Page 118 - Farm Bill Series_The 7 Things You Should Know

Barbara Glenn, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA),
says there’s no reason ag research shouldn’t share the spotlight.

“Everyone that has had a sick relative sees benefits of
biomedical research, it’s a very personal thing,” she told Agri-
Pulse. “I would argue our food is very personal, too. Our
friends and neighbors need to understand that it’s just as
important to invest in food and ag as it is to invest in
biomedical research.”

Much of the success of medical research is also attributed to the
competitive nature of the NIH grants, and that’s why Grumbly
and others are pinning the hopes of farm research expansion on
AFRI – the main competitive branch of research at NIFA – but
SoAR and the science community aren’t leaving out the
formula-funded land grant university system and in-house
science by the Agricultural Research Service. Indeed, beyond
just the formula-funds, scientists at the nation’s land grant
universities have been pulling in about 80 percent of the
competitive grants, and that’s not expected to change.

It’s not just AFRI that was the source of new competitive grant funding. Lawmakers also created
the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) in the 2008 farm bill after prolific lobbying on
behalf of fruit, vegetable, tree nut and horticulture producers.

It was in January of 2007 when USDA Secretary Mike Johanns presented Congress with a
proposal for the 2008 farm bill (At the time it was still expected to be the 2007 farm bill), and
specialty crops were highlighted like they had never had been before.
For two years the USDA had been holding farm bill forums across the country. After 52 of them,
Johanns said that the message was clear: More specialty crop research was needed.

One of the results was that the USDA proposed $1 billion over 10 years for the SCRI, the first-
ever national competitive grant program specifically for fruits, vegetables and other specialty
crops.

But it wasn’t just the USDA that was listening to groups like the United Fresh Produce
Association. They were getting a warm reception on Capitol Hill and finding champions like
Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

116 www.Agri-Pulse.com