Science Policy Report

Address all comments to the Science Policy Office at:
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27 May 2020

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

The National Science Foundation (NSF) would get a sweeping remake—including a new name, a huge infusion of cash, and responsibility for maintaining U.S. global leadership in innovation—under bipartisan bills that have just been introduced in both houses of Congress. The Endless Frontiers Act proposes a major reorganization of NSF, creating a technology directorate that, within 4 years, would grow to more than four times the size of the entire agency’s existing $8 billion budget. NSF would be renamed the National Science and Technology Foundation, and both the science and technology arms would be led by a deputy reporting to the NSF director. You can also read the op-ed from Sens. Schumer and Young and Reps. Khanna and Gallagher. Read the full article.
 

Scientific publishers, universities, librarians, and open-access (OA) advocates are waiting anxiously to see whether the Trump administration will end a long-standing policy and require that every scholarly article produced with U.S. funding be made immediately free to all. Such a mandate has long been fiercely opposed by some publishers and scientific societies that depend on subscription revenues from journals. But critics of paywalls argue they are expensive and outmoded, and that tearing them down is the best way to advance scientific research. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA submitted comments to OSTPs February request for feedback on effective ways to make publications from federally funded research immediately and freely available. Read the full article.
 

Critics have blasted a proposed rule that they believe would limit the use of science in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking as the proposal inches closer to finalization. The agency has argued that the measure will increase transparency, but critics have said it will prevent certain research from being considered, especially where revealing data would cause privacy violations. The newest version of the rule, which was proposed earlier this year, wouldn’t prohibit such studies entirely, but would give preference to studies with public data. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA joined 39 other scientific and educational organizations in submitting comments, opposing the rule. Read the full article.

 

A major change to U.S. regulation of biotech will exempt some gene-edited plants from government oversight. The new policy, published in the Federal Register, also calls for automatic approval of variations of established kinds of genetically modified (GM) crops, easing their path to market. Industry groups are welcoming the new rule, whereas opponents are decrying the reduction of government oversight. The gist of the shift is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will now focus on new traits themselves rather than the technology used to create them, a change of approach that plant scientists have long wanted. Several reviews by the National Academy of Sciences have concluded that the risk that GM plants will become weeds is generally low, and that molecular tools typically don’t pose new risks compared with traditional plant breeding techniques. Read the APHIS Q&A here. Read the full article.
 

Science and Society News

Share your science  and submit an abstract. Visit our meetings page for our latest updates and details on our no-risk guarantee. If you’re considering submitting an abstract, submit by May 27 to receive the discounted rate. The final deadline to submit is June 9, and you have until August 27 to edit your submission.  The American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America will host approximately 4,000 scientists, professionals, educators, and students at the 2020 International Annual Meeting, "Translating Visionary Science to Practice," on November 8-11, 2020, in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more here.

Worldwide, flooded rice cultivation has degraded soil quality, reducing rice yield and requiring intense use of inputs like fertilizers. On the other hand, integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLS) appear to be a good alternative to increase nutrient use efficiency of rice, improving rice yield. New research in Agronomy Journal evaluates the impact of no‐till and ICLS adoption on soil fertility and flooded rice nutrition and yield. Although these practices are not widely adopted in paddy fields, their combination has demonstrated several benefits. The team found that flooded rice under ICLS yields more grain while requiring lower fertilizer application. Read the full article.
 

A special webinar will take place on Monday, June 1st, 2020 12pm EST presented by the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS). Hubert Hamer, NASS Administrator and Dr. Rick Mueller will be speaking on “NASS Overview and Application of Remotely Sensed Data.” The import work of NASS impacts every facet of agriculture; this work is directly relevant to the crop phenomics community in both scientific data collection approaches and in statistical output, but a broader group will also be invited. Webinar registration is required. Learn more and register here.
 

Dr. Parag Chitnis has been appointed to the position of Associate Director for Programs. Dr. Chitnis joined NIFA in August 2014 as the Deputy Director of the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability and has served as the Interim Associate Director for Programs since May 2020. Dr. Chitnis will continue to serve as the acting Associate Director for Operations. Prior to joining NIFA, Dr. Chitnis worked for the National Science Foundation (NSF) where he served as Division Director, Deputy Division Director, and Program Director. Dr. Chitnis has been essential in standing up operations in Kansas City as well as his leadership role in Project CAFÉ. Read the full article.
 

