John J. Crowley, Yearbook Editor

This is not the ultimate book on agricultural research. Not even close.

It is, we hope, an enlightening glimpse into just a few aspects of the research generated by or involving dedicated people in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the 56 State Agricultural Experiment Stations, as well as many others, including scientists in the private sector.

From the beginning, the choice of subjects to be included in the book has been controversial—perhaps inherently so. It is not easy, pleasant, or perhaps even rational, to leave out research into soil and water conservation, aquaculture, farm management, irrigation, marketing, tillage, traditional plant and animal breeding, plant and animal production, traditional pesticides, rural development, transportation, and economic consequences—to name just a few subjects in a very broad spectrum—and still maintain that this is a book about agricultural research.

Yet the committees and advisers that selected the subjects in Research for Tomorrow saw value in presenting just a few subjects in some depth. They hoped the book would help increase understanding of at least some significant aspects of modern agricultural research.

At the same time, they said that the dissemination of research results needed to be covered in the book, as well as the land-grant system which not only houses much of today's important research but also trains our youth for the challenges of tomorrow.

Without this infrastructure, there would be far fewer seeking answers and too few benefiting from those answers.

My warm thanks go out to all those who helped make this Yearbook possible. Many of them are named in the Credits at the end of the book. USDA is especially grateful to the authors, who took time from research and administration to provide the benefit of their knowledge and insight.

I'm confident that the readers will find their efforts valuable.