The Process of Research

Researching and Implementing New Products and Technologies

by Alvin L. Young, Director, and Daniel D. Jones, Deputy Director, Office of Agricultural Biotechnology, USDA, Washington, DC, and Edward B. Bagley, Research Leader, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Peoria, IL.

For thousands of years, farmers tilled the soil for planting crops and raised animals for food and fiber. They selected high-yielding varieties of plants and animals, fashioned various tools for agricultural use, and developed rudimentary methods of pest control.

Then in the 19th century, scientific methods were first applied to agriculture on a large scale. The resulting increases in productivity allowed the United States to achieve one of the highest standards of living in the world, characterized by a great variety of abundant and high-quality agricultural products and a low percentage of per capita income spent on food.

The science of agriculture is dynamic and requires a continuing investment both in research itself and in the development of skilled people who can conduct and translate research into the products that contribute to a nation's well-being. In the United States, the establishment of an agricultural research system more than a century ago helped to ensure that education, research, and extension would contribute significantly to the Nation's food security.

The Agricultural Research System

Today, the United States has an agricultural research system that includes 72 academic institutions, 58 State agricultural experiment stations, and more than 200 Federal laboratories in a network that encompasses 15,000 scientists and 13,000 graduate students. In addition, extension agents in over 3,000 counties facilitate the communication of farmers' research needs to the scientific community, and the communication of the results of problem-solving research back to farmers.

At the national level, USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Economic Research Service, and Forest Service conduct agricultural research in their areas of responsibility. Regional research is the responsibility of the Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS), which funds extramural research at colleges, universities, and other institutions. The Extension Service administers programs for the transfer of new knowledge and processes from the scientific community to farmers and others who need the information.

Agricultural Research Goals. From its inception, U.S. agricultural research has been goal oriented. The goals of agricultural research have been many and varied and have included improved productivity, animal and crop protection, reduced costs, increased product demand, improved marketing systems, increased exports, a higher standard of living, and rural community improvement.

Today, agricultural research is directed toward the pursuit of new knowledge and technology. Solving technical agricultural problems will ensure adequate production of high-quality food and agricultural products, to help meet the nutritional needs of U.S. consumers, sustain a viable food and agricultural economy, and maintain a quality environmental and natural resource base.

In the late 20th century our world's environment is providing special challenges and new directions for agricultural research. These include global climate change, the agricultural effects of ozone depletion and population growth, and ways to develop a sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural production system.

Biological aide Ellie Giron (left), a Native American student at the University of North Dakota, and ARS chemist Phyllis Johnson prepare a sample for analysis at the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, ND. Bruce Fritz/USDA 92B W1 090- 15

Scientific Approach

Agricultural researchers, like their colleagues in other fields, rely heavily on the scientific approach for progress toward their research goals. The scientific approach starts with careful observation, then leads to a hypothesis to explain the observations. It usually results in the design and performance of experiments to test the validity and consequences of the hypothesis.

A well-designed experiment may have two possible outcomes: It may refute the hypothesis, making it necessary to develop an alternate hypothesis Lo explain the data; or it may withstand the experimental results and serve as a guide to further experiments. Results of experiments also may suggest other experiments to be performed or other hypotheses to be tested. Knowledge acquired by this method is provisional and subject to change when new experimental results are reported, confirmed, and accepted by the scientific community.

Choosing a Problem To Research

In addition to scientific criteria, there is a complex array of nonscientific factors that influence the selection of research problems to be addressed by agricultural scientists. This includes administrative directives, commodity interests, socioeconomic factors, and political commitments. Some of the agents of these influences include farmers, farmworkers, agribusinesses, rural residents, government agencies, international groups, commodity groups, other interest groups, legislative bodies, and the general public.

As one example, the President's National Initiative for Research on Agriculture, Food, and Environment, started in FY 1991, is providing resources for major new research thrusts. The National Research Initiative (NRI) calls for increases in funding for USDA-sponsored research to meet pressing agricultural challenges as identified by the National Academy of Sciences Board on Agriculture. The National Research Initiative was funded at $73 million in FY 1991 and $97.5 million for FY 1992. USDA has invited the scientific community to submit research grant applications in a number of areas that it believes are particularly important for the continuing development of U.S. agriculture in a global environment.

Research and Development Cycle

The development of new products from emerging technologies traverses a range of activities, from basic research and applied research through product development, regulatory approval, and consumer acceptance. The focus of research differs significantly over this research and development cycle. In the early phases, research tends to be more knowledge oriented, and in the later phases it tends to be more product oriented.

Similarly, the nature of the investment in research changes over the research and development cycle. In the United States, most basic agricultural research has traditionally been supported by public funds. The rationale is that basic or exploratory research, while making a significant contribution to scientific knowledge, often involves financial risk. Public funding spreads this financial risk over a larger funding base. Product development, on the other hand, is usually more targeted and is supported by private funding. The private investment in product development can be viewed as complementary to the public investment in the basic research that forms the basis for later product development.