Science Policy Report

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06 April 2016

In This Issue:

Policy News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Science News

Policy News

As senators return to the Capitol on Monday after a two-week recess, they are preparing to begin drafting appropriations bills in subcommittee this month. Even without any budget resolution in the works to guide the process, senators could start acting on spending bills and beat their House colleagues to the punch. Senate aides said they anticipate initial markups of appropriations bills to begin in mid-April, a month sooner than last year's schedule. That action could begin after Senate Budget Chairman Michael B. Enzi, R-Wyo., files the topline discretionary spending levels that would guide the process in the absence of a budget resolution. While no procedural decisions have been made, there is even talk of the Senate breaking with precedent and bringing appropriations bills to the floor before the House does this year. Even if appropriators get an early start, the Senate has little time to do business in this year's abbreviated congressional calendar. To accommodate the presidential nominating conventions, Congress is scheduled to leave town by July 15 and won’t return until early September, when they will have less than a month before a stopgap bill would be needed to extend current funding levels.

Last week the House Budget Committee approved its FY 2017 budget resolution on a 20-16 vote, with all but two Republicans and no Democrats voting in its favor. The resolution, which establishes binding targets for appropriators, keeps discretionary spending flat in FY 2017 at $1.07 trillion, in accord with the budget agreement reached last fall. The House budget also proposes discretionary cuts in future years, as have the past few House budgets, but future-year funding levels in budget resolutions are nonbinding and best interpreted as political statements. The budget resolution did not come to the House floor for a vote before the two-week spring recess. Read the full article.

If an influential congressional budget committee has its way, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) could be eliminated, and many research programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) would be sharply curtailed. Those startling changes in federal research policy are part of a blueprint for spending that was released by the House budget committee. The proposed budget resolution talks repeatedly of the need to reduce spending and, in particular, curb the clichéd “waste, fraud, and abuse” that is allegedly rampant across the federal government by killing duplicative or unnecessary programs. To achieve that goal, the committee has proposed changes to the research portfolio at NSF and DOE’s Office of Science that would likely draw fierce opposition from most scientists. Read the full article.

Twelve Republican House members announced the formation of the Energy, Innovation, and Environmental Working Group to address "market-based reforms that will grow America's economy, promote cleaner energy production, and preserve the quality of our air and water." The initial group of members hails from districts around the country. Several of these initial group members have a history of taking action on environmental issues; for example, Rep. Chris Gibson, who led a resolution "calling for improved environmental stewardship" in September of last year with 10 other Republican co-sponsors, and Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who joined with Democrat Theodore Deutch (also of Florida) to form the first bipartisan caucus on climate: the Climate Solutions Caucus. Read the full article.

In a recent interview with the Atlantic, President Obama noted. “Climate change is a potential existential threat to the entire world if we don’t do something about it.” This rhetoric has been shored up in recent months with one of the most significant responses to climate change from the Department of Defense (DoD Directive 4715.21: Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience), which is the latest and most robust output on climate change in a long line of assessments, strategy and planning documents from the Pentagon which stretches back to 2003, during the first half of the George W. Bush Administration. The directive tells every corner of the Pentagon, including the office of the secretary of defense, the joint chiefs of staff, and all the combatant commands around the world, to put climate change front and center in their strategic planning. Read the full article.

On Wednesday, March 30, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) case, United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc, a potentially precedent-setting case that asks whether landowners may “go to court” if their property is labeled as “wetlands” subject to the federal Clean Water Act. Under the Clean Water Act, a jurisdictional determination by the Corps is required to determine if lands are deemed wetlands and technically a "water of the United States." If lands are determined a "water of the U.S." then use of those lands would likely require a 404 dredge and fill or other permit before use. Read the full article.

International Corner

The earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear disaster that rocked Japan’s Tohoku region in March of 2011 dealt a series of sharp blows to the 70,000 farmers living in Fukushima prefecture, some 150 miles north of Tokyo. Thousands of buildings were destroyed by the magnitude 9.0 quake, while others were washed away, along with fields and crops, by the 33-foot-high waves that followed. But the $160 billion in damage to Japan’s agriculture and fishery industries was just the latest in a long run of setbacks the country has suffered on the food-security front. Though reforms instituted in the aftermath of World War II had drastically improved the California-size country’s self-sufficiency, the ensuing decades saw farmers abandoning the profession in droves. Read the full article.

European wheat crops may be heading for another big harvest after a mild winter sped up plant growth and left fields in good condition. Crops are about two weeks ahead of normal pace in France and are in mostly good condition in Germany and the U.K. after escaping damage from cold this winter. As long as weather doesn’t damage plants in the coming months, the speedy progress may signal an early start to harvests. Prospects are “promising” for developing crops this year, the European Union said on Monday. Read the full article.

The humble pea is taking over. With vegetarians in Asia hungry for lentils, chickpeas and other sources of protein, North American farmers are swapping out wheat in favor of pulses -- plants harvested for their dry seeds, such as legumes. AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., the world’s largest exporter of peas and lentils, says farmers in Canada are poised to seed record acres of the crops this year. Plantings of peas and lentils in Canada will rise 33 percent in 2016 to 10 million acres, Chief Executive Officer Murad Al-Katib said. As demand grows, pulse crops are still fetching higher returns than grains or oilseeds, prices for which have fallen amid oversupply, he said. Read the full article.

