STATEMENT

before

THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, & FORESTRY

The Honorable Richard Lugar, Chairman

Submitted by

Dr. David Lineback
Dean, College of Agriculture
University of Idaho

on behalf of

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)

March 13, 1997

 Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. My name is David Lineback. I am Dean of the College of Agriculture at the University of Idaho. I am here today on behalf of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST). I will become the President-elect for CAST next month.

The leaders and members of CAST appreciate the opportunity to participate in these important discussions regarding the agricultural research system. The membership of CAST includes 33 major food and agricultural professional and scientific societies. These professional and scientific societies are composed of individual members from academic institutions; federal and state government; and private industry. All told, more than 120,000 members belong to these societies. Our mission is 1) to identify food and fiber, environmental, and other agricultural issues; and 2) to interpret relevant scientific research information for legislators, regulators, the media and others engaged in public policy decision making. Thus, CAST has a keen interest in the nation's agricultural research system, and I might emphasize, a unique perspective on the issue under discussion today.

The Benefits of the Public Investment in Agricultural Research

High rates of return

Some of the questions sent by the Committee suggest that there is some dispute about the actual levels of return on the investment in public research on agricultural issues. While there are academic disagreements about the specific level of return, there is a clear consensus that the rate of return has been remarkable, estimated at 20 to 50% annually. American citizens enjoy an inexpensive, abundant, nutritious, and diverse food supply. Trade in American agricultural products has remained a consistent source of strength in our balance of trade, while other sectors of the economy have fluctuated. Even the stock market cannot match the rate of return for agricultural research on a consistent year-to-year basis.

The public good

While research and extension have played a dramatic role in reducing farm costs and increasing production efficiency and competitiveness, the returns on this investment are not limited solely to production agriculture. The benefits accrue directly to the public.

Food safety: When the abundance, nutritiousness, diversity and safety of our food supply are considered, no other nation can match us. However, the citizens of this nation must not be lulled into taking this for granted. The President's recent food safety initiative indicates that this is an area where this nation cannot become complacent with its achievements but must continue to strive for the safest food supply in the world. The future continues to bring new challenges.

Nutrition: research-based nutrition education has assisted thousands of people in gaining the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are necessary to improve their diets and health. These improvements in diet have saved millions of dollars in neonatal and child health care costs and have prevented and controlled diet-related diseases.

Natural resource and the environment: At the same time that there is continued pressure to improve production efficiency, there is increasing interest in reducing the impact of food production on the environment and our natural resource base. A number of positive steps have been made. New technologies have made it possible to reduce by 393 million acres the prime farmland required to meet the nation's needs for production since the 1950s. New technologies and improved farming practices have reduced soil erosion by a factor of six times over the erosion rates of the 1930s. Improved soil and tissue testing, new formulations, and new methods of delivering plant nutrients have made nutrients more available when and where they are needed for plant growth while minimizing the chance that these nutrients will leach into groundwater or run off into surface waters. "Integrated Pest Management," "Integrated Crop Management," "Integrated Resource Management," and "Integrated Farm Management" programs are providing farmers and ranchers with targeted cost-effective management tools that aim to minimize the impact of their production practices on the environment.

While these examples provide a brief glimpse of what agricultural research—much of it at land grant universities—has done to develop cost-effective tools and management practices that better protect the environment and continually improve the quality of the national food and fiber system, there remains a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done in this area. Food is a necessary staple. The challenge for researchers and educators to is to develop production and processing technologies that minimize environmental impacts and preserves the natural resource base.

The common economic good

In general, companies focus on short-term returns that can be recouped through added profit. Public funding deals with short-term and long-term concerns with an emphasis on those areas not funded by the private sector.

Private funding tends to target investments where the involved companies have an opportunity to reap a direct benefit. The private sector may address some applied and development research, but public funding in agricultural research must occur in areas where no company will invest because they cannot guarantee that they alone will benefit.

Strengthening the Opportunities for Multi-Disciplinary Research

Because the membership of scientific societies includes experts from academia, government, entrepreneurs, and corporations, these scientific societies are pivotal to creating change and to providing critical networks.

There are places where scientific societies could do better—some places where they are the problem. Focusing on issues within our disciplines is an example. The agricultural issues of the real world transcend disciplines. CAST is taking the lead in fostering discussions within the disciplines to foster multi-disciplinary research on "real world" problems.

A year and a half ago, CAST sponsored a workshop for leaders of scientific societies. The purpose of the workshop was to create participant awareness of critical changes occurring in the workplace. An overriding objective was to initiate conversations and to develop networks among societies and among their members. The second phase of the workshop is beginning today. More than 60 leaders are meeting over the next few days in Georgia to continue the discussions that began in 1995.

Addressing National Issues at the Local Level

One of the questions raised by the Committee has to do with whether or not the U.S. needs a College of Agriculture in every state. The membership of CAST comes from large and small institutions, from every state, so I can speak with some authority to this issue. Moreover, I can speak from my own experience as an administrator that has worked in large states with relatively high levels of funding and smaller institutions with fewer resources.

People in every state want science-based solutions to the problems in their states and they want their children to have the option of education that can assist in addressing the unique challenges in their states. All of the arguments that have been made against the need to have a college of agriculture in every state could equally well be made against keeping all of our state governments. As long as state governments exist, they will retain the prerogative of deciding if they wish to have a college of agriculture or an experiment station in their state.

Does that mean that there should be a federal investment in every state? As long as the states are collaborating with the federal government to work together to address issues of national concern, yes.

Formula funding is key to the federal-state partnership. It is the base funding that allows land grant universities to maintain human capital that can leverage other funds for research on agricultural issues. It is absolutely critical that this be maintained across the large and small states of the nation. There is also an important role for competitive research funding and special research appropriations directed at regional issues.

The Unique Opportunities Ahead

Still, research in agriculture should foster greater collaboration, coordination, sharing of resources, and dividing up tasks across state lines more effectively. This is an area where professional and scientific societies can help.

CAST is continuing the dialogue with professional and scientific societies to address their role in supporting and encouraging collaborative efforts to develop professional and multi-disciplinary approaches needed to successfully address the issues facing our nation's agriculture in the 21st century.