Page 69 - Breeding Edge ebook
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the U.S. agricultural research budget has declined in real dollars since 2003. This is an area of
R&D where return on investment is estimated at 20 to 1.”
Carrington, with the Danforth Center, agreed that more federal funding is needed for the U.S. to remain
competitive.
“Back to the middle of the 20th century, research and development was largely in the public
domain,” said Carrington. “Now, while there still may be some public activity in corn
improvement, most of the corn is going to be bought from the big agribusiness companies.
“It’s really a shifting landscape of roles,” he added. “At the very fundamental research level, it’s still
being done in universities and research institutions like the Danforth Center.
“But then in turning those innovations into actual products that can be sold, the role of the private sector
has really increased.”
Yet, Carrington said he doesn’t want to “give the impression that there’s not an extremely important role
for R&D at the federal level.
“Ultimately that’s what fuels innovation on the farm.”
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