Science Policy Report

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

01 April 2020

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

The $2 trillion stimulus package that was signed into law last week is aimed at helping the country cope with the massive impact of the coronavirus pandemic. But it also includes at least $1.25 billion for federal research agencies to support scientists trying to better understand coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition, it extends a financial hand to universities that have shut down because of the pandemic, some of which could go to support research that has been disrupted. The legislation also includes $100 million in ReConnect grants to expand access to broadband in rural America for educational purposes, business, and access to critical telehealth services. Read the full article.
 

On March 19, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum authorizing federal agencies to provide regulatory flexibility on all federally supported research. The memo lists several actions that federal research agencies can take including grant application deadlines, no-cost extensions, short term relief for administrative, financial management, and audit requirements. Each agency will need to decide exactly how and which changes to enact. See all the information for researchers from federal agency here.
 

As the coronavirus outbreak roils university campuses across the world, early-career scientists are facing several dilemmas. Many are worrying about the survival of cell cultures, laboratory animals, and other projects critical to their career success. And some are reporting feeling unwelcome pressure to report to their laboratories—even if they don’t think it’s a good idea, given that any gathering can increase the risk of spreading the virus. Read the full article.
 

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA as part of multiple research coalitions, signed onto letters to Congressional leadership urging them to provide strong support to federal research funding agencies in the fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations process. Letters were sent in support of USDA research programs and requesting the highest possible allocation to the Agriculture Appropriations bill. A letter was also sent in support of the new Genome to Phenome Initiative within USDA.
 

To further the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) work on the Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA), USDA announced it is seeking public and private sector input on the most important innovation opportunities to be addressed in the near and long term. Using input provided, USDA will identify common themes across the agriculture customer base to inform research and innovation efforts in the Department, the broader public-sector, and the private sector. Respondents are asked to identify transformational innovation opportunities for the next era of agriculture productivity and environmental conservation and propose approaches to these opportunities with an eye to the public and private sector research needed to support them. Input from the agricultural and scientific community will help inform research goals with the intent of aligning applications and technologies to best address the goals of the Agriculture Innovation Agenda for the next 10 to 30 years. Comments to the request for information are due August 1, 2020. Read the full article.
 

Science and Society News

Your voice is heard! You’re invited to our April Town Hall webinars to help shape the future of ASA,CSSA, and SSSA.  Join CEO Nick Goeser as we discuss strategies and objectives for the Society’s Strategic Plan. We need your voice in the discussion. What is important to you?  Join us! ASA Town Hall Webinar-April 13, CSSA Town Hall Webinar-April 14, SSSA Town Hall Webinar-April 15.
 

Cover crops provide many services related to nitrogen (N) management but being able to monitor and manage for these services has some limitations. The traditional method for measuring cover crop biomass N content is both time consuming and expensive. Farmers and agronomists must hand‐clip a quadrat of biomass, dry and weigh it, and then submit the tissue sample to a lab for chemical analysis. In an article recently published in Agricultural & Environmental Letters, researchers report on a new method that uses an optical sensor to estimate cover crop biomass N content. Read the full article.
 

The COVID-19 virus, commonly referred to as coronavirus, is spurring dramatic changes to economic, healthcare, transportation, and education systems around the world. No less important is the potential for COVID-19 to impact local and global food systems and their ability to provide safe, affordable, and nutritious food as well as sufficient incomes for people working in food and agriculture sectors. What then can we learn from past outbreaks as we try to contain COVID-19 and limit negative second-order impacts? In China, we are already seeing an increase of food prices more than twenty percent above last year’s prices, the highest since the 2008 economic crisis. This could be due to a host of coinciding factors, but may well include both hoarding and food chain disruptions. Read the full article.
 

Only a fraction of conventional row crop farmers grow cover crops after harvest, but a new global analysis from the University of Illinois shows the practice can boost soil microbial abundance by 27%. The result adds to cover crops’ reputation for nitrogen loss reduction, weed suppression, erosion control, and more. Although soil microbial abundance is less easily observed, it is a hugely important metric in estimating soil health. A new paper looks for universal patterns among dozens of individual studies. Read the full article.
 

Read the March 30 letter with updates, helpful links, and thank you during these challenging times. We have listened to your immediate needs under the current crisis and are supporting information sharing and increasing other services to support you. We are taking active steps to enhance these efforts during a time of great need across our Societies and planet. Read the letter here.
 

The need for AI-assisted weeding is on the upswing. Bayer/Monsanto’s RoundUp, heretofore the go-to choice for farmers wanting to kill weeds, has been linked to cancer. Many growers and their customers increasingly want organic fruits and vegetables anyway. And given new restrictions on border crossings, seasonal labor to pick weeds manually is in very short supply. AI on the farm is a potential solution to all of these issues. One company has created a robot that is able to weed fields leaving crops untouched thanks to machine learning. Technicians accompany the weeders to assist growers with the machines and troubleshoot if necessary. Read the full article.
 

