Durbin, Moran Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Increase Agricultural Research Funding

Durbin, Moran Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Increase Agricultural Research Funding

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), both members of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today reintroduced legislation that would require a five percent annual funding increase, plus inflation, each year for the next ten years for research activities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). With federal agriculture research investments on the decline, the America Grows Act would restore the United States' commitment to publicly funded agriculture research at USDA. Increasing research at USDA will boost American competitiveness, expand and create new domestic and foreign markets for farmers, create improved cropping systems, combat plant and animal disease transmission, and address the need for skilled jobs in food and agriculture.

"If America hopes to remain competitive in a global market, we must reinvigorate our publicly-funded agriculture innovations. The America Grows Act would boost USDA funding for more breakthroughs to push our nation forward in the agricultural industry," Durbin said.

"For U.S. farmers and ranchers to remain competitive in the world, it is important for our country to prioritize investments in agricultural research," said Moran. "With the help of the latest research and technology, Kansas producers are constantly adapting their practices and methods to improve the way we grow and raise our food. This legislation builds on the critical role USDA plays in conducting research to help our nation's agricultural producers continue to feed, fuel and clothe the world."

The U.S. share of total agriculture research investments globally among high-income countries as a group has declined from 35 percent in 1960 to less than 25 percent by 2013. By comparison, in the past 30 years, Chinese investments in public agriculture research has risen eight-fold, with China now the world's largest public funder of agriculture research. According to a 2021 report jointly commissioned by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Farm Journal Foundation, U.S. public spending on food and agriculture has been flat for the past decade, threatening the competitiveness of U.S food systems, a growing concern as the global population may reach 10 billion by 2050, and food production needs will increase by 60-70 percent.

The America Grows Act authorizes a five percent annual funding increase each year, plus inflation, for the next 10 years for research activities at USDA, specifically at the:

• Agriculture Research Service (ARS) - USDA's chief in-house scientific research agency with more than 90 locations nationwide and overseas.

• National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) - which funds external research through a nationwide network of land-grant colleges and universities, agricultural experiment stations, schools of forestry, schools of veterinary medicine, and cooperative extension experts.

• National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) - which collects and reports statistics on U.S. agriculture, such as the farm census, crop forecasts, and price estimates.

• Economic Research Service (ERS) - which provides economic and policy analysis on farming, ranching, food, conservation practices, farm management, commodity markets and rural economic development.

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