A study in Global Change Biology clearly demonstrates significant benefit to the environment and to crop yield for farmers practicing no-till versus tilled agriculture consistently over many years. The Michigan State University scientists' work demonstrates the importance of long-term research for obtaining meaningful results, especially on the outcomes of management changes that can be slow to develop and to detect, such as the attributes of cropping systems on soil structure and organic matter. Using data from the National Science Foundation Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research site to study how land use intensity affects agriculture and environment, researchers explored the long-term agricultural and environmental effects of converting agriculture management practices from tilled to no-till. Read the full article.
 

Several challenges prevent farmers from collecting and sharing data on their production practices with downstream supply chain organizations, such as food companies and retailers, according to new research from Farm Journal’s Trust In Food initiative and The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). To help close the gap between in-field practices and supply chain needs, Trust In Food and TSC surveyed American farmers on their perceptions of data collection and sharing. The resulting report, “Farmer Perspectives On Data,” highlights insights from nearly 400 farmers in more than 40 states. Read the full article.
 

Cover crop impacts on soil properties depends on cover crop productivity. Planting cover crops early and in a diverse mix of species could be an option to boost biomass production and enhance benefits to soils. However, the impacts of early planting and species mixes on soil properties are not well understood. A new article in Agronomy Journal investigates how broadcasting cover crops pre‐harvest or drilling post‐harvest affected biomass production and soil properties after four years. Cover crops were cereal rye, a mix of rye, legumes, and brassicas, and a no‐cover‐crop control. These were studied under no‐till rainfed and irrigated continuous corn and corn–soybean rotations at three sites in the eastern Great Plains. Read the full article.
 

The United States is home to 10% of the planet’s arable soils—the most of any country on Earth. Yet even here, in what appears to be a vast agricultural landscape, only 18% of the continental U.S. is “Nationally Significant” farmland best suited for sustainable food and crop production. New data released recently by American Farmland Trust in “Farms Under Threat: The State of the States” found that 11 million acres of agricultural land were paved over, fragmented, or converted to uses that compromise agriculture from 2001-2016. Of these 11 million acres, more than 4 million were “Nationally Significant,” or our best land for food and crop production. The data also analyzed farmland protection polices by state, finding that though every state has done something, none have done enough. Read the report, see the findings, and learn what you can do to help stop the loss of the nation’s irreplaceable farmland and ranchland. Read the full article.
 

Register now for the 5th Annual Meeting, “Soil Health: The Foundation for Regenerative Agriculture,” on July 30-31, 2020. Registration is required to attend. Soil Health: The Foundation for Regenerative Agriculture is a free, 2-day virtual event. Join to advance the opportunity that improving soil health offers to address climate change, water quality, food production, biodiversity, and many other pressing issues. Visit the conference webpage for more information and to register.
 

The ASA, CSSA, SSSA Career Center is supporting our sciences with FREE Assistantship and Internship Posts. Save 30% on all other online job postings through this week. The Career Center promotes and encourages opportunities in the agronomic, crop, soil, and environmental sciences and serves as a clearinghouse for resumes and job listings. Employers and recruiters will find the most qualified talent pool with relevant work experience to fulfill their staffing needs. See the Career Center here.
 

Beneficial soil microbes can help plants ward off a wide range of diseases. Now, Texas A&M AgriLife scientists have uncovered a major part of the process in which beneficial fungi help corn plants defend against pathogens. Soil microbes affect plants in an astounding way. For example, when a plant is fighting off a disease, its growth rate slows. But when a plant harbors helpful microbes on its roots, it can fight off pests while maintaining normal growth. This is just one reason that understanding the synergy between microbes and plants has lots of potential for improving crop health and yields. Read the full article.
 

Major farm and livestock groups held a press conference in February to project a united voice on an issue they’ve long avoided. The coalition leaders said they wanted to join the fight against climate change rather than remain cast as villains avoiding the responsibility. In myriad ways, the agriculture sector pumps carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane into the atmosphere, contributing to a warming planet. Farmers suffer the effects in flooded fields, persistent droughts or ravaging wildfires partly fueled by trees killed by insects that are increasingly flourishing because of mild winters. To counteract agriculture’s contribution to climate change, environmentally minded farmers are changing the way they work. Read the full article.
 

When it comes to Americans’ confidence in institutional leaders, scientists can feel good about their track record. The share of Americans who report having a “great deal of confidence” in leaders of the scientific community has been relatively stable over the last several decades, and was 44% in 2018, second only to that for military leaders. Even before the current Covid-19 crisis, most Americans have consistently supported federal funding of scientific research and believe that this research is beneficial. These and other data are available in a new report released by the National Science Board (NSB). Science and Technology: Public Attitudes, Knowledge, and Interest examines indicators of Americans’ attitudes and understanding, concern about, and knowledge of science and technology. Read the full article.
 

