Science Policy Report

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05 September 2018

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

The White House announced the new NIFA Director will be Dr. J. Scott Angle. Dr. Angle is a soil scientist and most recently served as the President and CEO of International Fertilizer Development Center. Dr. Angle worked for 24 years as a professor of soil science and administrator for the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station and Maryland Cooperative Extension at the University of Maryland. In 2005, he moved to Athens, Georgia, where he served as dean and director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia for 10 years. Dr. Angle is a fellow in the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America and also a member of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA. Read the full article.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced further reorganization of USDA intended to improve customer service, strengthen offices and programs, and save taxpayer dollars. The Economic Research Service (ERS), currently under USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area, will realign once again with the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) under the Office of the Secretary. Additionally, most employees of ERS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will be relocated outside of the National Capital Region. The movement of the employees outside of Washington, DC is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. A number of leading agricultural scientists and economists, including former NIFA Director, Sonny Ramaswamy, question the move saying it risks gutting both agencies and stifling important federal research. Read the full article.

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA joined dozens of other agriculture research stakeholders to urge the farm bill conferees to provide strong support for the agricultural research, extension, and education enterprise in the final farm bill. The letters recognized the work both the House and Senate did on their respective farm bills, but applauded several provisions in the Senate version, specifically the mandatory funding for specialty crop, organics, and biomass research, as well as additional funds for Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). Read the letter from the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (NCFAR) and a broad research community letter. The Societies also signed on to a letter that asked farm bill conferees to protect the funding, structure, and long-term integrity of the conservation title in the next farm bill. Finally, ASA, CSSA and SSSA signed on to a letter which asked for a one-time boost of mandatory funding for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) as a down payment toward implementation of the research strategy recommendations presented in the NAS’s “Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030” report.

USDA NIFA is soliciting stakeholder input on the emerging needs and opportunities in food and agricultural sciences through the “NIFA Listens” initiative. Four regional in-person listening sessions will be held throughout October and early November. See the dates, locations, and registration information here.

In April the EPA announced a proposed rule entitled, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.” The notice for proposed rulemaking outlines significant changes to how the EPA would utilize science in decision-making. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, along with six other scientific societies, submitted comments to the proposed rule. In a letter to Dr. Thomas Sinks, Director of the Office of the Science Advisor, the Societies express concern over the new rule would impede EPA’s ability to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment. As written, the proposed rule would exclude scientific research if the underlying information is not publicly available in a way that allows for independent validation. Read the letter here.

Science and Society News

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA are honored to present our 2018 Award recipients, who will be recognized at our Annual Meetings. 

This year’s ASA, CSSA Annual Meeting being held jointly with the Canadian Society of Agronomy will feature more than 2,000 technical presentations, along with a host of networking events and award ceremonies. The world-class exhibition displays the latest scientific equipment, supplies, services, and reference materials available. It’s the premiere opportunity for professionals working in agronomic, crop, soil, and related sciences to hear about the latest research, meet and learn from their peers, expand their knowledge base, and take advantage of an abundance of networking opportunities to enhance their career. Learn more and register here.

Laboratory methods for determining the soil hydraulic properties are often tested only for mineral soils. However, properties of peat and mineral soils are very different, in particular shrinkage and hydrophobicity of peat soils may cause experimental issues and measuring inaccuracies. In the May-June issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal, researchers reported a comparison of classical laboratory methods for the determination of water retention properties near permanent wilting point for variably degraded peat soil samples from different locations. The team found that two different pressure apparatus, which generally rely on a good contact between peat soil sample and drainage medium to achieve equilibrium conditions, provide reliable data despite strong shrinkage. Read the full article.

A public-private collaboration of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of California, Davis, and Mars Inc., have identified varieties of tropical corn from Oaxaca, Mexico, that can acquire a significant amount of the nitrogen they need from the air by cooperating with bacteria. To do so, the corn secretes copious globs of mucus-like gel out of arrays of aerial roots along its stalk. This gel harbors bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by the plant, a process called nitrogen fixation. The corn can acquire 30 to 80 percent of its nitrogen in this way, but the effectiveness depends on environmental factors like humidity and rain. Read the full article.

