Future Research Funding Begins to Take Shape

By CnAgri2012-07-02 20:36:31 Print

Several important bills that impact ag research are working their way through Congress. The Senate passed version of the 2012 Farm Bill includes authorizations for programs that are important to the wheat value chain. This includes authorizations for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the flagship competitive grant program at USDA, at $700 million and fusarium head blight research, at $10 million.

The research title of the farm bill authorizes a number of other programs including those that direct funds to universities for research and extension. The Senate version also included significant mandatory funding for specialty crop and organic research.

A new provision in the bill is the creation of a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a non-profit organization meant to foster public-private partnerships within the agricultural research community, including USDA research agencies, academia, private corporations and non-profit organizations. The bill includes mandatory funding totaling $100 million. Any of these funds can be drawn down when they are matched with non-Federal funds. The Foundation would be managed by an outside board made up of individuals from academia and industry.

The House has indicated they will introduce their version of the farm bill after they return from the July 4 recess on July 11.

Research funding is primarily impacted by the appropriations process. FY2013 agriculture appropriations bills have passed out of the appropriations committees in both the House and Senate.

The House budget, as it stands today, has about $30 million less than the Senate version for the USDA's intramural research agency, the Agricultural Research Service. The House appropriations committee passed budget includes $1.073 billion for ARS salaries and expenses, $1.175 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and $276 million AFRI.

The Senate appropriations committee passed budget has $1.101 billion for ARS, $1.239 billion for NIFA and $298 million for AFRI. The AFRI program, currently funded at $264 million, is unique in that it is actually increased in both the Senate and House bills over FY2012.