|
Items in cart [4] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 27
The US Department of Agriculture Research,
Education, and Economics Mission Area
The Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area is one of seven
in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). It was established to synthesize
and circulate knowledge that addresses a broad array of agricultural research sub-
jects. According to the most recent strategic plan, the mission of REE programs
is to create a safe, sustainable, competitive US food and fiber system and strong,
healthy communities, families, and youth through integrated research, analysis,
and education (USDA, 2002~.
In the context of the federal research establishment, REE falls at the interface
of research areas linked to a variety of other federal agencies, including food,
health, nutrition, and disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food
and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health), environment and
natural resources (the Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of the Interior), energy (the Department of Energy [DOE]), com-
merce (the Department of Commerce and its National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration), and basic research (the National Science Foundation, DOE).
REE' s comparative advantage among federal research institutions lies in its his-
torical strengths in understanding the agricultural and food system. The National
Institutes of Health (NIH) may work on specific nutritional components, but
USDA is better positioned to assess diets holistically. For example, NIH might
work on how lycopene prevents cancer, but USDA can assess how much lyco-
pene is consumed by different subpopulations and how dietary trends or substitu-
tions would affect that intake. Similarly, the interface between agriculture and
natural-resource use argues for USDA research to address the environmental
impacts of agriculture. No other public agency has the resources, infrastructure,
or mandate to support research focusing on the interface between agriculture and
27
OCR for page 28
28
FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
the environment. And this is where private-sector research is highly unlikely to
fill the void.
REORGANIZATION OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
In 1994, the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act (US Congress, 1994b) authorized the secretary of agriculture
to appoint an undersecretary for research, education, and economics. The explicit
purpose of the legislation was to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and
economies in the organization and management of the programs and activities
carried out by the department (US Congress, 1994b). The legislation delegated
all functions and duties related to research, education, and economics to the new
mission area, including those previously conducted in other agencies or mission
areas. The REE agencies are required to work with USDA action and regulatory
agencies: the Agricultural Marketing Service; the Animal and Plant Health In-
spection Service; the Foreign Agricultural Service; the Food and Nutrition Ser-
vice; the Farm Service Agency; the Food Safety and Inspection Service; the Grain
Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration; the Natural Resources Con-
servation Service; the Rural Business-Cooperative Service; and the Rural Utili-
ties Service.
The 1994 reorganization brought four agencies into the REE mission area:
the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Cooperative State Research, Edu-
cation, and Extension Service (CSREES), the Economic Research Service (ERS),
and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (Figure 2-1~. Before the
consolidation of agencies, ERS and NASS were in the Office of Science and
Education. The Forest Service, once a part of the Office of Science Education,
was transferred to the Natural Resources and the Environment Mission Area.
During this transition, the CSREES was created when the Cooperative State
Research Service and the Extension Service merged.
With the passage of the 1996 farm bill (US Congress, 1996), three USDA
advisory boards the Agricultural Science and Technology Review Board, the
Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the National Agricultural
Research and Extension Users Advisory Board were consolidated, forming the
National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory
Board. The new board was mandated to review the REE strategic plan and its
implementation and was charged with assisting the secretary of agriculture in
creating a task force that would review USDA research. The board also was
authorized to counsel the undersecretary with respect to the oversight of REE
programmatic content (USDA, 1996, 2002~.
OCR for page 29
OCR for page 31
OCR for page 32
OCR for page 33
OCR for page 34
OCR for page 35
OCR for page 36
OCR for page 37
Representative terms from entire chapter:
national agricultural
29
. ~
o
~ ._
.O
m._
o
~ o
~ _
Q ~
~ ~r
cn
~ I
C~
_ C.~
tL ~
U)
, ,_ ~ s~ ,_
_ 2 _ ~ 2
U) ~ I U)
· -
.° ~ o
U) U) ~ ,u
_ ~ ~._
._ C~ o _
- tL U) ~
t] U) [~] ,o = '
,~ s CO
- ~ ~ ~ o - C
2 ~ ~ ~, c 2 o
'= ~ o ~ {d (~ U)
· · ·
8
~ 2
~O ,o
~o [°
IL-
o ._
._ ~
._ _
Z Z~ C
~ G) O CIS -
~'~ O.~_
O G) C o _
IL 00 C) [L [L
· ~
_'~ _
u~ cn u) u~
_m'U)'m
I m
~ ~ ~ o~
O: O: O:
· · -
~, C
2
(~) 2
° U) ~u
· · -
u)
8
._ o ,_
mS = ~ .-
· -
·_.
