Testimony of Dr. Colien Hefferan, Administrator
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service,
United States Department of Agriculture
Research, Extension and Education
Programs of the Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service
Before the Conservation, Credit, Rural
Development and Research Subcommittee of
The House Agriculture Committee
June 27, 2001
Mr. Chairman. Thank you for this opportunity
to appear before the Subcommittee. My name
is Colien Hefferan, and I am the Administrator
of USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education,
and Extension Service. CSREES is the agency
of USDA which engages the national university-based
agricultural knowledge system to develop
science-based solutions and technologies
to help farmers and rural communities remain
productive and profitable in the face of
considerable challenges. I am here today
to report on the research, extension and
education programs administered by the
CSREES as guidance to the subcommittee's
preparation for the next Farm Bill.
I am pleased to report to you today that in the three years since Congress
passed the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998
that CSREES has been successful in its mission to advance knowledge that has
resulted in improvements in all aspects of agriculture. Agriculture is a knowledge-based,
global enterprise sustained by the innovation of scientists and educators and
the hard work of farmers and ranchers and publicly-supported research is a
key component of that innovation. It is difficult to think of an element of
the food and agriculture system that is not directly impacted by the research,
education and extension system. When confronting issues as diverse as financial
risk management, animal disease , nutrient management, climate change and economic
development, producers, consumers and policy-makers require cutting edge scientific
and educational techniques to develop appropriate and effective solutions.
Effectively dealing with challenges such as Foot and Mouth Disease, food safety
and agricultural resource conservation would be impossible without the nationwide
network of experiment stations, extension services and universities dedicated
to the advancement of agricultural sciences.
Likewise, the technological change sweeping across agriculture associated with
information technology, precision farming, genomic sequencing and development
of genetically engineered crops are all rooted in research, extension and education
programs supported by Federal, state and local governments.
CURRENT STATUS OF PROGRAMS
The United States will need the most talented scientists and educators to work
on current and future challenges in order to maintain its leadership position
in global agriculture. CSREES accomplishes its mission by supporting research,
education and extension activities through peer-reviewed competitive grant
programs, formula fund support at the land-grant universities, and Congressionally
determined priority projects. I would like to briefly describe how each of
these components fits into the continuum of the agricultural knowledge system.
- The research and extension formula
fund programs provide critical support
to the Agricultural Experiment Stations
and the Cooperative Extension Systems
nationwide at Land-Grant Universities,
and substantially leverage additional
resources from state and local governments.
- The National Research Initiative (NRI)
supports investigator-initiated basic
and mission-focused research related
to agricultural animal, plant, environmental
and economic systems. The basic understanding
of biological systems generated through
the NRI underlies the development of
future technological innovations.
- The Initiative for Future Agriculture
and Food Systems and the Integrated Research,
Education and Extension Program provide
support for projects which combine the
functions of research, education and
extension activities to link research
directly to on-the-ground solutions for
American farmers and consumers. These
programs address critical issues such
as plant and animal genomics, food safety,
biobased products and natural resource
management.
- The Higher Education Program portfolio
builds educational capacity to train
and educate future food and agricultural
scientists. These programs contribute
to innovations in curricula, recruiting,
and internationalization of teaching
programs and are especially important
for improving the education and extension
capabilities at the historically Black,
tribal and Hispanic-serving institutions.
- The Fund for Rural America provides
key resources for the development of
research, education and extension applications
which address critical issues of rural
economic development, human capacity
building and market development.
- Finally, the Small Business Innovation
Research Grants Program supports the
development of commercially viable agricultural
technologies utilizing results of agricultural
research.
These programs, together with targeted,
national programs such as Integrated Pest
Management and the Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program, and Congressional priority
projects form a portfolio of work that
translates research from the most basic
of laboratory hypotheses all the way down
to the dinner plate.
One example of how these programs all
work together is food safety. In fiscal
year 1999 the NRI funded research into
the ways that E. coli 0157:H7 is distributed
and transferred through the environment.
This work stimulated integrated research
and extension projects to reduce the risk
of spreading the organism which were funded
in fiscal year 2000. Taking the results
of this knowledge even further, in cooperation
with the Food and Drug Administration,
we are funding a $1.3 million national
program through the Integrated Research,
Education and Extension Grant Program to
educate farm-workers and consumers about
safe handling practices for fresh fruits
and vegetables with the goal of further
reducing the incidence of microbial-based
illnesses.
