Source: CORNERSTONE, 7/9/20
 
This week, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2021 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The bill provides $1,575,286,000 for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a $47,865,000 increase over FY 2020.

The bill includes $997,729,000 for Research and Education Activities, $538,557,000 for Extension Activities, and $39,000,000 for Integrated Activities. Increases are seen across several of the BAA’s priorities, with specific emphasis on 1890 and 1994 institutions. The bill also includes additional funding to support establishing an Agriculture Business Innovation Center, enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for military veterans, and Centers of Excellence at 1890 institutions.

Bill Text
Summary
Report

The following table provides the complete NIFA account level detail:

Below are several excerpts from the Committee report that may be of interest:

Enhancing Land-Grant Coordination.—The Committee encourages USDA to align the Science Blueprint and the Agriculture Innovation Agenda as a method to effectively address key challenges facing American agriculture, especially with regard to competitive grants. The Committee encourages USDA to convene a blue-ribbon panel to acknowledge the important role that land-grant universities play in food security in the U.S. and around the world. The result of the plan should be to evaluate the overall structure of research and education through the public and land-grant universities to define a new architecture that can integrate, coordinate, and assess economic impact of the collective work of these institutions. New focuses should be on sustainable agriculture production, innovation for small and large farming, integration of best practices for land management to support carbon capture, and markets to lead to better farmer outcomes and incomes.

Grants for Insular Areas.—The Committee recognizes NIFA efforts to strengthen capacity at land-grant institutions in the U.S. territories in the areas of instruction, distance education, facilities and equipment, and research. The Committee emphasizes the importance of continuing the support for these institutions and provides an increase to help address plant disease and invasive species priorities in the territories.

Specialty Crop Research Initiative.—The Committee recognizes the importance of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) in addressing the needs of the specialty crop industry through research and extension activities. The Committee encourages NIFA to address successive planting production and extension as part of ongoing SCRI activities.

21st Century Extension.—The Committee recognizes that changes to traditional extension programs are necessary to meet the needs of today’s farmers, natural resource challenges, and food systems. The Committee directs NIFA to develop a framework to incentivize the next generation of digitally sophisticated agricultural extension programs in consultation with land-grant universities, producers, technology and agricultural industry stakeholders, and policymakers.

Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network.—The Committee directs NIFA and the Department’s Rural Health Liaison to coordinate with the Department of Health and Human Services to gather and utilize existing data sets prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on farmer and rancher mental and behavioral health. Further, the Committee directs NIFA and the Rural Health Liaison to work together to provide a report on farmers’ and ranchers’ mental health status, access to behavioral health care, as well as geographic and demographic factors that are associated with higher rates of substance use, suicide, and job dissatisfaction. The report should also discuss barriers to the Department in collecting or accessing this information. The Committee directs the Department to provide the report not later than 180 days after enactment.

New Technologies for Agricultural Extension.—The Committee includes an additional $2,000,000 to better serve the Cooperative Extension System by adopting new tools, technology, training, and services that will increase entrepreneurial opportunities and e-commerce in rural communities where sufficient high-speed broadband exists. This effort will allow Extension educators to make connections with entrepreneurs in rural communities and identify rural service opportunities, especially in the areas of health care, education, manufacturing, and farming. Examples of the types of activities supported include community demonstration days, development of a digital literacy curriculum, student and volunteer service opportunities, and development of online resources.

Organic Transition Program.—The Committee recognizes that the shortage of organic knowledge transfer presents a major barrier for farmers seeking to transition to organic. Additional funding above last year’s level shall be used to amplify cooperative extension activities to transfer technical results from proposed projects and assist conventional farmers in transitioning to organic.

Enhancing Land-Grant Coordination.—The Committee encourages USDA to align the Science Blueprint and the Agriculture Innovation Agenda as a method to effectively address key challenges facing American agriculture, especially with regard to competitive grants. The Committee provides $300,000 for USDA to convene a blue-ribbon panel to acknowledge the important role that land-grant universities, including 1890 Institutions play in food security in the U.S. and around the world. The result of the plan should be to evaluate the overall structure of research and education through the public and land-grant universities to define a new architecture that can integrate, coordinate, and assess economic impact of the collective work of these institutions. New focuses should be on sustainable agriculture production, innovation for small and large farming, integration of best practices for land management to support carbon capture, and markets to lead to better farmer outcomes and incomes.

Additionally, the bill includes the following language to support the establishment of an Agriculture Business Innovation Center:

SEC. 741. There is hereby appropriated $2,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022, for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to issue a competitive grant to support the establishment of an Agriculture Business Innovation Center at a historically black college or university to serve as a technical assistance hub to enhance agriculture-based business development opportunities.

Next Steps
The House of Representatives is expected to debate the bill and several other FY 2021 funding bills in the 3rd and 4th week of July.

The Senate markups have slipped further into July and could quite likely be delayed into September. Subcommittees will likely poll their members and save the in-person markups for full committee, to minimize the number of times that committee members must gather.


THE CORNERSTONE TEAM