o
~£::~
~o~
~U~
~a
~ ~ ~ m~ ~._~ ~ ~ ~
_ ~i*_~'~
~(d~
~'b¢~a
t
s_
_ _
~;~Cm
~o~
~i;.~-~
~i=
~:~
~Ct
~ - ~
- ~q)~
~
30
FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
FUNCTIONS AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH,
EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS MISSION AREA
According to the REE strategic plan (USDA, 2002), the agencies conducting
the REE mission area programs perform five primary functions:
1. "Create basic research knowledge at the frontiers of the biological, physi-
cal, and social sciences,
2. "Produce, apply, and adopt applied research-based knowledge in innova-
tive ways to address problems and issues,
3. "Produce developmental research results and promote the commercializa-
tion and transfer of technologies and practices to potential users in a
timely, cost-effective manner,
4. "Provide leadership in the delivery of research-based knowledge through
Extension, outreach, and information to strengthen the capacity of public
and private decisionmakers, and
5. "Strengthen capacity of institutions of higher education to develop the
skills of the Nation's workforce."
The REE mission area's strategic plan delineates five desired outcomes and
associated strategic objectives (see Box 2-1; USDA, 2002~. The REE strategic
plan also assigns resources to the five program objectives in the following distri-
bution: 25% each to the first and second, 16% to the third and fourth, and 18% to
the fifth (based on FY 1996 appropriations).
RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS AGENCIES
The four agencies implementing the REE mission, under the leadership of
the REE undersecretary, are ARS, CSREES, ERS, and NASS. The history and
mission of each agency are described below.
Agricultural Research Service
ARS, the principal inhouse research agency of USDA, was authorized by the
Organic Act of 1862 (US Congress, 1862~. The act called upon the then-commis-
sioner of agriculture to "acquire and preserve in his Department all information
he can obtain by means of books and correspondence, and by practical and
scientific experiments...." With the onset of World War II, the department
reconfigured its research units to form the Agricultural Research Administration
(ARA). In 1953, ARA underwent a realignment to become what is known today
as ARS (USDA, 1999, 2000a).
The ARS mission is "to conduct research to develop and transfer solutions to
agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access
THE USDA RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS MISSION AREA
31
and dissemination to: ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural
products; assess the nutritional needs of Americans; sustain a competitive agri-
cultural economy; enhance the natural resource base and the environment; and
provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a
whole" (USDA, 1999, 2000a). Agency research focuses on achieving the five
broad goals identified in the REE Strategic Plan (see Box 2-1) and is organized
into 22 national programs (see Box 2-2~. ARS is the largest REE agency in
overall program staff and budget. According to USDA's Office of Budget and
Program Analysis, ARS's budget accounted for half the appropriation for the
entire REE mission area in FY 2002.
ARS also is responsible for the administration of the National Agricultural
Library (NAL) and the National Arboretum. Brought under the auspices of ARS
in 1994, NAL is the world's largest agricultural library. Mandated by Congress
to carry out research and provide educational information, the National Arboretum
conducts research at four sites in the eastern United States (USDA, 1999, 2000a).
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
CSREES was formed in 1994 through the USDA reorganization act (US
Congress, 1994b). CSREES research and education programs are conducted in
partnership with US universities (USDA, 2000b). CSREES's mission is "to
achieve significant and equitable improvements in domestic and global economic,
environmental, and social conditions by advancing creative and integrated research,
education, and extension programs in food, agricultural, environmental and
related life and social sciences in partnership with both the public and private
sectors" (USDA, 2000b).