Global leaders have warned of a looming food security crisis for nearly a decade, estimating that by 2050 the world will need to produce 70% more food. A sobering prospect, but wholly inaccurate, says data geek Sara Menker. The tipping point to a widespread food crisis, according to the Ethiopian-born founder of Gro Intelligence, could occur nearly a quarter-century earlier—by 2027. Data analysis of crop production, human populations and rising economic prosperity in many countries is the basis of how Menker and Gro Intelligence calculated the tipping point for food security. Previous estimates for a food crisis were based on mass, such as tons of meat and grain. Gro Intelligence’s analysis focuses on calories—the nutritional value of food. Read the full article.

The very first bonus episode of the "Field, Lab, Earth" podcast tackles an important piece of agriculture legislation - the Farm Bill. Listen to ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Science Policy Managers, Elizabeth Stulberg and Julie McClure, explain how the Farm Bill originated, what it does, and how it gets passed. Subscribe to "Field, Lab, Earth" today and get the Farm Bill episode on September 14.

The world's most widely planted cereal has also proved to be among the hardest to improve. Plant breeders vastly increased wheat yields during the Green Revolution of the 1960s, but since then efforts to improve the crop through traditional breeding or genetic technology have been painstakingly slow because of the fiendish complexity of its genome. Thanks to a decadelong effort, the wheat genome has finally come into sharp focus, speeding the search for genes that could boost harvests and even make wheat less likely to trigger allergies. The data represent the long-awaited culmination of the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium, a massive collaboration of academic and industry researchers from 20 countries. Read the full article.

In semi-arid ecoregions dependent on irrigation for cotton production and limited groundwater resources, cover crops using stored soil moisture is a major concern. Although farmers recognize the soil and environmental benefits of conservation practices, their decision to use cover crops is often based on the farm’s irrigation capacity and operating budget. In a paper recently published in Agronomy Journal, researchers quantify the long-term impacts of conservation tillage and cover crop use on cotton production. The team found that cotton lint yield and gross margins were less with a no-tillage rye cover crop system than conventional tillage. However, these differences did not exist between the conventional tillage and mixed species cover crop treatments. Read the full article.

Panama disease is on the march, wiping out banana plantations worldwide and raising fears that bananas are on the brink of extinction. Scientists have been racing to devise preventative measures against the disease before it reaches Central and South America, where 80 percent of exported bananas are grown. Quarantine measures and the sterile culturing of plantlets are two solutions that aim to curb the disease’s proliferation. Read the full article.

Researchers in the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center at Prairie View A&M University built an analytics tool to identify groundwater and associated climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation from historical to near real-time scale. This interactive web-based resource helps farmers, ranchers, water resources managers, and other stakeholders monitor groundwater levels and associated climatic variables in near real-time and aid in the overall decision-making process. Read the full article.

The Plant Science Research Network (PSRN) publishes workshop white paper, Reinventing Postgraduate Training in the Plant Sciences, recommendations that prioritize trainee empowerment and call for a cultural shift in training over the next 20 years. The report details the outcomes from two strategic planning workshops which concluded in five key principles: (1) prioritization and support of diversity, inclusion, and trainee well-being; (2) guidance and resources to define and pursue career adjectives; (3) flexible learning, unconstrained by boundaries; (4) disciplinary mastery achieved through research experiences; and (5) community engagement through science communication. Read the report here. 

International Corner

More than 2,000 scientists gathered in Rio de Janeiro to explore the increasingly complex, diverse role of soils; grappling with resilient agriculture practices to address environmental and climatic changes; and confronting threats to food security and sovereignty. The FAO stressed the importance of sustainable soil management as an essential part of the Zero Hunger equation. Read the full article.

European farmers are counting the cost of a summer heatwave that has shrunk cereal harvests and shriveled pastures, leaving some farms struggling to survive and shutting the European Union out of lucrative export markets. The combination of poor harvest yields and shriveled grassland has led to spiraling costs for animal feed, putting pressure on livestock farms. Read the full article.

