Science Policy Report

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22 October 2014

In This Issue:

Policy News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Science News

Policy News

ASA, CSSA and SSSA, along with more than 20 coalition partners, signed on to a letter in support of the $325 million for USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) as provided in the House and Senate Agriculture appropriation bills. After the mid-term election, Congress will likely finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations, so those bills that have already been put forward will be the starting point for negotiations. With both the House and Senate in agreement on AFRI, we are hopeful that the program will see another funding increase this year. Read the letter here.

The most recent Federal Funds for R&D survey series, which monitors current and historical trends in federal funding of R&D, covers FY 2012 – FY 2014, though the most recent year figures are projections and do not account for congressional action. The current data show that R&D stood at $134.5 billion in FY 2013, down from $140.6 billion in FY 2012. The full dataset can be viewed here.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded more than $18 million in grants to small businesses for high quality, advanced research and development that will lead to technological innovations and solutions for American agriculture. NIFA awarded 100 grants through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The SBIR program exists to stimulate technological innovations in the private sector and to strengthen the role of federal research and development in support of small businesses. Read the full article.

The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages. It also predicted rising demand for military disaster responses as extreme weather creates more global humanitarian crises. The report lays out a road map to show how the military will adapt to rising sea levels, more violent storms and widespread droughts. The Defense Department will begin by integrating plans for climate change risks across all of its operations, from war games and strategic military planning situations to a rethinking of the movement of supplies. Read the full article.

House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) on Tuesday blasted a research project funded by the National Science Foundation to study political messages on Twitter. According to reports, the project, which is led by researchers at Indiana University, has received about $1 million in federal dollars to analyze "subversive propaganda" that leads to misinformation. The Texas Republican expressed concern that a federally funded study was analyzing how people communicate information. Read Chairman’s Smith’s statement here and the full article here.

In the Congressional Budget Office's most recent monthly budget review, the agency estimates the overall deficit for the now-completed 2014 fiscal year will drop to $486 billion, the smallest deficit since FY 2008. The current estimate would be substantially lower than the $649 billion deficit projected in the President's March budget request, and the $583 billion deficit projected in the Office of Management and Budget's July update. The Department of the Treasury will release updated figures this month. Read the full review.

International Corner

Much research has focused on contaminants in wastewater and effluent at treatment plants. But researchers from Australia and New Zealand wanted to look at the fate of some common compounds in the environment. In a new study published in the September-October issue of Journal of Environmental Quality, they measured the concentrations of 42 different contaminants in rivers throughout Australia. Contaminants included industrial compounds, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. While high levels of contaminants were rare, some compounds were widespread and found in unexpected areas. Read the full article.

The economies of Germany and Greece may have little in common. But scientists in those two countries—and across Europe—believe that their national science systems are facing similar assaults from what they view as wrong-headed government policies. In an open letter published Wednesday, prominent science policy advocates from Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom deplore “the systematic destruction of national R&D infrastructures.” The nine authors highlight what they describe as “drastic” budget and hiring cuts at research institutions and universities in an increasing number of countries, a funding bias toward well-established groups, and an increasing emphasis on applied research. Read the full article.

China, the world’s most-populous country and the biggest consumer of rice, soybeans and wheat, has begun a campaign to push genetically modified organisms as it seeks to expand food supplies. While no domestic grain crops are bioengineered, President Xi Jinping has endorsed the technology used to boost output everywhere from the Americas to Africa. China’s Ministry of Agriculture said Sept. 28 it would use media, seminars and street advertising to combat the perceived risks. Read the full article.

The Australian Department of Industry has released its "Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda" which includes a range of initiatives intended to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.  Among the initiatives are efforts to promote science, technology, and math skills; reform select visa programs; and create a series of Industry Growth Centres to enhance competitiveness in select industry sectors.  The sectors of focus are: Food and Agribusiness; Mining Equipment, Technology, and Services; Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals; Advanced Manufacturing; and Oil, Gas, and Energy Resources. Read the full article.

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

The Dept. of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office (EERE) is seeking interdisciplinary projects that apply landscape design approaches to integrate cellulosic feedstock production into existing agricultural and forestry systems while maintaining or enhancing environmental and socio-economic sustainability including ecosystem services and food, feed, and fiber production. For the purposes of this FOA, cellulosic feedstock production refers to dedicated annual and perennial energy crops, use of agricultural and forestry residues, or a combination of these options. Concept papers deadline, 21 November; full proposal deadline, 12 January. Read the full announcement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting proposals from eligible applicants to manage the Healthy Watersheds Consortium Grant. The objective of the Healthy Watersheds Consortium Grant is to accelerate and expand the strategic protection of healthy freshwater ecosystems and their watersheds across the country. The grant program will advance the protection of healthy watersheds by supporting an array of projects that assess, identify, communicate the value, and demonstrate protection of these watersheds. Deadline, 5 January. Read the full announcement. 

The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology to recent recipients of the doctoral degree for research and training in selectedareas supported by BIO and with special goals for human resource development in biology. The fellowships encourage independence at an early stage of the research career to permit Fellows to pursue their research and training goals in the most appropriate research locations regardless of the availability of funding for the Fellows at that site. For FY 2015 and beyond, these BIO programs are (1) Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology, (2) Research Using Biological Collections, and (3) National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. These areas change periodically as new scientific and infrastructure opportunities present themselves. For this reason, this solicitation will be changed as necessary to reflect the areas being funded. Deadline, 8 January. Read the full announcement. 

