Remarks by Dr. Gale Buchanan, USDA Under Secretary For Research, Education, and Economics, The Jensen Address: The Future of Agricultural Research and Education , Presented to Foundation for Environmental Agriculture Education (February 16, 2007)

It is a great pleasure to be invited to present the Jensen Memorial Address, and especially to be offered the opportunity to address a topic that holds great interest and concern for me. That topic is "the Future of Agricultural Research and Education in the United States." Let me state most emphatically that "education" should be thought of in the broadest context. "Education" embraces academia as well as education in non-academia settings through extension.

In the next few minutes, I would like to share a few points and then outline our respective roles in assuring the success of this program. I would like to close with my views on the future and the implications of these programs on our society.

First, we are not about to finish the job of research and education. Research and Education are truly open ended endeavors that are highly dynamic. There are always more students to teach, new information to deliver and, in research, more problems to solve. In research we keep moving the goal posts. Of course, biological organisms are constantly changing as well as expectations.

Let me use my own field of science as an example. The goal of weed science research is to mitigate the effects of weeds on crops. But there are new weed species emerging that must be dealt with. As new herbicides and other control methods become available, some weeds are controlled while other species are released. Of course, there is the possibility that some weed species become tolerant or resistant to specific herbicides. Consequently, the need for research is never ending.

With regard to education, a similar argument can be made. We are barely keeping up with training scientists to replace our current workforce. We also need a more skilled, better trained supporting workforce. Extension has the same challenges.

Assuming these assumptions correct regarding the continued need for research and education, then the obvious next question, "How will we meet these future challenges?" Being Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture causes me to be constantly concerned about this very question.

I find great comfort in the agriculture research and education system that has been in place for almost 100 years. During the U.S. Civil War, the Federal government did two things that are still relevant to this day. Those two things were (1) the creation of the US Department of Agriculture, and (2) passage of the 1862 Morrill Act, which led to the creation of the nation's Land Grant Universities. This was followed by 1890 legislation creating LGUs for African Americans and 1994 legislation creating LGUs for Native Americans.

Our system is where it is today because of some visionary thinkers over 100 years ago. I might add there have been many good decisions made that have been made over the years that have continued to improve this unique system.

In the next few minutes, I would like to describe our system and share with you my reason for optimism.

The Department of Agriculture and the Land Grant Universities will be called the "People's Department" and the "People's Universities" in the early days. This was quite reasonable in as much as they were focused on helping solve people's problems or addressing needs of the people.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has 7 mission areas. One of those is Research, Education, and Economics (REE). The REE mission area is responsible for all agricultural, economic, and some forestry research. The National Statistics Service provides timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.

There are four action agencies in the REE mission area. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has "in-house" research capability. ARS has the responsibility of extending the Nation's scientific knowledge across a broad range of program areas that affect the American people on a daily basis. ARS conducts research that addresses agricultural problems of high national priority that:

• Ensures high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products,
• Assesses the nutritional needs of Americans,
• Sustains a competitive agricultural economy,
• Enhances the natural resource base and the environment, and
• Provides economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole.

Research is embraced by 22 research problem areas arranged in 4 broad categories that include

• Animal production and protection
• Crop production and protection
• National resources and sustainable agriculture system
• Nutrition, food safety and quality.

To carry out their mission, ARS has over 100 laboratories throughout the United States and laboratories in four foreign countries including France, China, Australia, and Argentina. There are over 2,500 scientists and support personnel in ARS.

Another of the agencies in the REE mission area is the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).

CSREES is USDA's primary extramural research and education agency. CSREES manages Federal resources while working through partnerships - with Federal, university-based, and citizen partners.

CSREES has wide-ranging partnerships with more than 130 colleges of agriculture; 59 agricultural experiment stations; 57 cooperative extensions services; 63 schools of forestry; 18 1890 land grant colleges and universities, including Tuskegee University and West Virginia State University.

There are 27 colleges of veterinary medicine; 42 schools and colleges of family and consumer sciences; 33 1994 Native American land-grant institutions; 17 Alaskan Native-serving and Hawaiian Native-serving institutions; more than 160 Hispanic-serving institutions; and numerous other private and public institutions and organizations.

The Economic Research Service (ERS) is a primary source of economic and social science research in the USDA. The core research and analysis program is arranged in four (4) general areas. They are:

• Competitiveness of U.S. agriculture;
• Food industry, food expenditures, diet and health, and food assistance;
• Farm and rural economy and demographics; and
• Natural resources and environmental policy and practices.

The fourth agency in REE is the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NASS has four areas of statistical responsibility, including (1) the census of agriculture every five years, (2) the annual program of commodity forecasts and estimates, (3) farm and ranch economic statistics, and (4) environmental statistics. Emerging areas of interest are energy statistics and organic agricultural estimates.

While all of this is pretty impressive, the most important aspect is how these Federal agencies work together along with other Federal agencies, the Nation's land grant and other universities, along with commodity and trade associations and industry. The collaborative nature of agricultural research and education is what gives real strength to our system and gives me confidence for the future.

System Success

A very pertinent question is "Has this system been successful?"

My quick answer is an unequivocal "Yes!"

Some aspect of these programs literally touches every one. The true beneficiaries of the national agricultural research and education system are the people of this country. This is reflected in the simple fact we Americans spend only a percentage of our disposable income for food, the lowest in the world. A key question is, "How do different groups benefit?"

Farmers

New crop varieties, tillage and conservation practice, pest control, fertility management are just a very few areas that have been addressed by research programs.

Consumers and families

Information on everything from landscaping your home to family finance is available through the cooperative extension service. A best approach to feeding your family, both from an economical and nutritional sense is another area where help is available.

Students

The Nation's land grant and ASCARR institutions are responsible for training the agricultural scientist and worker for the future.

Youth

4-H, environmental, and other youth programs provide excellent opportunities for supporting youth enabling them to become better citizens.

Ownership

Another very important point is there is a sense of shared ownership in these programs. This all flows from the early days of the Department of Agriculture and the Land Grant Universities. In fact, both of these organizations were referred to the People's Department and the People's University, respectively. Clearly, this reflects a sense of ownership by the people.

I'm quite convinced that as long as we don't forget this single fact, these institutions will be here to serve us.

I would like to leave you with a few final thoughts. If these are truly "People's" organizations, then it follows that the people have a responsibility for them. Personally, I believe these institutions deserve our steadfast support. They must be nurtured and cared for in order to prosper and serve future generations.

I challenge each of you to learn more about these institutions, become more knowledgeable and aware of what they do, and then you will be better prepared to support them for the benefit of future generations.

The individual employees who comprise the workforce in the Research, Education, and Economics mission area are highly motivated and dedicated to carrying out our mission and serving the people of this country.

The Future

In closing, I would like to share a comment about the future. We have a wonderful country. We have faced many challenges throughout our history but we have met every challenge by addressing the problem and moving on. The strength of American agriculture has served our nation well, enabling us to be successful on many fronts.

The foundation of agriculture is sound research and education that provides the information, knowledge, and technology that continues to ensure our success.

Each of us has a role to play in this process. Let us never forget the importance of agriculture to our nation's success and the importance of research and education to agriculture's success.

Working together, we will prevail.