Science Policy Report

Address all comments to the Science Policy Office at:
sciencepolicy@sciencesocieties.org

05 February 2020

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas introduced comprehensive legislation that creates a long-term strategy for investment in basic research and infrastructure to protect the economic and national security of the United States. The Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act addresses both international competitiveness and climate change by doubling basic research over ten years and prioritizing world-class research infrastructure, a skilled STEM workforce, and a focus on critical technologies. Most notably, the bill authorizes a doubling of basic research funding over the next 10 years at the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read the full article.
 

Researchers have reacted with shock to the arrest of Charles Lieber, a prominent Harvard University chemist and nanotechnology pioneer, who has been charged with making false statements to the US government about receiving research funding from China. The charges focus on Lieber’s alleged involvement in China’s Thousand Talents Plan, a prestigious programme designed to recruit leading academics to the country. Documents outlining the charges allege that Lieber received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China. The arrest comes as US authorities are increasingly scrutinizing universities’ foreign links. Read the full article.
 

Science and Society News

The American Society is offering the following free webinars in February and we hope you will take advantage of these learning opportunities offered through the ASA Education and our sponsors: 
Topics include Policy and Science - Our Current Nitrogen Landscape, Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Rice Industry, and Copper Nutrition and Management in Crop Plants. Learn more and register here.
 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the selection of four grand prize and three meritorious prize winners for its first-ever NSF 2026 Idea Machine prize competition. The NSF 2026 Idea Machine encouraged individuals from all walks of life, age 14 or older, to submit pressing “grand challenges” requiring fundamental research in science, engineering, or STEM education in order to inform NSF’s long-term planning. Each of the approximately 800 entries went through five selection stages, including a public comment phase. A blue-ribbon panel of 12 eminent, broad thinkers recommended seven ideas for the final prizes that were found to be exciting, ambitious, creative, and highly interdisciplinary. See the winners here.
 

Scientists at the USDA say they have developed a vaccine against African swine fever, the disease responsible for the death of one quarter of the world’s pigs last year. While not yet ready for commercial use, the drug has proved 100 percent effective in trials carried out and could hold the key to guarding against the epidemic. Read the full article.
 

Recognize colleagues with an award or Fellow nomination. Nominate deserving colleagues for awards by March 12. Students apply for scholarships by March 19. Contact 608-273-8080 or email awards@sciencesocieties.org with any questions. See the awards information for ASA here, CSSA here, and SSSA here.

The Career Center promotes and encourages opportunities in the agronomic, crop, soil, and environmental sciences and serves as a clearinghouse for resumes and job listings. Employers and recruiters will find the most qualified talent pool with relevant work experience to fulfill their staffing needs. Job Seekers can search and create job alerts. Visit our careers page to browse and post positions. 

AGI is seeking quality candidates for American Geosciences Institute 2021 officer positions and 2020 awards. AGI is seeking nominations for a variety of Executive Committee positions and awards. Letters of support may be sent for each nominee and, if provided, will be included in the package sent to the 2020 Nominating Committee. Application deadline, March 31. Read the full announcement.
 

General Mills, Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pilot test ESMC’s program that rewards farmers for generating environmental assets by improving soil health on their land. This pilot project will test ESMCs protocols and processes to measure and reward the impacts of beneficial agricultural management in an ecosystem services market for agriculture. ESMC’s impact-based program will in turn pay farmers for increased soil carbon, reduced greenhouse gases (GHG), and improved water quantity and water use efficiency. Read the full article.
 

Researchers say computers with advanced machine learning capabilities could help reduce the world’s food waste. Enhanced sensors and imaging techniques can monitor the quality of produce to guard against premature disposal in the post-harvest supply chain. Sensors can be used to detect insects and diseases in fruits and vegetables, acting as electronic noses or tongues and measuring chemical composition. They can also measure physical properties, such as firmness and acidity, to determine product quality. Read the full article.
 

Plants make the oxygen we breathe and give us 80 percent of the food we eat. But plants are under attack by invasive pests. To bring worldwide attention to this challenge, the U.N. has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. They are calling on people, organizations, industries, scientists, and governments to work together to protect plants against the introduction and spread of invasive pests. The U.S. National Plant Protection Organization—the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Plant Protection and Quarantine—is leading the effort in the United States. Read the full article.
 

International Corner

Crop disease is plaguing Venezuela’s farms while the country continues to suffer from political and economic instability. Growers are unable to afford pesticides and other basic agricultural inputs. From commodities crops like coffee to staple foods such as rice and potatoes, farmers face a growing risk of crop failure for lack of basic agricultural inputs. Many agronomists capable of detecting diseases have emigrated. Read the full article.
 

After one referendum, two snap elections, and more than 3 years of dithering and debate, the United Kingdom this week will become the first country ever to withdraw from the European Union. But rather than marking the end of a process, Brexit will start another clock: an 11-month transition during which the U.K. and Europe will negotiate their future relationship on everything from trade to immigration to clinical trials. For researchers, the top issue is U.K. participation in Europe’s research program, Horizon Europe, which will run from 2021 to 2027. To join Horizon Europe, however, the United Kingdom will have to pay to access it in the same way as 16 other non-EU countries, including Switzerland, Norway, and Israel. Read the full article.
 