Japan’s government is facing serious fiscal challenges, but its main science ministry appears hopeful that the nation is ready to once again back basic research in a big way. The Ministry of Education (MEXT) on 31 August announced an ambitious budget request that would allow Japan to compete for the world’s fastest supercomputer, build a replacement x-ray space observatory, and push ahead with a massive new particle detector. MEXT’s proposal represents a 21% increase for its fiscal 2019 budget, to 1.17 trillion yen ($10.54 billion). Read the full article.

Teff, the gluten-free, nutrient-rich grain native to Ethiopia, can grow in both drought-stressed and rainy regions, and significantly contributes to the incomes of Ethiopian farmers. Nonetheless, if the teff industry is to modernize and expand internationally, it still faces several challenges, including the adoption of modern technologies, labor force management and mechanization, and building markets. Read the full article.

The EU will ban the world’s most widely used insecticides from all fields due to the serious danger they pose to bees. The ban on neonicotinoids, approved by member nations, is expected to come into force by the end of 2018 and will mean they can only be used in closed greenhouses. The ban on the three main pesticides has widespread public support despite opposition from major farm lobbies. Read the full article.

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

NOAA’s climate portfolio within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Climate Program Office (CPO) advances scientific understanding, monitoring, and prediction of climate and its impacts, to enable effective decisions. CPO manages competitive research programs through which NOAA funds high-priority climate science, assessments, decision support research, outreach, education, and capacity-building activities designed to advance our understanding of the Earth’s climate system, and to foster the application and use of this knowledge to improve the resilience of our Nation and its partners. CPO supports research that is conducted across the United States and internationally. CPO’s strategy addresses challenges in the areas of: (1) Weather and climate extremes, (2) Climate impacts on water resources, (3) Coasts and climate resilience, (4) Sustainability of marine ecosystems, and (5) Changing atmospheric composition and its impacts. Letter of intent deadline, September 10. Read the full announcement.

IUSE: GEOPATHS invites proposals that specifically address the current needs and opportunities related to undergraduate education within the geosciences community. The primary goal of the IUSE: GEOPATHS funding opportunity is to increase the number of undergraduate students interested in pursuing undergraduate degrees and/or post-graduate degrees in geoscience through the design and testing of novel approaches for engaging students in authentic, career-relevant experiences in geoscience. In order to broaden participation in the geosciences, engaging undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups or from non-geoscience degree programs is a priority. The IUSE: GEOPATHS solicitation features two funding tTracks: (1) Engaging students in the geosciences through extra-curricular experiences and training activities (GEOPATHS-EXTRA), and (2) Improving pathways into the geosciences through institutional collaborations and transfer (GEOPATHS-IMPACT). Letter of intent deadline, September 21. Read the full announcement.

The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) is seeking pre-proposals for its Research and Education Grant Program which funds projects that explore and promote environmentally sound, profitable, and socially responsible food and/or fiber systems. Research and Education projects include a strong outreach component and significant farmer/rancher or other end user involvement from inception of the idea through implementation of the project. Funds are also available for projects focused on developing sustainable agriculture curriculum for youth in grades 4 through 12 (the focus may be on one or more grades). The curriculum should address environmental, social and economic aspects of agricultural practices and systems, and should include a farmer/rancher component. Preproposal deadline, October 18. Read the full announcement.

The Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) supports genome-scale research that addresses challenging questions of biological, societal and economic importance. PGRP encourages the development of innovative tools, technologies and resources that empower a broad plant research community to answer scientific questions on a genome-wide scale. Emphasis is placed on the scale and depth of the question being addressed and the creativity of the approach. Data produced by plant genomics should be usable, accessible, integrated across scales and of high impact across biology. Training, broadening participation, and career development are essential to scientific progress and should be integrated in all PGRP-funded projects. Two funding tracks are currently available: 1) RESEARCH-PGR TRACK: Genome-scale plant research to address fundamental biological questions in biology, including economically important processes of societal importance; and 2) TRTech-PGR TRACK: Tools, resources and technology breakthroughs that further enable functional plant genomics. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement.

The Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) supports quantitative, mechanistic, predictive, and theory-driven fundamental research designed to promote understanding of complex living systems at the molecular, subcellular, and cellular levels. While recognizing the need for thorough and accurate descriptions of biological complexes and pathways, the priority of the Division is to support work that advances the field by capturing the predictive power of mechanistic, quantitative, and evolutionary approaches. Two funding tracks will be available: 1) Core Program Track proposals are solicited to support research relevant to the four MCB core clusters; and 2) Rules of Life Track proposals that integrate across the scales in biological sciences are solicited to support research that spans from the molecular and cellular levels normally funded by MCB to organismal and ecosystem scales typically funded by other divisions in the Biological Sciences. This track provides new opportunities to advance our understanding of the Rules of Life by new mechanisms for review and funding of proposals that would not ordinarily fit well within one division in the Biological Sciences Directorate. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement.

The goal of the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program is to prepare graduate students for science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission, by providing graduate thesis research opportunities at DOE laboratories.  The SCGSR program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE laboratory/facility in areas that address scientific challenges central to the Office of Science mission. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the DOE laboratories/facilities. The SCGSR program provides supplemental funds for graduate awardees to conduct part of their thesis research at a host DOE laboratory/facility in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist within a defined award period. Deadline, November 15. Read the full announcement.

Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSMLs) are off-campus facilities for research and education conducted in the natural habitats of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. FSMLs support environmental and basic biological research and education by preserving access to study areas and organisms, by providing facilities and equipment in close proximity to those study areas, and by fostering an atmosphere of mutual scientific interest and collaboration in research and education. To fulfill these roles, FSMLs must offer modern research and educational facilities, equipment, communications and data management for a broad array of users. Requests must fall exclusively into one of two classes: Improvement or Planning. Improvement proposals should focus on well-defined projects of major equipment acquisition, data management and communication systems modernization, or physical plant improvement. Planning proposals are for strategic institutional planning for the long term research and education goals of the station. In addition to a clear description of the proposed improvement or planning project, proposals are expected to present a compelling justification based on demonstrated need for the project, and a realistic appraisal of its potential impact on biological and environmental research and education activities at the proposing facility. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement.

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF/NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems, and agriculturally relevant plants. The program’s scope extends from fundamental mechanisms to translational efforts, with the latter seeking to put into agricultural practice insights gained from basic research on the mechanisms that govern plant biotic interactions. Projects must be strongly justified in terms of fundamental biological processes and/or relevance to agriculture and may be purely fundamental or applied or include aspects of both perspectives. All types of symbiosis are appropriate, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and host-pathogen interactions. Research may focus on the biology of the plant host, its pathogens, pests or symbionts, interactions among these, or on the function of plant-associated microbiomes. The program welcomes proposals on the dynamics of initiation, transmission, maintenance and outcome of these complex associations, including studies of metabolic interactions, immune recognition and signaling, host-symbiont regulation, reciprocal responses among interacting species and mechanisms associated with self/non-self recognition such as those in pollen-pistil interactions. Explanatory frameworks should include molecular, genomic, metabolic, cellular, network and organismal processes, with projects guided by hypothesis and/or discovery driven experimental approaches. Strictly ecological projects that do not address underlying mechanisms are not appropriate for this program. Quantitative modeling in concert with experimental work is encouraged. Overall, the program seeks to support research that will deepen our understanding of the fundamental processes that mediate interactions between plants and the organisms with which they intimately associate and advance the application of that knowledge to benefit agriculture. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement.

Sources: The White House; USDA; Washington Post; Federal Registrar; The Fence Post; Drovers; Science; The Guardian; PVAMU News; Plantae; UN News; Reuters; All Africa; NOAA; NSF; DOE-SC

Vision: The Societies Washington, DC Science Policy Office (SPO) will advocate the importance and value of the agronomic, crop and soil sciences in developing national science policy and ensuring the necessary public-sector investment in the continued health of the environment for the well being of humanity. The SPO will assimilate, interpret, and disseminate in a timely manner to Society members information about relevant agricultural, natural resources and environmental legislation, rules and regulations under consideration by Congress and the Administration.

This page of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA web site will highlight current news items relevant to Science Policy. It is not an endorsement of any position.