The programs I just described form the
framework under which CSREES has been operating
since passage of the Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Education Reform Act of
1998 (AREERA). This Act placed a higher
emphasis on stakeholder input, and integration
of research, extension and education functions,
with a greater importance on competition
in the delivery of CSREES programs. AREERA
also authorized new programs and investments
in agricultural research, including the
Integrated Research, Extension and Education
program and the Initiative for Future Agriculture
and Food Systems.
The Initiative for Future Agriculture
and Food Systems (IFAFS) and the investment
of $600 million in mandatory funding for
integrated research, education and extension
projects represents one of the most significant
and far-sighted provisions of AREERA. With
the support of many members of this committee,
and following a 1-year delay in implementation
mandated through appropriations action,
CSREES first requested and awarded proposals
under IFAFS during fiscal year 2000. The
research, education and extension community
responded by submitting nearly 1000 proposals
requesting $1.5 billion in support. After
reviewing the proposals we awarded 87 grants
covering topics ranging from plant genomics
and bioinformatics, the development of
biobased oils and lubricants, management
techniques for private forest owners and
research related to diets and nutrition.
The program focused on research that was
cutting-edge, multi-institutional and directly
linked to producer or consumer issues through
extension or education programs. Included
in the funded projects were the following:
- Several projects to develop biobased
products such as solvents, greases and
latex substitutes and projects examining
more efficient methods for converting
biomass to fuels.
- A consortium of Texas, Florida and
California institutions to reduce the
risk of microbial contamination of fresh
fruits and vegetables through a combination
of basic research, extension and farm-worker
education.
- A consortium of the University of Tennessee
and Purdue to develop natural resource
management solutions for private forest
owners.
- Two consortia to develop education
material for producers and consumers
about the application of agricultural
biotechnology. One of these was a consortium
of 1890 Land-Grant Colleges and focused
on delivering biotechnology applications
to under-served farm communities.
CSREES is currently reviewing proposals
for the FY 2001 IFAFS competition. This
year, the IFAFS program received 770 proposals
requesting nearly $1.25 billion in support.
In the two years of its operation the IFAFS
program has become an important feature
of the agricultural research, extension
and education community. When paired with
the new Integrated Research, Education
and Extension Program, IFAFS represents
a fundamental shift in how CSREES manages
its program portfolio and in how university
scientists approach the development and
dissemination of new research results.
One of the strengths of the agricultural
knowledge system as it exists today is
the way that different levels of government
cooperate and leverage funds to the benefit
of the overall system. A relatively small
federal investment in research and extension
formula funds leverages a tremendous amount
of non-federal funds for these activities.
Focused multi-state and regional research
projects, supported by both formula funds
and competitive grants, are being established
to address complex problems. Funds provided
to agricultural research, extension and
education are used in a way that maximizes
impact and minimizes duplication of effort.
Collaboration with other Federal science
agencies is becoming a major mode of operating
many CSREES competitive programs. We have
strong collaborative efforts with the National
Science Foundation (NSF) in the area of
genomics research. Our scientific staff
meets regularly with NSF staff to set joint
program goals and to ensure that our genomics
programs are complimentary. Just last December
the two agencies, along with the Department
of Energy announced the completion of the
jointly supported Arabadopsis Genome Sequencing
Program and we are nearing completion of
the joint rice sequencing project as well.
CSREES and NSF are currently supporting
a joint program to support the rapidly
expanding field of microbial genomics.
CSREES supports this joint program as one
component of IFAFS.
In cooperation with the National Aeronautics
and Space Agency (NASA), IFAFS will fund
projects to help producers adopt geospacial
and precision technologies. We work jointly
with USDA's Risk Management Agency to deliver
risk management education to producers
across the country. We work closely with
the Food and Drug Administration and the
Agricultural Research Service to set priorities
for food safety research and to deliver
public education. Finally we are working
with National Institute for Standards and
Technology and the Environmental Protection
Agency to develop standards for assessing
the environmental benefits of biobased
products. These collaborations allow USDA
to leverage the resources of other agencies
to address issues of concern to agriculture
through the multi-disciplinary capacity
of America's universities and to prevent
duplication of programs. The Congressional
support of the NRI and IFAFS has been crucial
to the development and the success of these
collaborations.
These programs we are discussing today
affect every other element of the farm
bill, but they have their basis in the
authorizations you will consider as part
of the research title. CSREES and our university
collaborators stand ready to assist the
subcommittee as they craft the new research,
extension and education title and the farm
bill as a whole. |
