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Ag research coalition calls for funding in the name of food security

Leaders from the agricultural research community are calling on Congress to prioritize USDA funding amid spending cuts.

Michigan State University AgBioResearch Director George Smith tells Brownfield the uncertainty for land-grant universities today is more significant than even during the pandemic.

“It’s limiting their ability to do the work that is so important at this period of time for U.S. agriculture, given all the challenges our farmers are facing,” he says.

He says USDA’s grant system has come to a standstill, and some researchers are still waiting to hear progress on proposals submitted last fall.

“It’s really worth wondering how much of the money that’s already been appropriated is actually going to make it out the door,” he shares.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture has only awarded 20 grants since January, all of which support highly pathogenic avian influenza research efforts.

Smith says 70 percent of publicly funded research is done at land-grant universities and can’t be done privately.

“Whether we’re talking about challenges related to extreme weather, whether we’re talking about challenges related to emerging pests and pathogens, and things like that, that is not research that can be readily taken up and performed by the private sector,” he explains.

Smith says the dramatic decreases proposed in President Trump’s budget could cause irreparable harm to agricultural research and lead to more farmers going out of business.

Smith is joining the National Coalition of Food and Agricultural Research this week in Washington, D.C., to urge lawmakers to support the appropriation and allocation of needed investments within the USDA.

At Michigan State University, Smith says Extension researchers could be let go if federal funding resources aren’t secured.