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Universities call for increased funding for ag research
Four prominent ag research universities in the Midwest have joined the call for more federal funds supporting food and ag science.
Purdue University, Iowa State University, The University of Nebraska at Lincoln and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have joined the Supporters of Agriculture Research Foundation in seeking more research dollars, saying the growing population has demonstrated a need for sustainable food production.
Federal spending on ag research has remained flat, even though the USDA says every public dollar invested in ag research provides $20 in economic return.
In May, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved a $25 million increase for the USDA’s Agriculture & Food Research Initiative program for fiscal year 2017. That would be a 15-percent increase over the past two fiscal years.
Tom Grumbly, President of the Supporters of Agriculture Research Foundation, says the US needs a larger infusion of cutting-edge technologies.
As a retired Animal Scientist and administrator, I support the need for greater public investment in agricultural research. I preface that with a partnering need for the Land Grant system to undergo a complete reevaluation of its mission, including a clear focus on what is “research” and “product testing”. There is far too much of the latter as a percentage of the portfolio, driven by the fact that public funding of original, high priority research has declined to frightening levels. At the same time, in that evaluation, there needs to be a close look at the model from the need to reduce unnecessary administrative overhead.