The research and education activities of CSREES were authorized under the
Hatch Act of 1887, as amended (US Congress, 1887~; the Cooperative Forestry
Research Act of 1962, as amended (US Congress, 1962~; Public Law 89-106,
Section (2), as amended (US Congress, 1965~; the National Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended (US Congress, 1977b);
and the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (US Congress,
1994a). Under those authorities, CSREES assists research and education pro-
grams in a research community at state institutions, including the state agricul-
tural experiment stations, schools of forestry, 1890 land-grant institutions and
Tuskegee University, colleges of veterinary medicine, and other eligible institu-
tions. It supports competitively awarded and formula-based research programs
and regularly scheduled program reviews of the land-grant university agricultural
and related sciences.
CSREES is charged with implementing USDA's higher-education mission
in the food and agricultural sciences. Its assistance in providing educational
opportunities was traditionally less formal until USDA enacted the National
Needs Graduate Fellowships Grant Program in 1984. Later initiatives, such as
32
FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
THE USDA RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS MISSION AREA
33
34
FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
the Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grants Program and the Multicultural
Scholars program, have been implemented to strengthen the quality of education
programs (USDA, 2000b).
The Cooperative Extension System is a national education network of
partners from CSREES, land-grant university cooperative extension services, and
cooperative extension services in the 3,150 counties of the United States. Coop-
erative extension work is authorized by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, as amended
(US Congress, 1914), and by Title XIV of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977
(US Congress, 1977a).
Another important function of CSREES is the collection and integration of
national and state data to monitor accomplishments in research, extension, and
education, including the Current Research Information System and the Food and
THE USDA RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS MISSION AREA
35
Agricultural Education Information System. Efforts are under way to establish a
Research, Education, and Economics Information System to facilitate evalua-
tions of REE activities (USDA, 2000b).
According to USDA's Office of Budget and Program Analysis, the CSREES
budget authorizations accounted for 42% of the total REE budget authorization in
FY 2002.
Economic Research Service
ERS is the primary intramural social-science unit in USDA. It was created in
1961 out of the now-defunct Bureau of Agricultural Economics, which was
authorized principally by the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (US Congress,
1946~. The ERS mission is "to inform and enhance public and private decision-
making on economic and policy issues related to agriculture, food, the environ-
ment, and rural development" (USDA, 2000c, 2001a), and the agency shares the
five goals of the REE mission area, as described above.
According to its FY 2002 performance plan, ERS's goals include research
and development of economic and statistical indicators on a broad array of topics:
global marketing conditions, trade restrictions, agribusiness concentration, farm
and retail food prices, food assistance, foodborne illnesses, food labeling, nutri-
tion, agrichemical use, livestock-waste management, conservation, sustainability,
genetic diversity, biotechnology, technology transfer, rural infrastructure, and
agricultural labor (USDA, 2000c, 2001a).
According to USDA's Office of Budget and Program Analysis, the ERS
budget authorizations accounted for 2.8% of the total REE budget authorization
in FY 2002.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
NASS derives its mandate from the Organic Act of 1862; agricultural supply
information was one of the purposes of USDA. The Agricultural Marketing Act
of 1946 authorizes NASS's responsibilities (US Congress, 1946~. The Census of
Agriculture Act of 1997 (US Congress, 1997) reassigned the national census of
agriculture from the Department of Commerce to USDA, and NASS was charged
with administering the census every 5 years. The agency has about 1,350 federal
and state employees, about two-thirds of whom are field operatives (USDA,
2000d, 2001b) and use the state statistical office in 46 states, which are coopera-
tively funded through land-grant universities or state departments of agriculture.
Other state institutions are also eligible for NASS services related to survey ad-
ministration, and the agency undertakes some international activities (USDA,
2000d, 2001b).
NASS states that its mission is to "provide timely, accurate, and useful statis-
tics in service to US agriculture" (USDA, 2000d, 2001b). Its clients are drawn
36
FRONTIERS IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
from almost every aspect of the farming and agribusiness communities. Clients
typically provide NASS with responses that are used to generate data concerning
such subjects as crop and livestock counts. The Agricultural Statistics Board of
NASS uses the information to produce several hundred reports per year (USDA,
2000d, 2001b).
