ASA, CSSA, and SSSA endorse bipartisan ag research legislation

This month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation in support of the advanced USDA research program, AGARDA. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Representatives Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) reintroduced the Advancing Cutting-Edge Agriculture Act (ACE Ag Act), which would reauthorize the USDA Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA) and grow its funding from $50 million to $100 million. 

The 2018 farm bill established AGARDA at USDA to fill this gap and invest in high-risk, high-reward research and development in agriculture and food. Modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) programs, AGARDA spurs innovation through the development of breakthrough technologies and practices to address conservation, soil health, disease and pest management, and extreme weather variability. The research and solutions advanced from AGARDA will help farmers and ranchers meet the challenges of a changing agricultural landscape, increase production to address a growing global population, and help U.S. agricultural products compete in global markets.

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA have been champions of AGARDA for almost a decade, advocating for the creation of an advanced agriculture research program in the 2018 farm bill and then to fund the program since 2019. Be on the lookout for ways to advocate for funding for USDA research programs in the upcoming weeks.