Without altering current levels of water consumption and pollution, almost half of the world's population will suffer severe water stress by 2030, damaging the well-being of millions of people, according to a new report from the International Resource Panel (IRP). The report, entitled Policy Options for Decoupling Economic Growth from Water Use and Water Pollution, finds that as the global population rises, increased urbanization, climate change and a shift in how food is consumed are likely to dramatically increase future demand for water. Read the full article.

At the trendy South by Southwest conference in mid-March, there was buzz about music, movies, President Obama's keynote address ... and tractors. Why? Because there's a new, low-cost (but pretty smart) mini-tractor that's part of a business start-up in Abuja, Nigeria, called "Hello Tractor." What makes the tractors smart? Each one comes with a GPS antenna. So when the tractor has been used enough to need maintenance, Hello Tractor will alert the owner. Even better, the company can use data on tractor location to play matchmaker. If a certain farmer needs a tractor, the company can contact the nearest tractor owner, who'll ride over and, for a fee, perform the services needed on the neighboring farm. Read the full article.

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Proposals will be accepted from the following several states. See the links for full announcement details and deadlines.

Oregon – Deadline May 23

Maine – Deadline June 3

Iowa – Deadline June 1

California – Deadline June 17

Louisiana – Deadline June 3

New Jersey – Deadline June 24

Ohio – Deadline May 1

The Southern and Northeastern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has released the 2016 Call for Proposals for Graduate Student Grants. Graduate Student Grants are one of the few sustainable agriculture research funding opportunities open to Ph.D. and Master’s students at accredited institutions. Research projects that address issues of sustainable agriculture of current and potential importance to the affiliated region are eligible for submission.

Southern SARE – Deadline May 6

Northeast SARE – Deadline May 10

The purpose of the Aquaculture Research program is to support the development of an environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture industry in the U.S. and generate new science-based information and innovation to address industry constraints. Over the long term, results of projects supported by this program may help improve the profitability of the U.S. aquaculture industry, reduce the U.S. trade deficit, increase domestic food security, provide markets for U.S.-produced grain products, increase domestic aquaculture business investment opportunities, and provide more jobs for rural and coastal America. The Aquaculture Research program will fund projects that directly address major constraints to the U.S. aquaculture industry and focus on one or more of the following program priorities: (1) Genetics of commercial aquaculture species. (2) Critical disease issues impacting aquaculture species. (3) Design of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture production systems. (4) Economic research for increasing aquaculture profitability. Deadline, May 17. Read the full announcement.

The New England Forests and Rivers Fund invests in on-the-ground restoration projects and applied science in order to: 1) Strengthen the health of forest systems by improving the management of public and private forestlands to create a mosaic of mixed age forests in the region. 2) Provide incentives to strengthen habitat conservation on working forests through flexible  technical assistance that is appropriate for the forest  stage(s) being targeted; 3) Improve the quality of river and stream systems through targeted riparian and stream restoration; 4) Reduce barriers to fish passage and increase fish access to high quality habitat, thereby increasing overall aquatic connectivity; and 5) Enhance biodiversity of forest and river systems and increase populations of species representative of system health, such as New England cottontail, American woodcock, Bay-breasted warbler, Canada warbler, Wood thrush, river herring and Eastern brook trout. Deadline, May 19. Read the full announcement.

The methyl bromide transition program addresses the immediate needs and the costs of transition that have resulted from the scheduled phase-out of the pesticide methyl bromide. Methyl bromide has been a pest and disease control tactic critical to pest management systems for decades for soilborne and postharvest pests. The program focuses on integrated commercial-scale research on methyl bromide alternatives and associated extension activity that will foster the adoption of these solutions. Projects should cover a broad range of new methodologies, technologies, systems, and strategies for controlling economically important pests for which methyl bromide has been the only effective pest control option. Research projects must address commodities with critical issues and include a focused economic analysis of the cost of implementing the transition on a commercial scale. Deadline, May 31. Read the full announcement.

RNRF has three annual awards to recognize outstanding achievements in the renewable natural resources fields. The Sustained Achievement Award recognizes a long-term contribution and commitment to the protection and conservation of natural resources by an individual. The Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes a project, publication, piece of legislation, or similar concrete accomplishment. The Excellence in Journalism Award honors and encourages excellence in print journalism about natural resources. It recognizes work by an individual, group, or organization. Deadline, June 3. Read the full announcement.