Plant breeding is like a Survivor competition in which many candidates are first evaluated in a few field tests. Those that do well are subjected to further testing, which becomes increasingly rigorous, to the extent that a new corn hybrid has typically been tested in hundreds or even thousands of locations before it is released as a variety that farmers can grow. In an article recently published in Crop Science, researchers found that predictions from DNA fingerprints can substitute for at least a portion of the first round of field testing in maize. On average, predictions were equivalent to testing at one location for yield, two locations for grain moisture, and three locations for test weight. Read the full article.
 

University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) is collaborating with multiple universities, partners, farmers, and stakeholders from throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed region in a 5-year sustainable agriculture systems study, led by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. This comprehensive, multi-institutional project entitled “Thriving Agricultural Systems in Urbanized Landscapes,” is an interdisciplinary framework developed to conduct practical research into sustainable agriculture practices that will mitigate environmental degradation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed while providing economic feasibility to farmers and farming communities for the long-term. Read the full article.
 

In agricultural systems, the proliferation of research on plant and soil microbiomes has been coupled with excitement for the potential that microbiome data may have for the development of novel, sustainable, and effective crop management strategies. While this is an exciting development, as the collective body of microbiome data for diverse crops grows, the lack of consistency in recording data makes it harder for the data to be utilized across research projects. In a recent article published in Phytobiomes Journal, researchers discuss the need for agriculture-specific metadata standards for microbiome research. Read the full article.
 

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA members, be sure to vote in Society election for President-Elect, Board Representatives, ASA Section and CSSA, SSSA Division Chairs-Elect by April 2. Candidates for President-Elect include: ASA - David Clay and Kathleen Yeater. CSSA - Bingru Huang and Marilyn Warburton. SSSA - Samira Daroub and Ron Turco. Vote for ASA here, CSSA here, and SSSA here.

 

The ARS National Soil and Air Program will be hosting four virtual listening sessions to help set its vision for next 5-year research cycle. Stakeholders are invited to participate and share their thoughts on the priority needs that the Soil and Air National Program can address. Learn more about the webinar specifics and register to attend here. If you register you will receive introductory materials to help guide the discussions.
 

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation (RMF), and the World Food Prize Foundation (WFPF) invite nominations for the 2020 AAAS Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture. The AAAS Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture is an important opportunity to explore the environmental and societal challenges facing our planet through the lens of agricultural innovation and its applications in a global context. Nominations are sought for speakers who will discuss the transformation of global food systems to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The 2020 nominees should be well-respected scientists working at the forefront of pressing issues at the nexus of agriculture and society. Nomination deadline, April 24. Read the full announcement.
 

International Corner

Raising agricultural productivity is essential to increasing farm incomes, reducing rural poverty, and sustaining economic growth. In turn, technological change is the main driver of increased productivity, underlining the ongoing importance of focusing on technology as a primary change agent. Despite the recognition that technology is important for agricultural growth, it remains under-utilized in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The use of improved varieties (IVs) — a key ingredient to the success of the productivity-led Asian Green Revolution — is low, accounting for 35 percent of all food crops grown in SSA in 2010. In a study titled An Obstacle to Africa's Green Revolution: Too Few New Varieties, it was estimated that across nine crops, on average one new variety was released every two years in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia between 2000-2008, and even less during earlier periods. Read the full article.
 

Europe’s farming sector could face a dramatic shortfall in workers as a consequence of the border restrictions put in place to stem the spread of novel coronavirus, which could lead to “devastating” impacts. As borders are increasingly being closed, thousands of seasonal workers have been left unable to reach the farms that rely on their labor just as the harvest season is beginning for many crops. Read the full article.
 

In a new initiative, Canadian governments have invested over CAD$17.6 million into 690 projects that are working towards building a more robust, sustainable, and profitable Canadian agriculture sector. The project, named the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), is a national, provincial, and territorial commitment to invest three billion Canadian dollars into Canada’s agriculture industry. Canadian farmers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and agriculture producers are eligible to apply for grants that they can spend on their agriculture projects based on their province of residency. Read the full article.
 