Agricultural soils contribute to 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions, particularly nitrous oxide (N2O). Migration of gases in the agricultural subsurface and emission across the soil–atmosphere interface is primarily controlled by diffusion and explained by soil gas diffusivity. Since experimental determination of soil gas diffusivity can be expensive and time consuming, predictive models are commonly used to estimate diffusivity from easy‐to‐measure soil properties like soil total porosity and soil air content. New research in the Soil Science Society of America Journal introduces a descriptive soil gas diffusivity model. Read the full article.
 

Annually, we ask members to become involved in the Societies through a variety of service opportunities.  Committee members, working together, achieve and advance the visions and missions of the Societies by developing and recommending policy, providing advice on editorial issues, and assisting in building stronger member-focused Societies.  The committee volunteer sign-up is done online. Login and submit your interests for 2021 by Monday, June 1. 
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International Corner

Accurate climate data are crucial for helping smallholders plan their growing for a season. Scientists at the Alliance for Bioversity International and CIAT use satellite information about the sea-surface temperature to generate crop-specific forecasts. Space-based data collection provides researchers with climate data about regions with limited weather station data. Read the full article.
 

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

As our planet’s biodiversity is increasingly threatened, it is more important than ever to have a sustained and integrated way to assess biodiversity and enable informed decision-making in global conservation efforts. Compelled by the role technology can play in this effort, Microsoft has announced they are building a Planetary Computer that will provide access to the world’s critical environmental datasets, and a computing platform to analyse those datasets on. As one part of this initiative, Microsoft’s AI for Earth program and the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) Secretariat are launching a new US$1 million grant program. Grants will support projects that strengthen efforts to monitor Earth’s biodiversity and create Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and relevant biodiversity change indicators derived from the EBVs. We will consider projects that develop novel approaches to monitoring of biodiversity as well as projects that leverage cloud-scale computation to increase the geographical and temporal coverage of existing monitoring programs. Deadline, June 5. Read the full announcement.
 

The purpose of this competitive undergraduate scholarship grant program is to increase the multicultural diversity of the food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce, and advance the educational achievement of all Americans by providing competitive grants to colleges and universities. Deadline, June 29. Read the full announcement.
 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Proposals will be accepted from the following several states. See the links for full announcement details and deadlines. 
Montana – Deadline June 22
 

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is seeking applications through our Crops of the Future Consortium (COTF). COTF is a public-private collaborative formed by FFAR to solve research gaps common across the Ag industry. We are seeking innovative and potentially revolutionary research focused on ensuring under-appreciated crops also benefit from recent advances and emerging technologies for genotype-independent regeneration of fertile plants to foster application of rapid breeding methods such as in vitro double haploid production and genome editing. FFAR aims to support research that enables transfer of advanced breeding methods to accelerate the development of diverse crop species that are well suited to both sustainable agriculture and improved human nutrition. It is recognized that one of the biggest bottlenecks to applying such methods is efficient regeneration of different genotypes. In accordance with the above intent, the successful research project should focus on a genotype-independent technology/approach that would be applicable to multiple crop species. Solutions that are customized to a single species or select genotypes are not considered within scope. Deadline, July 8. Read the full announcement.
 

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program offers competitive grants to farmers, educators, agricultural service providers, researchers, graduate students and others to address key issues affecting the sustainability of agriculture throughout our region. Northeast SARE is one of four regional SARE programs funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The Research and Education Grant Program funds projects that result in gains in farmer knowledge, awareness, skills and attitudes that are then applied to make measurable on-farm changes leading to greater sustainability. Preproposals may be submitted with or without an applied research component, but all proposals must include an education program for farmers that seeks to achieve a “performance target”.  Deadline, July 23. Read the full announcement.
 

The Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program funds “proof of concept” projects intended to confirm the benefit and/or feasibility of new practices and approaches that have high potential for adoption by farmers. These practices and approaches may be related to production, marketing, business management, human resource management, farm family and other social issues, or other topics related to sustainable agriculture. By “proof of concept,” it means that evidence from prior experiments or pilot projects strongly suggest a practice or approach is beneficial and feasible, but additional testing, data or refinement is needed before recommending farmer adoption. The research may be conducted through field and laboratory experiments, social science investigations or both. Exploratory research with little likelihood of determining feasibility for farmer adoption in the near-term will not be funded. There must be documented interest among farmers and service providers in utilizing or promoting the novel approach, should it be proven beneficial and feasible. Deadline, July 23. Read the full announcement.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply. Deadline, July 27. Read the full announcement.
 

