed appropriation of $200 million will represent a substantial increase above recent annual appropriations.  For the most part, the 2004 budget extends proposals made for 2003, including proposals to discontinue Congressional earmarks. Highlights of the proposals for the main program areas follow:

 

Formula Grants—CSREES provides Federal formula payments to eligible institutions under several authorities.  There have been long-standing matching requirements for funds distributed to 1862 Institutions under the Hatch Act of 1887 for research, the Smith-Lever Act for extension, and the forestry and animal health research programs.  Matching requirements for funds distributed to the 1890 institutions were enacted in 1998 and 2002.  The formula funds programs provide important underlying support for planning and Federal-State collaboration.  The 2004 budget proposes to continue the 2003 budget level for the two 1862 programs and the smaller formula programs for forestry and animal health research. There are proposals for increases in the 1890 formula programs as a step towards meeting the higher authorizations called for in the 2002 Farm Bill.   

 

National Research Initiative—The NRI is the Nation’s premier competitive, peer reviewed research program for fundamental and applied sciences in agriculture.  In recent years the Federal government has made major investments in research to deal with issues related to national health and other areas needed to keep the U.S. technologically competitive.  The 2003 budget for the NRI acknowledged the importance of Federal support for agricultural research with a proposal to fund the NRI at $240 million.  The 2004 budget proposal of $200 million for the NRI is based on the same policy objective.  

 

The NRI is broad in scope with programs ranging from fundamental science to farm management and community issues.  Funding at the proposed level will support research that will make an immediate impact on such issues as emerging diseases and pests, biosecurity, farm management, air quality, and food and nutritional improvements. The NRI enables USDA to develop new partnerships with other Federal agencies on topics of mutual interest. Moreover, the NRI will make a major contribution to developing the next generation of agricultural scientists.

 

The NRI, along with funding in the ARS budget, is a major source of USDA support for multi-agency collaborative efforts in the field of genomics.  There are opportunities to leverage investments with investments from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation in projects to map and sequence the genomes of agriculturally important species of plants, animals, and microbes.  USDA plays an important role in coordinating and participating in interagency workgroups on domestic animal, microbial, and plant genomics.  NIH solicits proposals from USDA and USDA cooperators for projects to be carried out at the major genome sequencing centers. The NRI will also support investments in functional genomics and data bases. Access to genomic information and the new tools to exploit it has implications for virtually all aspects of agriculture.  Funding at the levels proposed for the NRI is important to take full advantage of the opportunities to collaborate with many other partners.  Animal genomics is slated for a $10 million increase in the NRI and there is a corresponding increase in the ARS budget of $4 million.

 

Integrated Activities/Unified Federal-State Diagnostic Network—USDA, through the cooperative efforts of CSREES and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has established a unified network of public agricultural institutions to identify and respond to high risk biological pathogens in the food and agriculture system.  The core of the network is comprised of 12 animal diagnostic laboratories and 5 plant diagnostic laboratories.  The laboratories will be responsible for conducting standardized diagnostic tests for identification of exotic and domestic pests and pathogens.  The network will be supported with secure, two-way communications, and a comprehensive database on test procedures, experts, and past pest and disease problems.  The network was established with $20 million in the 2002 Homeland Security Supplemental.  Costs to support the network in 2004 are estimated at $16 million.  

 

Higher Education Programs—CSREES offers a variety of higher education programs designed to ensure that undergraduate and graduate institutions in the food and agriculture sciences meet the challenges of recruiting and training needed to address current and anticipated agricultural workforce issues.  The 2004 budget includes a proposal to increase the Graduate Fellowship Grants program by $1 million with a focus on agricultural biosecurity and human nutrition at the Ph. D. and M.S. levels.  Additional funding for fellowships at the M.S. level is especially important for recruiting minority graduate students.  CSREES offers a program of grants to the 31 tribal colleges identified as 1994 Land Grant Institutions. The 2004 budget proposes to increase the grants to these institutions from the current level of $50,000 per institution to $73,000, moving towards the full authorization of $100,000 enacted in the 2002 Farm Bill. 

 

Outreach and Technical Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers—The Department seeks to encourage greater participation of Black farmers, tribal groups, Hispanic and other minority groups in the full range of  commodity, loan, grant, and education programs offered to eligible individuals and community groups.  CSREES assumed responsibility for the grant making aspects of the program authorized in Section 2501 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 beginning in 2003. The 2004 budget includes a recommendation to increase funding for the Section 2501 program by $760,000 to a total of $4 million.  Under CSREES administration, the Section 2501 program will move to multi-year awards and improved coordination with outreach efforts of other USDA agencies.

 

ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE (ERS)

 

The Economic Research Service (ERS) provides economic and other social science information and analysis on agriculture, food, environment, and rural development.  ERS supplies such information and analyses for use by the general public and to help policymakers develop, administer and appraise agricultural and rural policies and programs.

