WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today participated in a U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee field hearing entitled “Perspectives on the Future of Agriculture Research and Technology” held at Grand Farm in Fargo, North Dakota.
The following is Boozman’s opening statement as prepared:
Good morning and thank you to my good friend Senator John Hoeven, ranking member of this subcommittee, for inviting me to join him in his great state of North Dakota. This has become an annual tradition, this now being the third year in a row I have found myself in North Dakota in my capacity as the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry.
It is great to be here to discuss innovation in agriculture and the opportunities that exist for the industry through research advancements in technologies like precision agriculture.
Thank you to Grand Farm for hosting today’s important discussion. You all are doing the hard work of developing solutions to some of agriculture’s most challenging problems and ensuring these exciting new technologies are actually making it to the farm. We appreciate all the work you do.
While we are here to focus on research and innovation in agriculture, I am glad to join Senators Klobuchar and Smith, who along with Senator Hoeven, are each members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, and I am sure we will hear about the importance of passing a farm bill this year.
Similar to North Dakota, Minnesota, and Arkansas, agriculture is the economic underpinning of rural communities across the country, and no matter where we are or who we are talking to, we all hear the same themes from our producers and rural communities: trade is vital for agriculture, investments in broadband and modern infrastructure are needed in rural America, and interest rates and input costs are eating into producers’ profitability. So, it’s not a surprise our producers everywhere tell us the future feels uncertain.
This farm bill must absolutely put producers first. They need more farm in the farm bill. Although our efforts to draft a new farm bill are taking a little longer than expected, I know the senators serving on the agriculture committee have every intention of crafting a new and improved farm bill that meets the needs producers face today. But more important than just getting this done, is getting it right.
Today’s topic of research and innovation in agriculture is an area we are scrutinizing through our farm bill process to ensure continued and improved research opportunities exist into the future. We must foster new technologies for the next generation of producers.
In June, Republicans on the agriculture committee released our farm bill framework, which would double funding for agricultural research through investments in the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and the 1890s Scholarship program, and would provide a generational investment in agricultural research facilities.
But the majority of the research programs authorized by the farm bill depend on the appropriations committee. So, that means we are grateful for the work of Senator Hoeven and our other colleagues on the agriculture appropriations subcommittee to identify and support agriculture’s most urgent research needs through programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, our impressive network of Land-Grant Institutions, and various private sector and nonprofit partners.
We also know investments in broadband infrastructure are critical for enabling producers to access the results of research, including precision agriculture technologies. Our framework reflects this need for greater connectivity.
Precision agriculture technologies are helping our producers be better stewards of our environment and are supported by farm bill conservation programs. Resource concerns ranging from soil health to water quality and water quantity can be better addressed as these new technologies come online.
In closing, I look forward to hearing from U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary Chavonda Jacobs-Young, and our other witnesses, about the barriers to furthering innovation in agriculture and what policymakers need to be focused on to encourage innovation, make these technologies more affordable and accessible, and ensure safe and secure management of sensitive data.
I am pleased that Mr. Harrison Pittman, a proud Arkansan and Director of the National Agricultural Law Center, is joining us today. The Center, which is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and receives critical funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, provides accessible, dependable, and objective legal analysis to food, environment, and agriculture stakeholders across the country. We are grateful for his expertise as we confront some of the legal implications of applying new and emerging technologies in agriculture.
Thank you again, Senator Hoeven, for holding today’s important hearing.