Science News

Bir Bahadur (B.B.) Singh is among the most revered breeders of legume—or pulse—crops, credited with improving the diets, incomes, and lives of farming families across Africa, Asia, and South America. In the late 1960s and 1970s, for instance, the ASA and CSSA Fellow not only established the first systematic breeding program for soybean in India, but was also pivotal in bringing the novel food to millions of Indian people. Soybean production has since grown in India from just 5,000 tons in 1961 to about 12 million today. Read the full article.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the third edition of a report, ‘Climate Change Indicators in the United States.’ The report pulls together observed data on key measures of our environment, including U.S. and global temperature and precipitation, ocean heat and ocean acidity, sea level, length of growing season, and many others. With 30 indicators that include over 80 maps and graphs showing long-term trends, the report demonstrates that climate change is already affecting our environment and our society. Read the full article.

Wheat breeders involved in the monumental global challenge of ensuring food security for 9.5 billion people by 2050 face enormous hurdles. Wheat, a major staple crop, currently provides 20 percent of the overall daily protein and calories consumed throughout the world. Production must grow 70 percent over the next 35 years, according to the international Wheat Initiative – an achievable goal if annual wheat yields are increased from a current level of below 1 percent to at least 1.7 percent. Researchers are developing wheat varieties tolerant to the drought, heat, extreme wet and cold conditions that impact wheat now and that are anticipated by scientists to grow more extreme as global average temperatures continue to warm and weather patterns become more volatile. Read the full article.

A large part of U.S. agricultural output and its competiveness in international commodity markets is attributable to research-induced gains in productivity accumulated over the 20th century. In 2012, the United States accounted for a sizable share (9.5% by value) of the global food, feed, and fiber economy. Over the same period, the Asia-Pacific region (including India and China) grew its global share from 24.2% to 45.1%. As the 21st century unfolds, a question of major importance is whether a continuation of contemporary trends in public investments in research and development (R&D) are sufficient to preserve or enhance past productivity gains and ensure the United States remains competitive in global agricultural markets. Read the full article.

If the latest trend continues, the world may not be able to sustainably supply enough food and other agricultural goods to meet exponentially growing demand during the next three decades. Today, the Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) announced that stark reality as it released its 5th annual Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report) at the World Food Prize Symposium. The GAP Index is an annual snapshot of agricultural productivity growth measured against growth in global population and food demand. Before a global audience of scientists, policymakers, agricultural industry leaders, farmers, and development professionals, leading experts pointed out that — for the first time in several years — global agricultural productivity is not accelerating fast enough to meet the expected agricultural demand by 2050 through sustainable practices. Read the full article.

“Weed control in major crops is almost entirely accomplished with herbicides today," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "USDA, working in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, must continue to identify ways to encourage producers to adopt diverse tactics for weed management in addition to herbicide control. The actions we are taking today are part of this effort." USDA recently announced several of the steps it is taking to help farmers manage their herbicide resistant weed problems in a more holistic and sustainable way. Read the full article.

Today, more than 800 million people are malnourished. The world’s population is projected to grow by 2.3 billion people from 2009 to 2050, to 9.1 billion. To feed that many people adequately will require a 70 percent increase in food production globally and a doubling of food production in developing countries. There are natural limits to the productivity increases that can be obtained with conventional farming. Scientifically advanced biotechnology could greatly benefit the world’s growing population, but governments have placed severe regulatory restrictions on the use of such technology. The most controversial aspect of biotechnology is the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to increase crop yields per acre and to improve the nutritional quality of the food produced. Restrictions on the development and cultivation of biotech crops have slowed global progress in conquering hunger. Through advanced research and new farming methods, global hunger could be reduced. Read the full article.

A report released today at the World Food Prize 2014 Borlaug Dialogue identifies a growing gap between the supply of new graduates trained in agriculture-related science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and the demand for young professionals in related roles by global food and agriculture employers. The report, presented this afternoon by The STEM Food & Ag Council, a project of STEMconnector, recommends that the food and agriculture industries work closely with educational institutions on closing the employment gap necessary to sustainably feed an expected global population of 9 billion people by 2050. It includes a detailed analysis of university enrollment and workforce trends in six agriculture fields: agricultural business and management, agriculture mechanization and engineering, animal sciences, plant and soil science, food science and technology, and other life sciences. Read the full article.

Sources: USDA; DOE; EPA; CBO; ScienceInsider; AAAS; Thomas Reuters Foundation; The Global Harvest; Agri-Pulse; The New York Times; National Center for Policy Analysis; Bloomberg Business Week; The Hill; Choices Magazine; Global Harvest Initiative; Australia Department of Industry

Vision: The Societies Washington, DC Science Policy Office (SPO) will advocate the importance and value of the agronomic, crop and soil sciences in developing national science policy and ensuring the necessary public-sector investment in the continued health of the environment for the well being of humanity. The SPO will assimilate, interpret, and disseminate in a timely manner to Society members information about relevant agricultural, natural resources and environmental legislation, rules and regulations under consideration by Congress and the Administration.

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