63 organizations signed a letter to the House and Senate agriculture committees
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
More than 60 American farm commodity groups want increased USDA research spending as part of the next Farm Bill.
The Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, and National Agricultural Statistics Service make up the Research, Education and Economics (REE) portion of the USDA’s budget.
Those four departments would receive a total of $2.5 billion in 2018, according to the President’s USDA budget summary released in May 2017.
But that’s not enough, according to 63 farm groups, who want REE spending to hover around $6 billion.
The Crop Science Society of America, American Farmland Trust and American Soybean Association are among the organizations that signed a letter destined for the House and Senate agriculture committees.
An increase in REE spending would help American agriculture remain competitive on a global market, according to Richard Wilkins, a soybean producer from Delaware and chairman of the American Soybean Association.
Science plays a pivotal role in today’s agricultural landscape and the United States can’t afford to fall behind, Wilkins said.
“Modern agriculture is a science-based business,” he said in a Friday release. “And yet, we as a nation are not investing enough in publicly funded research while China has doubled its commitments. We need to regain and maintain our nation’s place as the international leader (in agricultural research).”
Other goals outlined in the letter include renewing the Specialty Crop Research Initiative at no less than $80 million annually, and renewing the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, which uses social, physical and biological sciences to answer research questions, with $250 million between 2019 and 2023.