Agricultural Research

Continuing strong support for our nation's science and technology has been and will continue to be a policy of this Administration. The goals of this support are enhanced national security, improved quality of life, and increased national competitiveness. Today, more than ever before, we must use our technological resources aggressively in order to retain international leadership.

President Reagan, 1986 State of the Union Address.

Role of Research in Agriculture

Orville G. Bentley, Assistant Secretary for Science and Education

Several factors have been involved in establishing the productive capacity of U.S. agriculture, and high on the list are research and technological innovations. Past investments in research have produced hybrid crop and animal strains, labor-saving equipment, improved cultural practices, animal disease control, and availability of chemicals to enhance growth and protect plants from pests. The use of these technologies has resulted in a higher standard of living for both consumers and producers. A wide variety of wholesome food can be purchased at lower relative prices than at any time in the past, and most farm families enjoy a level of living that was not available to earlier generations.

Despite past successes in productivity gains and industry well-being, global economic changes of the past 5 years have resulted in a considerable decrease in demand for U.S. exports. These developments have had a reverberating impact on rural America resulting in a considerable reduction in land values and financial hardship for many farmers and ranchers. Recent changes in macro-level influences, however, suggest that future opportunities should be brighter:

In recent months the value of the dollar has declined 20 to 30 percent as compared to other currencies. This change reduces the costs of U.S. goods in foreign markets;

Intense negotiations are under way with our trading partners to encourage exchange of goods on a more level playing field;

Interest rates and energy costs have come down, easing two of the major expenses of modern-day agriculture.

These positive trends should improve the competitive position of U.S. agriculture. But changes in the rest of the world's ability to produce agriculture products will challenge U.S. access to global markets. In January 1986, Dennis T. Avery, senior analyst with the U.S. Department of State, reported: "annual world production of grain and oilseeds has jumped by 213 million tons in the last four years, while world consumption has increased only 153 million tons. The largest share of the increase in crop output has been in the Third World. Better farm technology, due to increasing human knowledge and broader world communication, has been the single most important factor in this progress." Technology that allowed the United States to develop a productive agricultural industry is now being adopted much quicker by other countries.

What unique strengths does the United States possess to compete effectively in domestic and foreign markets remaining a net exporter of food and fiber, rather than an importer? Two important strengths are:

1) A strong commitment to the role of science in our national well-being and;

2) an entrepreneurial spirit freedom of economic opportunity to explore new markets.

The future role of research in agriculture was outlined effectively by Vernon M. Ruttan in an editorial in Science, February 21, 1986:

The capacity of American agriculture to expand its foreign markets and retain its domestic markets depends on continued declines in the real costs of production. American agriculture has achieved its preeminence in the world by substituting knowledge for resources. This knowledge, embodied in more productive biological, chemical, and mechanical technologies and the managerial skills of farm operators, has given the United States a world-class agricultural industry at a time when many other sectors of our economy are losing their preeminent position. A necessary condition for U.S. agriculture to retain its status is enhancement of both public and private sector capacity for scientific research and technology development. The costs, to both consumers and producers, Of failure to maintain and enhance our efficiency in production would greatly exceed the adjustment costs resulting from abundance.

Left: A cotton bollworm eats its way into an unprotected cotton boll. Right: Overcome by a viral insecticide, a cotton bollworm hangs from the boll of a viral-protected cotton plant. At the slightest touch the caterpillar will rupture to release billions of virus particles that could spread to protect other plants.

Beginnings of Agricultural Research

Agricultural experimentation took place in the first permanent English settlements in what is now the United States. The first settlers at Jamestown and Plymouth learned, with Indian aid, to grow corn. In 1613, John Rolfe of Jamestown experimented with Orinoco tobacco and developed our first export crop. The leaders of a settlement in Georgia in 1733 not only established an experimental garden, but hired a botanist to collect plants in the West Indies and Central and South America. During the 18th century, other efforts, inspired in part by the agricultural revolution under way in England, were made to improve agriculture.

George Washington created a veritable experimental farm at Mount Vernon. He worked to conserve his soil and diversify his crops, and pioneered in using new machinery. He was America's first mule breeder and greatly improved his sheep.

President Washington made the first formal proposal for the establishment of a Federal Agency devoted to agriculture, Later, the president of Norwich University asked Congress to appropriate funds from land sales to be distributed to the States for establishing institutions to teach agriculture. During the 1840's and 1850's State legislatures, farm leaders, the editors of agricultural periodicals, farm organizations, and professional and philanthropic societies, urged Congress to act on both of these proposals.

In 1839, Congress appropriated $1,000 of Patent Office funds for collecting agricultural statistics, conducting agricultural investigations, and distributing seeds. Opposing groups said this action was inadequate and represented Federal intervention. The matter was settled on May 15, 1862, when Abraham Lincoln signed into law legislation creating the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Act was part of an agrarian reform package offered to the voters by the Republican party.

The Morrill Act of 1862 was the foundation legislation for the land-grant colleges. The primary focus of this Act was not research but to provide the common man with an opportunity for higher education. But the emphatic assignment of a teaching mission seemed to overshadow any research authority and prompted the first generation of college administrators to doubt that the Act authorized the colleges to experiment, except as an aid in the instruction of students.

At the 1871 Convention of Agricultural Editors, University of Illinois President John M. Gregory called attention to the seemingly incidental role the Morrill Act had allotted to research. In an urgent tone, Gregory noted the need for a well-developed system of research had become a serious practical question. Farmers, faced with problems they could not solve, were bringing to the college staff questions that could be answered by astute, continuous, and productive experimentation.

After considerable discussion in the press and at public meetings about State versus Federal responsibilities, the science and education leaders of the time convinced Congress of the need for Federal funding of agricultural research. The result of all this discussion was the Hatch Act of 1887 which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 1987.