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Carbon180 is launching a one year Senior Policy Fellowship to begin fostering a robust field of carbon
removal experts to help build the New Carbon Economy. Fellows will be embedded with our policy team
in Washington, D.C. and work on creating new, science-driven, inclusive policies to scale carbon removal
to the gigaton level. You will be working with the Carbon180 team, network, and key stakeholders -- including environmental NGOs, academics, policymakers, labor unions, environmental justice organizations, think tanks, and others - to create novel, ambitious policies. These policies will build on and go beyond R&D to cover financial incentives, regulatory frameworks, labor issues, procurement, and other deployment pathways. We want policy to be driven by expertise in science and the priorities of frontline and early adopter communities. You will work with the existing Carbon180 policy and communications teams to develop and socialize these new policies, with the goal of getting them turned into bills that are passed into laws and/or adopted as key climate priorities by policymakers. Deadline, April 3. Read the full announcement.
 

This RFP seeks to engage one or multiple partners to identify, assess, test, and map the development of advanced tools and technologies that can more efficiently and cost effectively measure and quantify soil C changes and net GHG reductions to help ESMC generate carbon and GHG assets. The work will include in-field testing of promising innovative tools and technologies on ESMC pilot project sites. Deadline, April 7. Read the full announcement.
 

This RFP seeks to engage one or multiple partners to design and implement testing and evaluation of the APEX water quality model and WQIAg tool approaches as part of ESMC’s Integrated Protocol for water quality credit generation on pilot project sites. The work will cover ESMC’s 2020 pilot regions to demonstrate viable water asset generation, discover needed modeling improvements or adaptations, recommend Protocol refinements, while identifying opportunities to support model calibration, validation, expansion and automation. Deadline, April 7. Read the full announcement.
 

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement collaborates with local scientists and national agricultural research institutes in East and West Africa, South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean to develop resilient crop varieties of roots, tubers, banana, legumes, sorghum and millets that can produce higher yields, enhance nutrition and show greater resistance to pests and diseases. The Innovation Lab applies science, technology and innovation to make healthy food more accessible, stable, and gender- and market-responsive around the globe. We seek to partner with National Agricultural Research Institutes (NARI) to identify, develop, pilot and transfer appropriate tools, technologies and methods (TTMs), equipping them to deliver increased genetic gain and new products. Letter of Intent deadline, April 10. Read the full announcement.
 

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is accepting proposals for its Partnership Grant Program. The Partnership Grant Program funds projects conducted by agricultural service providers including researchers, educators, nonprofit staff, and others who work in direct partnership with farmers. Projects may conduct research, demonstrations, and education to address current challenges to the health of farming and food systems in the Northeast or to strengthen working partnerships between farmers and agricultural service providers. All projects must be conducted in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C., or West Virginia. Deadline, April 14. Read the full announcement.
 

This program was designed to assist 1994 Land-Grant Institutions (Tribal Colleges) in building institutional research capacity through applied projects that address student educational needs and meet community, reservation or regional challenges.  Awards are to be made on the basis of a competitive review process. Collaboration with 1862 or 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a Non-Land-Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA), or at least one forestry school funded under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Program is a requirement. Eligible institutions may propose projects in any discipline of the food, agricultural or natural resource sciences. Deadline, April 30. Read the full announcement.
 

The NSF Convergence Accelerator brings teams together in a cohort with time-limited tracks to focus on grand challenges of national importance that require a convergence research approach, namely the merging of ideas, approaches and technologies from widely diverse fields of knowledge to stimulate innovation and discovery. The objectives of this DCL are to (1) solicit ideas in use-inspired research for NSF Convergence Accelerator tracks for FY 2021 that build upon prior foundational research in the IotF, NSF’s Big Ideas or other areas of research related to areas of national importance; and (2) solicit conference proposals to develop and refine those ideas to develop the technical content that will be used in a future solicitation. The topics must emphasize convergence research, which requires deep interdisciplinary collaborations. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of convergence research, the breadth of the ideas sought, and the number and variety of key stakeholders involved, NSF strongly encourages the submission of conference proposals, in addition to the submission of concepts via the online RFI questionnaire (see below). Conference proposals are welcome from industry, IHEs, and non-profits that will help refine NSF Convergence Accelerator topic ideas and expand collaboration among stakeholders and partners to transition research outputs to use and, ultimately, significant impact for society. Future topics deadline, April 30. Conference proposal deadline, May 18. Read the full announcement.
 

The United Soybean Board (USB) and the Yield Lab Institute (YLI) announce the Soy Innovation Challenge. This non-dilutive startup accelerator program identifies innovative soybean value chain-based product solutions and supports the most promising ones with business coaching and entrepreneurial networking. The Soy Innovation Challenge seeks ideas for the creation of new kinds of supply chain structures and technologies that offer transparency, facilitate alignment based on measurable sustainability parameters and increase farm profitability. USB and the YLI invite ag-tech startups, project teams and groups to submit their ideas. This includes entities that operate in the soybean value chain and have an innovative product, service or technology that provides value directly back to U.S. soybean farmers. Cash prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the challenge. All selected teams will receive mentoring and resources to help advance their ideas in the areas of technical, business, financial and environmental impact. Deadline, May 1. Read the full announcement.
 