The FWS Ecological Services Program provides Federal financial assistance on a competitive basis to States, other Federal agencies, landowners, educators, non-profit organizations, researchers, and other partners to secure information about endangered, threatened or candidate species, to aid in the recovery of these species, to avert listing of species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, and to help conserve the ecosystems upon which these species depend. This Recovery Implementation funding opportunity is intended for projects that will contribute to the recovery of FWS-managed endangered and threatened species in the United States, and is limited to projects carrying out actions described in a species approved recovery plan, in the implementation schedule of a species approved recovery plan, actions recommended in a completed 5-year status review of the species or in a spotlight species action plan, or projects documenting species response to climate change. For example: securing scientific information about endangered or threatened species, implementing restoration actions that will lead to delisting of a species, help prevent extinction of a species, or aid in the recovery of a species. Projects that address species response to climate change will receive additional consideration. Deadline, July 31. Read the full announcement.

Science News

Bacteria in the soil play a major role in cycling nutrients, breaking down organic matter, and fixing nitrogen. One teaspoon of healthy soil contains billions of bacteria, which can function with or without oxygen to enhance and maintain soil fertility for plant growth. Bacteria also act in conjunction with fungi, nematodes, rabbits, moles, earthworms, beetles and mites—essentially the entire soil ecosystem—to work on soil organic matter and create an environment for plant growth. Roots are important to microbial life in soil because they are a major provider of organic carbon to microbes living in the deeper soil; hence it is imperative to understand the interaction between bacteria and root surfaces. Read the full article.

Cuban farms could one day help to feed Americans’ burgeoning appetite for organic food. Amid the fanfare over President Barack Obama’s visit to Havana, U.S. officials and executives from major food companies, including Honest Tea, Stonyfield Farm and Global Organics, are eyeing the island as a potential supply of organic products, looking to take advantage of its close proximity and decades of farming without chemicals. Representatives from those companies are among those heading to the island in May as part of a trip led by Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat who has her own organic farm. Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio is also part of the group. Read the full article.

The International Food Policy Research Institute today released its flagship publication, the 2016 Global Food Policy Report, which provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events in the past year, and examines key challenges and opportunities for the coming year. Today’s global food system has major weaknesses: nearly 800 million people are left hungry, one-third of the human race is malnourished, over half of some crops never make it to the table, and the planet is ravaged from environmentally unfriendly agricultural practices. As the global population is expected to soar exponentially in the coming years, we must examine ways to feed more people efficiently and sustainably, while combatting climate change. Read the full article.

Now that 195 nations, including the U.S., have agreed to ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions to slow the pace of climate change, the question everyone is asking is: How will we actually meet our targets set for 2035? There is one way that is zero-risk and builds on something farmers around the world are already motivated to do: manage soils so that a maximum amount of the carbon dioxide plants pull out of the air via photosynthesis remains on the farm as carbon-rich soil organic matter. "Carbon farming," as it is sometimes called, is Mother Nature's own geoengineering, relying on fundamental biological processes to capture carbon and sequester it in the soil, carbon that would otherwise be in the air as the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. Read the full article.

Recovering the phosphate mineral, struvite, from hog manure is one option for easing manure disposal challenges faced by hog producers in North America. Hog manure contains high levels of phosphorus (P), and recovered struvite has potential as a slow-release, P fertilizer. However, scant information exists about its agronomic performance as a fertilizer for crops with high P demands, such as canola. In an open access paper in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, researchers report on a greenhouse study that tested canola’s P uptake efficiency when the crop was grown on hog-manure-recovered struvite in P-deficient soils. Read the full article.

Purdue researchers are developing a technology that could enable specific plants and crops to survive extreme periods of drought, while significantly decreasing agricultural water consumption. Ray Bressan, a distinguished professor in Purdue's College of Agriculture; Yang Zhao, a research assistant in horticulture; Jian-Kang Zhu, a distinguished professor of plant biology; and Zhulong Chan, a past postdoctoral fellow in Jian-Kang Zhu's lab, developed the technology.  Bressan said that because of factors such as drought, which is the most significant environmental stress on world agricultural production, agriculture has become the largest consumer of fresh water. Zhao said current genetically modified drought-resistant crops are only successful in narrow environmental conditions and rely on rescue irrigation if conditions become too severe. Read the full article.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of Phase I of the Nutrient Recycling Challenge—a competition to develop affordable technologies to recycle nutrients from livestock manure. The winners received their awards today at a ceremony at the White House Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, the first day of a two-day summit with innovators. Every year, livestock producers manage more than a billion tons of animal manure, which contains valuable nutrients—nitrogen and phosphorus—that plants need to grow. Manure can be a resource as a renewable fertilizer, but should be used properly to minimize water pollution and build healthy soils. Read the full article.

Sources: USDA; NSF; EPA; NFWF; RNRF; ScienceInsider; The Hill; CQ; Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions; The Center for Climate and Security; Politico; Farm Futures; The Des Moines Register; IFPRI; Purdue News; Illinois Collages of ACES News; The Modern Farmer; Bloomberg; Forbes; NPR; Ag Professional;

Vision: The Societies Washington, DC Science Policy Office (SPO) will advocate the importance and value of the agronomic, crop and soil sciences in developing national science policy and ensuring the necessary public-sector investment in the continued health of the environment for the well being of humanity. The SPO will assimilate, interpret, and disseminate in a timely manner to Society members information about relevant agricultural, natural resources and environmental legislation, rules and regulations under consideration by Congress and the Administration.

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