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF/NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems, and agriculturally relevant plants. The program’s scope extends from fundamental mechanisms to translational efforts, with the latter seeking to put into agricultural practice insights gained from basic research on the mechanisms that govern plant biotic interactions. Projects must be strongly justified in terms of fundamental biological processes and/or relevance to agriculture and may be purely fundamental or applied or include aspects of both perspectives. All types of symbiosis are appropriate, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and host-pathogen interactions. Research may focus on the biology of the plant host, its pathogens, pests or symbionts, interactions among these, or on the function of plant-associated microbiomes. The program welcomes proposals on the dynamics of initiation, transmission, maintenance and outcome of these complex associations, including studies of metabolic interactions, immune recognition and signaling, host-symbiont regulation, reciprocal responses among interacting species and mechanisms associated with self/non-self recognition such as those in pollen-pistil interactions. Explanatory frameworks should include molecular, genomic, metabolic, cellular, network and organismal processes, with projects guided by hypothesis and/or discovery driven experimental approaches. Strictly ecological projects that do not address underlying mechanisms are not appropriate for this program. Quantitative modeling in concert with experimental work is encouraged. Overall, the program seeks to support research that will deepen our understanding of the fundamental processes that mediate interactions between plants and the organisms with which they intimately associate and advance the application of that knowledge to benefit agriculture. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement.
 

The 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University, and Central State University. The CBG program supports projects that strengthen teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences in the need areas of curriculum design and materials development, faculty development, and others. CBG supports projects that strengthen research and extension programs in need areas of studies and experimentation, extension program development support systems, and others. The CBG also support integrated project grants. The intent of this initiative is to increase and strengthen food and agriculture sciences at the 1890s through integration of education, research and extension. Applications submitted to CBG must address at least one of the following NIFA strategic goals: sustainable bioenergy; food security; childhood obesity prevention; or food safety. Deadline, September 10. Read the full announcement.
 

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Core Programs Track supports research aimed at understanding why organisms are structured the way they are and function as they do. Proposals are welcomed in all of the core scientific program areas supported by the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS). Areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to, developmental biology and the evolution of developmental processes, nervous system development, structure, modification, function, and evolution; biomechanics and functional morphology, physiological processes, symbioses and microbial interactions, interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic environments, plant and animal genomics, and animal behavior. Proposals should focus on organisms as a fundamental unit of biological organization. Principal Investigators (PIs) are encouraged to apply systems approaches that will lead to conceptual and theoretical insights and predictions about emergent organismal properties. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement. 
 

A hallmark of NSF INCLUDES is the focus on the five design elements of collaborative infrastructure to achieve systemic change. Collaborative infrastructure refers to the process by which partnering organizations come together to map out mutually reinforcing activities through: (1) shared vision, (2) partnerships, (3) goals and metrics, (4) leadership and communication, and (5) expansion, sustainability and scale. Through these five design elements of collaborative infrastructure, the successful implementation of NSF INCLUDES will result in substantial advances toward a diverse, innovative, and well-prepared STEM workforce to support our Nation’s economy and continued U.S. leadership in the global STEM enterprise. It is anticipated that NSF’s investment will contribute to new and improved STEM career pathways, policies, opportunities to learn, and practices for equity and inclusion. The initiative is supported by the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub (www.includesnetwork.org) that provides a framework for communication and networking, network assistance and reinforcement, and visibility and expansion for the NSF INCLUDES National Network as a whole. Letter of intent deadline, October 5. Read the full announcement. 
 

NLGCA Institutions may use the funds: (a) to successfully compete for funds from Federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, and outreach activities that address priority concerns of national, regional, State, and local interest; (b) to disseminate information relating to priority concerns to interested members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities, the public, and any other interested entity; (c) to encourage members of the agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to participate in priority education, research, and outreach activities by providing matching funding to leverage grant funds; and (d) through: (1) the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure (not including alteration, repair, renovation, or construction of buildings); (2) the professional growth and development of the faculty of the NLGCA Institution; and (3) the development of graduate assistantships. Deadline, October 28. Read the full announcement.
 

Sources: ScienceInsider; The Hill; USA Today; USDA; APHIS; NSF; Trust in Food; American Farmland Trust; Soil Health Institute; Global Plant Council; RollCall; Agrilinks; FFAR;

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.

This page of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA web site will highlight current news items relevant to Science Policy. It is not an endorsement of any position.