The Keihanna plant, located in Japan, looks like any other factory churning out auto transmissions or electronic components. But this facility grows lettuces. Inside the plant, robotic arms transplant lettuce seedlings into giant racks where they grow under LED lights, in a near sterile environment. At full capacity, Keihanna will produce about 30,000 lettuces a day. The factory, which belongs to a company called Spread, is one of the world’s most sophisticated examples of a “vertical farm”, in which plants are grown indoors in stacked layers, often without soil. The concept is thriving in Japan, where land and labour are in short supply. Read the full article.
 

The 8th International Crop Science Congress (ICSC) that will be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada from June 21 - 25, 2020. This congress will address basic and applied aspects of plant and crop sciences as they relate to strategies to develop unique, sustainable, agricultural systems having the capacity to support animal and human health, on a global scale, while being mindful of our custodial responsibilities towards the well-being of our planet Earth. ICSC is currently taking proposals for forums, workshops, discussion groups and panels. Learn more and submit your ideas here.
 

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

USDA is now accepting applications for the 2020 Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program. The program offers training and collaborative research opportunities to early and mid-career scientists, researchers, and policymakers from eligible developing and middle-income countries. Fellows will work one-on-one with a mentor at a U.S.-based university, research center, or government agency. The U.S. mentor will visit the fellow’s home institution to continue the collaboration within 6 months of the fellowship completion. Application deadline, February 18. Read the full announcement.
 

NSF seeks to further explore the pool of ideas submitted to the NSF 2026 Idea Machine, for the purpose of framing new potential areas for NSF investment. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) invites submission of proposals for Conferences, and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGERs), following the themes that emerged in the top group of Idea Machine entries. The submitted Idea Machine entries were in the form of short concept outlines and videos rather than full-length research proposals. To develop these conceptual descriptions into actionable research agendas that include sets of specific research questions, NSF seeks proposals for catalytic activities in the form of: 1) Conferences that bring together those interested in shaping any or a group of these top 33 broad ideas into actionable research themes, or new long-term research programs; and 2) EAGER projects to extend, develop and test concepts from among the top 33 ideas that are ripe for early stage, transformative research. Conference proposals deadline, March 15. EAGER Research Concept Outline deadline, March 1. Read the full announcement.
 

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) announces the availability of funding through cost reimbursable agreements for the Scientific Cooperation Research Program (SCRP). SCRP supports FAS’ Borlaug Fellowship Program and other strategic goals and utilizes the scientific communities’ accumulated knowledge and technologies to help aid in developing practical solutions to address issues including agricultural trade and market access, animal and plant health, biotechnology, food safety and security, and sustainable natural resource management. SCRP will support applied research, extension, and education projects — lasting up to two years between U.S. researchers and researchers from selected emerging market economies - that create practical solutions to challenges faced by small farmers and build regional or global trade capacities in FAS countries. Deadline, March 2. Read the full announcement.
 

The purpose of the BRAG program is to support the generation of new information that will assist Federal regulatory agencies in making science-based decisions about the effects of introducing into the environment genetically engineered organisms (GE), including plants, microorganisms — such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses — arthropods, fish, birds, mammals and other animals excluding humans. Investigations of effects on both managed and natural environments are relevant. The BRAG program accomplishes its purpose by providing federal regulatory agencies with scientific information relevant to regulatory issues. Deadline, March 18. Read the full announcement.
 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in the Missouri State Office, is seeking to partner with, and support the efforts of, natural resource conservation partners and to promote public awareness and implementation of Farm Bill activities including, but not limited to, conducting conservation outreach workshops, conferences, and training, that will help educate Missouri’s farm community, private landowners, conservation organizations, cooperating agencies, and general citizenry. Proposals must be for projects based in Missouri and focus on Farm Bill conservation. Collaborative projects that provide on-the-ground support for Missouri NRCS Field Offices are highly encouraged. Research proposals will not be accepted, nor considered. Deadline, March 26. Read the full announcement.
 

The health and vitality of our urban & community forests are critical to all our Nation’s Forests. Communities often act as gateways for invasive pests and disease, and well managed community forests, especially when a part of shared stewardship across the landscape, can slow or even halt the spread before they infect neighboring private, state or National forests. Our forests are also under threat from natural disasters including wildland fires, hurricanes, tornados, flooding and landslides. To better equip our communities in preventing and responding to these threats, the U&CF program requests innovative proposals that strengthen urban and community forest resiliency and align with the goals in the National Ten Year Urban and Community Forestry Action Plan. Collaborative solutions may include but are not limited to: research; prevention; planning; policy; preparedness; implementation; best management practices; recovery; and reforestation that promotes the resilience of our Nation’s urban & community forests. Deadline, March 30. Read the full announcement. 

Sources: Nature; NSF; Bloomberg; ESMC; All Africa; USDA; AGI; Reuters; ScienceInsider; Financial Times; ICSC; FAS; NRCS; USFS;

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.