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To Members of
the NASULGC System:
- Board on Agriculture Assembly
- Farm Bill Committee
- Budget and Advocacy Committee
- Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
- Council on Governmental Affairs
The House and Senate conferees on the Farm Bill have concluded their
deliberations and the conference report will soon be considered in
both chambers. The bill will then be enrolled and sent to the
President for his signature or veto. This report describes the final
outcome on those provisions of interest to NASULGC’s Board on
Agriculture Assembly.
National Institute for Food and
Agriculture. The conferees agreed with NASULGC’s
suggestion to increase the standing and visibility of USDA's
extramural science programs by reconstituting the Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) as the "National
Institute for Food and Agriculture" (NIFA). NIFA will assume all of
the authorities, duties, and responsibilities of the former CSREES.
The NIFA director will be a distinguished scientist nominated by the
President and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term with the
option for a second six-year reappointment. The director will report
to the Secretary or his "designee." The director will manage NIFA in
coordination with the Under Secretary, implement the extramural
components of the "Road Map" created by the Under Secretary, and
create and organize offices for basic and applied research,
extension, and education.
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
The agency’s flagship competitive grants program – currently called
the National Research Initiative – will be renamed the Agriculture
and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). Funding for the AFRI will be
authorized at $700 million per year, with 60 percent of appropriated
funds going to basic research and the remaining 40 percent to
applied research programs. Within the total funding for AFRI, a
minimum of 30 percent must be for integrated projects (those that
integrate research with extension and/or teaching), thereby
providing a newly elevated role for extension and education within
AFRI.
Strengthened Under Secretary.
The REE Under Secretary will become the USDA's "Chief Scientist" and retain jurisdiction over the
Agriculture Research Service (ARS), the Economic Research Service
(ERS), and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
However, to ensure greater collaboration among these agencies and
NIFA, the Under Secretary will have an expanded staff to be housed
within a new "Research, Extension, and Education Office" (REEO). The
REEO will have six divisions each led by a qualified division chief
reporting to the Under Secretary:
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Renewable Energy, Natural
Resources, and Environment. |
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Food Safety, Nutrition, and
Health. |
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Plant Health and Production. |
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Animal Health and Production
and Animal Products. |
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Agriculture Systems and
Technology. |
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Agriculture Economics and
Rural Communities. |
The REEO will include no more than 30
positions to be filled from and financed by ARS, ERS, and NIFA. (In
other words, there will be no increase in bureaucracy or budgetary
expense.) The division chiefs will serve four year terms and assist
the Under Secretary in programmatic planning and elimination of
administrative duplication.
USDA Science Road Map. The Under
Secretary will be charged with preparing an annual "Road Map" to
guide all of the USDA science agencies. The Road Map will be sent to the
Secretary where he/she alone will have the authority to make changes
before the document is submitted to Congress. The Road Map will
place emphasis on competitive programs and efforts to strengthen the
small 1862, 1890, and 1994 land-grant institutions and the
non-land-grant colleges of agriculture. The initial Road Map must be
submitted within one year of enactment and updated annually
thereafter.
Budget Submission. The conferees also adopted most of
NASULGC's recommendations with respect to budget development for
NIFA and the other USDA science agencies:
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Single Budget Line Item.
The President’s annual budget submission to Congress will
contain "a single budget line item" reflecting the total
amount requested for research, education, and extension
activities for that and the preceding five years. |
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Critical Base Funding
Levels. The "capacity program critical base funding
level" (defined as the FY 2006 level for certain CSREES
"capacity programs") is established. The "competitive
program critical base funding level" (defined as the FY 2006
level for certain CSREES "competitive programs") is also
established. |
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Capacity Funding Emphasis.
Above the "capacity program critical base funding
level," budgetary emphasis should be placed on enhanced
funding for the 1890, 1994, and small 1862 land-grant
institutions, the non-land-grant colleges of agriculture,
and Hispanic-serving institutions. |
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Competitive Funding
Emphasis. Above the "competitive program critical
base funding level," budgetary emphasis should be placed on
enhanced funding for emerging problems and solutions. |
New Mandatory
Research Funding. The conferees provided $501 million in
new mandatory spending (from FY 2008 to FY 2012 as detailed below).
They also authorized an additional $190 million per year (from FY
2008 to FY 2012 as detailed below) in new "discretionary" spending
subject to the annual congressional appropriations process. All of
these new funds are to be used for targeted R&D programs
administered by NIFA and distributed through peer-reviewed,
competitively awarded grants:
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Organic Research: $78
million total over the FY 2009 – FY 2012 period in mandatory
funding and an additional $25 million per year authorized
for appropriations. |
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Specialty Crops Research:
$230 million total over the FY 2008 – FY 2012 period in
mandatory funding and an additional $100 million per year
authorized for appropriations. |
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Beginning Farmer and
Rancher Development Program: $75 million total over the
FY 2009 – FY 2012 period in mandatory funding and an
additional $30 million per year authorized for
appropriations. |
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Biomass R&D (in Energy
Title): $118 million total over the FY 2009 – FY 2012
period in mandatory funding and an additional $35 million
per year authorized for appropriations. |
However, the conferees did not
agree to NASULGC’s recommendation to resume mandatory funding
for the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS)
program. While the $600 million in mandatory IFAFS funding scheduled
to resume in 2010 was not provided, $500 million in new
mandatory research funding was approved, and those funds will be
made available sooner – beginning in 2008 and 2009, depending on the
specific program source.
Expiring Authorities and Misc. Provisions.
The NASULGC system requested renewal of dozens of
expiring programs. The conferees acceded to nearly all of those
requests. The system also requested a long list of new
authorizations and miscellaneous changes to prior Farm Bill
authorities. The conferees adopted most of those changes, including
these:
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AASCARR Authorization.
A new capacity building program for the
non-land-grant colleges of agriculture will be established. |
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Indirect Costs. The
current 19% cap on indirect costs for competitive grants
will be increased to 22%. |
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EFNEP. (1) The
University of the District of Columbia will become eligible
to participate in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education
Program (EFNEP). (2) The 1862 and 1890 land-grants will each
receive a minimum of $100,000 per year. (3) The 1890
institutions will receive an escalated percentage of any
increase in EFNEP funding. |
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Evans-Allen. The
authorized funding level for the Evans-Allen (1890s
Research) Program will be increased from 25% of Hatch funds
to 30%. |
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1890s Extension. The
authorized funding level for 1890s Extension will be
increased from 15% of Smith-Lever 3(b) funds to 20%. |
LINKS
The House and Senate are both expected
to vote on the conference report within the next few days. We will
be back in touch once those votes have occurred.
The Cornerstone Team |
