Science Policy Report

Address all comments to the Science Policy Office at:
sciencepolicy@sciencesocieties.org

23 December 2020

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

Along with a massive, $2.3 trillion stimulus package for covid relief, Congress also passed the FY21 appropriations bills to fund the government. The omnibus spending package provides $3.3 billion for agriculture research programs at USDA, a $125 million increase that includes funding for the Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The bill also increases funding for the National Science Foundation by $208.4 million to a total of $8.5 billion. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science saw a $26 million increase to $7.026 billion, and ARPA-E saw a $2 million increase to $427 million. For more, check out the Societies’ funding chart.

Societies’ CEO Nicholas Goeser and President of the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation Tom Grumbly team up to address how the Biden Administration can support rural America and farmers by helping them work towards addressing climate change. Read the full article.

The National Academy of Sciences today released a new proceedings of a symposium that explored whether the modern research architecture that fuels U.S. innovation needs to be reconfigured to meet the challenges of our time. The symposium, held on Feb. 26 at the National Academy of Sciences, gathered top business, academic, and government leaders to debate the future of science policy in the U.S. and how it can best serve society in the 21st century. Read the full story.

The agreement brings together NASA’s experience with technology development and space-borne Earth science measurements and USDA’s scientific experience and knowledge of agricultural production, resource conservation, food security and safety, and forests and working lands. Read the full story.

The main obstacle preventing a younger generation from entering farming is a lack of access to land, the National Young Farmers Coalition said in a recent report that advocates for programs that would advance a new generation of farmers and promote racial equity in the sector. Read the full article.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a plan for a pilot program to provide $3 million for research traineeships to broaden and diversify the nuclear physics research community. The planned funding will support training and research experiences for undergraduates, with the goal of increasing the likelihood that participants from underrepresented populations will choose to pursue a graduate degree in nuclear physics or another science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) related field. Read the full story.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that President Trump has named Dr. Carrie Castille as the new, six year term director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Dr. Castille will start her new role on Monday, January 4, 2021. Read the press release.

The massive $1.4 trillion spending bill that the U.S. Congress passed this week should once again reverse the deep cuts the President Donald Trump had proposed for most science agencies, although the outgoing politician has threatened not to sign the bill. Even if he does, the modest hikes for 2021 have left the research community wanting more. Read the full story.

Science and Society News

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA have made the commitment to resourcing actions supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion as our top strategic priority. In the newest issue of CSA News, the CEO and Presidents of the Societies provide an update and their perspectives on the initiative. Read the full story.

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. Visit our careers page to browse and post positions.

Hundreds of native North American plants, often dismissed as weeds, deserve a lot more respect, according to a new study. These plants, distant cousins of foods like cranberries and pumpkins, actually represent a botanical treasure now facing increased threat from climate change, habitat loss and invasive species. Read the full story.

For 2021, the ASA, CSSA, SSSA Congressional Visits Day will be a VIRTUAL event! VCVD participants will be put into small groups to meet with Members of Congress and their staff and advocate for USDA research funding. Participants will attend 3-6 webinar meetings with Members of Congress and their staff. Scheduling and logistics for the virtual meetings will be provided and all participants will receive policy, communication, and advocacy training to prepare you to effectively work with members of Congress and their staff.  VCVD is an exciting opportunity to use your voice and your skills to help shape federal science policy. Applications for two awards to participate in VCVD are now open, deadline January 8. Learn more and apply here.

As a part of multiple coalitions, ASA, CSSA, and SSSA sent letters to the Biden transition team with research policy recommendations. Read the letters for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy-Office of Science, and USDA research programs. All three letters stressed the need for robust funding for research programs, prioritization of investments in research infrastructure, and supporting the research workforce. Read our NSF, DOE, and USDA letters.

By following a few proven recommendations for site preparation, planting and managing pollinator habitat can produce significant results and benefits. This webinar will outline some of those key considerations along with new opportunities to access free pollinator seed mixtures and technical guidance through support from the National Corn Growers Association and others. Free to all registrants! Register here.

If it comes as a surprise that a recent government auction of 5G broadband licenses was won by agricultural giant Deere & Co. rather than AT&T or another telecom stalwart, maybe it shouldn’t. Farming — which over thousands of years evolved from humans pulling plows to chemical and most recently its genetic era — is entering its digital age. Also referred to as precision agriculture, the changes being wrought by collection and analysis of data, on life and work in rural areas, are set to accelerate. One example from Deere that is set to debut in the farm fields next summer combines machine vision and machine learning — or, to put it in words easier to understand, think facial recognition for plants. Read the full story.