Open science fuels scientific discovery and economic gain by making the products of Federally funded research more easily accessible and usable. NSF is undertaking an expansion of its Public Access Repository (NSF PAR) to include metadata records about the research data that supports the journal and juried conference proceeding manuscripts resulting from NSF-funded research. The research data will not reside in the NSF PAR but will instead reside in a repository, data center, or data portal managed by an organization that is committed to ensuring the availability of the data over time. The anticipated location of research data associated with a publication, if known, can be identified in the Data Management Plan and budgeted in the proposal. Through this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), the NSF announces its intention to support conference proposals and EAGER proposals that explore and grow community readiness across all disciplinary areas served by the Foundation for this important advancement in open science as follows: 1) Proposals for Conferences: These are community workshops and other events that bring together stakeholders to explore and advance scientific community readiness in response to this advancement in open science. 2) Proposals for Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER): These are for high-risk/high-reward innovative concepts and pilot project proposals that contribute to community readiness in response to this advancement in open science. Deadline, May 1. Read the full announcement.
 

The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) provides funding in support of scientific research and educational initiatives focused on waste management practices benefiting industry participants and the communities they serve. To that end, EREF welcomes applications for projects and research addressing any area of integrated solid waste management, with priority given to research aimed at increasing sustainable solid waste management practices. The following topic areas will be considered: waste minimization; recycling; waste conversion to energy, biofuels, chemicals or other useful products (including waste-to-energy, anaerobic digestion, composting, and other thermal or biological conversion technologies); strategies to promote diversion to higher and better uses (e.g., organics diversion, market analysis, optimized material management, logistics, etc.); and landfilling. Deadline, May 1. Read the full announcement.
 

NIFA requests pre-applications for the ECDRE program for fiscal year 2020 to address priorities identified by the Citrus Disease Sub-committee (CDS) of the National Agricultural Research, Education, Extension and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board through projects that integrate research and extension activities and use systems-based, trans-disciplinary approaches to provide solutions to U.S. citrus growers. The overarching goals and desired outcomes for the ECDRE program are: 1) To combat Huanglongbing (HLB) and its disease complex in order to continue to be able to farm citrus in a financially sustainable way through collaborative approaches and knowledge; 2) Transition from component-focused research to deploying research outcomes and conclusions on farms; and 3) Encourage research teams to bring knowledge together to find grower solutions to combat and prevent HLB infection. Pre-application deadline, May 4. Read the full announcement.
 

NRCS is announcing the availability of Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials (On-Farm Trials) to stimulate the adoption and evaluation of innovative conservation approaches in partnership with agricultural producers. For 2020, applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects addressing at least one priority listed in this announcement. Up to $25 million is available for On-Farm Trials in 2020. NRCS anticipates that up to $10 million of On-Farm Trials funding in 2020 will be awarded to entities applying for the Soil Health Demonstration Trial (SHD) component. On-Farm Trials projects may be between 3 and 5 years in duration. The maximum amount for a single award in FY 2020 is $5 million. Deadline, May 11. Read the full announcement.
 

To further scientific and technological cooperation between the United States and the European Community, the National Science Foundation and the European Research Council signed an Implementing Arrangement to enable U.S.-based scientists and engineers with active NSF awards, to pursue research collaboration with European colleagues supported through EU-funded European Research Council (ERC) grants. This letter invites current NSF grantees to submit supplemental funding requests for research visits to any identified, appropriate ERC-funded European research group. NSF particularly encourages requests from NSF grantees who are early on in their careers or who are still actively building their careers. Deadline, May 15. Read the full announcement.
 

The geosciences continue to lag behind other STEM fields in creating a diverse community of researchers, scholars, and practitioners. In 2016, NSF launched the GOLD Program (Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity) with the mission to achieve greater and more systemic diversity by creating a network of diversity and inclusion "champions" who can generate greater implementation of evidence-based best practices and resources. To expand the reach of current GOLD efforts, bring to scale related diversity activities in the geosciences, or develop unique approaches for greater inclusion in the geoscience education and research community, NSF welcomes submission of supplemental funding requests and the following types of proposals: 1) Supplemental Funding Requests, 2) Conference Proposals, 3) Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) Proposals, and 4) Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). Deadline, May 18. Read the full announcement.
 

Sources: ScienceInsider; USDA; Agrilinks; University of Illinois News; Forbes; UMD Extension; Phys.org; Phytobiomes Journal; AAAS; EURACTIV; Food Tank; NSF; NRCS; ESMC;

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.