 

The ERS budget reflects a net increase of $3.3 million including $1.3 million for pay cost increases, and increases to support the following priority efforts:

 

Security Analysis System for U.S. Agriculture (SAS-USA) ($1.0 million).  This increase will provide resources for the continuing development, delivery, and maintenance of the SAS-USA, a decision-support system designed to improve USDA’s ability to mitigate security threats and attacks to the Nation’s agriculture and food supply.  SAS-USA works by integrating spatial and economic data with analysis functions to deliver security assessment, detection, preparedness, control, prevention, protection, response and recovery recommendations to key decision makers in a short timeframe.  Agriculturally-related security threats, such as an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, can thus be modeled and their causes and repercussions analyzed and mitigated.  Funding will pay for formulating specific scenarios, integrating interagency data, developing analysis models, improving the user interface, and maintaining the system.

 

Genomics Initiative ($1.1 million and 3 staff years).  This increase will allow ERS to investigate consumer behavior towards foods modified by genomic and other agricultural biotechnology innovations, and with these data evaluate the economic impact of this behavior.  Particularly relevant is the observation and assessment of consumer behavior in important U.S. export markets, including the European Union and developing countries.  Information will also be collected on foreign market requirements for genetically-engineered products, and this information incorporated in analyses of alternative trade and technology assistance policy scenarios and disseminated to U.S. producers.  There will be an explicit cost-benefit analysis of alternative U.S. strategies for commercializing genetically-modified wheat.  Finally, ERS will implement a research program to identify how biotechnological discoveries have, are, or could change the organization, structure and behavior of various players in the agriculture and food system.  This initiative plays an integral role in the overall REE Genomics Initiative.  It also supports the USDA Strategic Plan objective of expanding international marketing opportunities.

 

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE (NASS)

 

The mission of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is to provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.  NASS statistics provide the information necessary to keep agricultural markets stable and efficient and help maintain a “level playing field” for all users of agricultural statistics.

 

The budget reflects a net decrease of $4.7 million, which includes an increase of $2.3 million for pay costs and an increase of 10 staff years for the following priority activities:

 

Improved Agricultural Estimates ($4.8 million and 29 staff years).  This increase will begin to restore and modernize NASS’s core survey and estimation program which covers most agricultural commodities produced in the U.S., as well as economic, environmental and rural data.  This program has not received an increase in funding since 1990, leading to a reduction in the quality of survey data on which NASS estimates are based.  The programs are designed to meet the needs of USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Labor, bankers, brokers, rural sociologists and other data users at an acceptable level of precision for State, regional and National level estimates. The initiative has three components: (1) restore sample sizes for greater statistical defensibility; (2) provide staff needed to manage surveys, review and summarize reported data, and other functions; and (3) meet research, training, travel, supplies and other direct expenses necessary to produce quality statistics.  Funding of this initiative will allow NASS to begin progress towards reaching targeted statistical precision levels over 90 percent of the time for major survey indications.  Specifically, a goal of 70 percent, a 10 point increase over 2003, could be achieved with this funding.

 

Locality Based Agricultural County Estimation Program ($1.6 million and 6 staff years). This funding supports the NASS goal to incrementally improve statistically defensible survey precision for small area statistics.  With this support, NASS can conduct proper follow-up data collection activities and redesign its survey systems to statistically improve its valuable county-level data, which is used by private industry, Federal, State, and local governments, and universities.  The Risk Management Agency (RMA) uses these statistics in indemnity calculations for Group Risk Plans and the Group Risk Revenue Plans as part of the risk rating process, which affects premium levels paid by producers. The Farm Service Agency uses the county acreage to weight posted county prices to national loan deficiency payments.  In addition, agriculture input suppliers, agricultural marketing firms, and transportation companies who provide billions of dollars of goods and services to farmers and ranchers, track county level data on livestock inventories and crop acreage yields and production.  Furthermore, under the 2002 Farm Bill, producers have begun to update their base acreage and yields by utilizing the county wide averages established by this program. 

 

Collaborative E-Government Initiatives ($3.25 million and 2 staff years).  The increase supports NASS’s role as the lead agency for two of USDA’s enterprise-wide e-Government initiatives, Survey Capability and Data Management.  It also supports NASS’s electronic data reporting initiative which will provide producers and agri-businesses the option for submitting reports electronically, as mandated by the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, thus reducing their reporting burden.  Supported by the Data Management initiative, this information can be efficiently processed while maintaining its security and confidentiality.  This funding will allow NASS to develop the infrastructure necessary for electronic data reporting for NASS’s surveys, while also providing system redundancy to continue in the event of a system failure. 

 

Census of Agriculture (decrease of $16.479 million and 27 staff years).  The census provides comprehensive data on the agricultural economy with National, State, and county level details.  This reduction reflects the decrease in staffing and activity levels to be realized in 2004, due to the cyclical nature of the 5-year census program. The available funding includes monies to analyze, summarize and disseminate the 2002 Census.  The request also includes funding for follow-on activities for the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey and the Census of Horticultural Specialties, as well as for enhanced list maintenance activities between census data collection years to ensure a high level of coverage.