Wetlands do a great job of filtering and cleaning up polluted water. But in the United States, many of those natural filters have been destroyed: filled in, paved over, or drained to become farm fields. Now, a study suggests policymakers responsible for managing wetlands could do a better job by strategically locating restored or created wetlands near sources of pollution, such as farms and livestock operations. Such a targeted approach would remove much more nitrogen—which pollutes groundwater, lakes, and coastal waters—than current scattershot policies, the researchers say. Read the full article.

International Corner

Imagine being a potato farmer in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda or Nigeria. On a small piece of land, which you depend on for food and income, you have spent months planting, weeding and watering. Up to twice a week, you manually spray your field, sometimes with limited equipment, or hire someone to do it, spending much of your income on fungicides to avoid crop diseases. Now imagine a potato variety that resists late blight. Read the full story.

Bangladeshi farmers significantly reduced pesticide use and increased their profits by growing genetically modified (GM) eggplant, a new study confirms. Farmers growing insect-resistant Bt brinjal (eggplant) improved their yields by 51 percent and cut pesticide costs by 37.5 percent, according to the study published last month in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Read the full story.

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Do you have ideas about how to solve critical energy issues that this country faces? Ideas that involve technology which is so high-risk that it can’t get support, but so high-impact that it should? ARPA-E intends to issue an OPEN Funding Opportunity Announcement (OPEN FOA) in January, 2021 to address these unique questions/concepts. Since ARPA-E commenced operations in 2009, the agency has issued an OPEN funding announcement approximately every three years in order to investigate energy technology concepts that are outside of the scope of previous ARPA-E program funding. On December 3, 2020, ARPA-E announced a Teaming Partner List for this planned FOA. The Teaming Partner List is an optional tool that potential applicants may choose to utilize to facilitate the formation of new project teams and identify potential collaborations. Teaming partners include organizations and individuals who can offer expertise, facilities, or other complementary resources toward a potential ARPA-E project. Read the full announcement.

USDA will award up to $10 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the Farm to School Grant Program in FY 2021. Each grant helps implement farm to school programs that increase access to local food in eligible schools, connect children with agriculture for better health, and inspire youth to consider careers in agriculture. The RFA includes three tracks: Implementation, State Agency, and a new Turnkey track. Funding is available in amounts up to $50,000 for three Turnkey projects: (1) farm to school action plan development; (2) agricultural education curriculum development and delivery; (3) edible gardening. State agencies may receive awards of up to $25,000 for the fourth Turnkey project type, the USDA farm to school producer training project. Implementation grant awards range from $50,000 to $100,000. State Agency grant awards range from $50,000-$100,000 to help State agencies seeking to improve access to local food served in eligible Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) by incorporating local procurement and agricultural education activities. Deadline: January 8, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The purpose of the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants Program (BRAG) program is to support the generation of new information that will assist Federal regulatory agencies in making science-based decisions about the effects of introducing into the environment genetically engineered organisms (GE), including plants, microorganisms — such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses — arthropods, fish, birds, mammals and other animals excluding humans. Investigations of effects on both managed and natural environments are relevant. The BRAG program accomplishes its purpose by providing federal regulatory agencies with scientific information relevant to regulatory issues. Deadline: January 21, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is inviting applications for the Quinnipiac River Fund, which seeks to improve the environmental quality of the Quinnipiac River and New Haven Harbor and their watersheds. According to the foundation, contamination of the Quinnipiac River was once so great that it prompted the first pollution control measure in Connecticut and the eventual creation of the first sewage treatment plant in the state. It was also the subject of a lawsuit against the Upjohn Company concerning wastewater discharges from Upjohn's plant in North Haven. The lawsuit resulted in a settlement in 1990 that created the Quinnipiac River Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, making the river the first in the state of Connecticut to have an endowment at a community foundation that generates income to protect it and its surrounding environment. Examples of projects supported by the fund include studies of the pollution of the waterbodies; the ecology of the waterbodies; methods of reducing pollution or otherwise improving the environmental health of the waterbodies; means of reducing both non-point and point sources of pollution to the waterbodies; the permitting process, researching particular permits, and making recommendations as to findings; public education about the waterbodies; land purchases in the watersheds for conservation, pollution reduction, and/or improving public access; environmental advocacy (note: funding cannot be used for litigation); and habitat restoration. Deadline: January 22, 2021. Read the full announcement.

This Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program supports: (1) training students for master's and doctoral degrees in food, agricultural and natural resource sciences; and (2) Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research Travel Allowances (IRTA) for eligible USDA NNF beneficiaries. Awards are specifically intended to support traineeship programs that engage outstanding students to pursue and complete their degrees in USDA mission areas. Applicants provide clarity about the philosophy of their graduate training, and relevance to USDA mission sciences, NIFA priorities and national science education policies and statistics. Deadline: January 28, 2021. Read the full announcement.

NIFA requests pre-applications for the ECDRE program for fiscal year 2021. The overarching goals and desired outcomes for the ECDRE program are: To combat Huanglongbing (HLB) and its disease complex in order to continue to be able to farm citrus in a financially sustainable way through collaborative approaches and knowledge; Transition from component-focused research to deploying research outcomes and conclusions on farms; and Encourage research teams to bring knowledge together to find grower solutions to combat and prevent HLB infection. The ECDRE program will address these needs through the promotion of collaboration, open communication, the exchange of information, and the development of resources that accelerate application of scientific discovery and technology to farm-level solutions for HLB. Deadline: January 29, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The goal of this research program is to answer several key restoration questions that are a barrier to watershed restoration project implementation. Funding partners hope that answering these questions will ultimately lead to increased confidence in proposed restoration project outcomes, clarification of the optimal site conditions in which to apply particular restoration techniques, information useful to regulatory agencies in project permitting, and information that will help guide monitoring programs. This program supports the Pooled Monitoring Initiative that is designed to connect key stormwater and stream restoration questions posed by the regulatory and practitioner communities with researchers. Approximately $900,000 has been allocated for the program. Literature reviews will be funded at up to $50,000, and there is no cap for research projects. A funding match is encouraged but is not required. Deadline: January 29, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The fund supports small grassroots groups in Northern California that are tackling tough environmental problems, including toxic pollution, urban sprawl, climate change, and/or environmental degradation of rivers and wild places. Through the fund, small grants (typically $5,000 or less) will be awarded to grassroots organizations that are overlooked by most foundations. Projects must be focused on Northern California (including the Sierra Nevada range, Bay Area, Central Valley, Central Coast, and North Coast) and address some aspect of environmental health and justice, land management and urban sprawl, habitat and wilderness protection, sustainable forestry, water resources, agriculture, sustainability, and/or pollution. To be eligible, applicants must have annual income or expenses of $100,000 or less and be a nonprofit or be fiscally sponsored by another nonprofit. (Applicants without nonprofit status can as the fund to serve as fiscal sponsor. Deadline: February 1, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) today announced they are accepting applications to the 2021 Lincoln Leaders Program, which includes fellowship opportunities to connect USDA resources with faculty and staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions, 1994 Tribal Colleges, and Universities, and 1890 Land-Grant Universities. The E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program is for faculty or staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) or Hispanic-serving school districts. The Terra Preta do Indio Tribal Fellowship benefits faculty and staff from 1994 Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and secondary education superintendents, principals, agricultural and/or district level teachers working for Bureau of Indian Education designated high schools. The Booker T. Washington Fellowship reaches faculty and staff at accredited 1890 Land-Grant Universities and secondary education superintendents, principals, agricultural and/or district level teachers working for 1890 Land-Grant University feeder high schools. Each program offers opportunities for education fellows and science fellows. Deadline: March 1, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The purpose of the Crop Protection and Pest Management program is to address high priority issues related to pests and their management using IPM approaches at the state, regional and national levels. The CPPM program supports projects that will ensure food security and respond effectively to other major societal pest management challenges with comprehensive IPM approaches that are economically viable, ecologically prudent, and safe for human health. The CPPM program addresses IPM challenges for emerging issues and existing priority pest concerns that can be addressed more effectively with new and emerging technologies. The outcomes of the CPPM program are effective, affordable, and environmentally sound IPM practices and strategies needed to maintain agricultural productivity and healthy communities. ​Deadline: March 15, 2021. Read the full announcement.

The RHSE program proposals are expected to be community-based outreach education programs, such as those conducted through Human Science extension outreach that provide individuals and families with: information as to the value of good health at any age; information to increase individual or family’s motivation to take more responsibility for their own health; information regarding rural environmental health issues that directly impact human health; information about and access to health promotion and educational activities; and training for volunteers and health services providers concerning health promotion and health care services for individuals and families in cooperation with state, local, and community partners. Deadline: April 29, 2021. Read the full announcement.

Sources: Agripulse; National Academies of Science; NASA; Agriculture.com; U.S. Department of Energy; CNBC; NPR; Science; Cornell Alliance for Science;

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.