In addition to the farming and agribusiness members that it serves, NASS's
statistical information and reports are used in the decision-making processes of
the White House, Congress, other USDA programs, and other federal agencies.
Among the specific NASS activities that contribute to those processes are the
supply of data used for the world agricultural supply and demand estimates, the
Export Enhancement Program, the Conservation Reserve Program, the determi-
nation of milk prices, grazing fees (on publicly owned land), and USDA's crop-
insurance program (USDA, 2000d, 2001b).
According to USDA's Office of Budget and Program Analysis, the NASS
budget authorizations accounted for 4.6% of the total REE budget authorization
in FY 2002.
SUMMARY
This chapter has provided background information on the 1994 USDA
reorganization that brought about the REE mission area. The functions and
strategic objectives of the mission area, the history and mission of each agency,
and the proportion of the total REE budget accounted for by each agency were
also considered.
REFERENCES
US Congress. 1862. 7 USC. 2201. Organic Act of 1862.
US Congress. 1887. 7 USC. 361a et seq., 24 Stat. 440. Hatch Act of 1887.
US Congress. 1914. 7 USC. 341 et seq., 38 Stat. 372. Smith-Lever Act of 1914.
US Congress. 1946. 7 USC. 1621-1627. Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.
US Congress. 1962. Cooperative Forestry Research Act of 1962, as amended (16 USC. 585a-7).
US Congress. 1965. P.L. (Public Law) 89-106, Section (2), as amended (7 USC. 450i).
US Congress. 1977a. P.L. (Public Law) 95-113. Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 USC. 2281. 91
Stat. 1041).
US Congress. 1977b. P.L. (Public Law) 95-113. National Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977.
US Congress. 1994a. P.L. (Public Law) 103-382. Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of
1994.
US Congress. 1994b. P.L. (Public Law) 103-354. Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994.
US Congress. 1996. P.L. (Public Law) 104-127. Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform
(FAIR) Act of 1996.
US Congress. 1997.P.L. (public Law) 105-113. Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 (7USC.2204g).
THE USDA RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS MISSION AREA
37
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 1996. Charter of the National Agricultural Research, Exten-
sion, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Available online at http://www. reeusda.gov/ree/advisory/charter.html.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 1999. Agricultural Research Service Strategic Plan: Working
Document 1997-2002. Washington, DC: Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agri-
culture. Available online at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/mgmt/stratpln/1999/background.cim.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2000a. Agricultural Research Service FY 2000 and 2001
Annual Performance Plans. Washington, DC: Agricultural Research Service, US Department of
Agriculture.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2000b. Cooperative State Research, Education, and Exten-
sion Service FY 2000 and 2001 Annual Performance Plan. Washington, DC: Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service, US Department of Agriculture.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2000c. Economic Research Service Strategic Plan, 2000-
2005. October 11, 2000. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, US Department of Ag-
riculture. Available online at http://www. ers. usda. gov/AboutERS/ersstrategicplan. pdf.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2000d. National Agricultural Statistics Service. GPRA Stra-
tegic Plan, Washington, DC: National Agricultural Statistics Service, US Department of Agri-
culture. Available online at http://www. usda.gov/nass/nassinfo/strat-2005.pdf.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2001a. Economic Research Service FY 2002 Annual Perfor-
mance Plan and Revised Plan for FY 2001 (July). Washington, DC: Economic Research Ser-
vice, US Department of Agriculture. Available online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/AboutERS/
ersperformance_plan. pdf.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2001b. National Agricultural Statistics Service FY 2002 and
Revised FY 2001 Annual Performance Plans. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service,
US Department of Agriculture. Available online at http://www.usda.gov/nass/nassinfo/nass-
app-02-01.pdf.
USDA (US Department of Agriculture). 2002. Research, Education, and Economics Strategic Plan.
Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture. Available online at http://www.reeusda.gov/
ree/ree2.htm.
