Science Policy Report

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03 March 2021

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

On February 25, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on climate change and the U.S. agriculture and forestry sectors. The Committee invited stakeholders to submit outside witness testimony to be added to the record of the hearing. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA submitted testimony emphasized that agriculture and forestry are critical components to America’s fight against climate change. The comments focused on carbon sequestration, expanding conservation programs, diversifying cropping systems, and investing in research and extension. Read the full comments here.

A new series of projects will build multistory greenhouses directly inside affordable housing developments. “Bringing the farm back to the city center can have a lot of benefits,” says Nona Yehia, CEO of Vertical Harvest, a company that will soon break ground on a new building in Westbrook, Maine, that combines a vertical farm with affordable housing. Similar developments will follow in Chicago and in Philadelphia, where a farm-plus-housing will be built in the Tioga District, an opportunity zone. Read the full story.

In Maine, inmates are growing vegetables and making meals from scratch to replace the deadly diets they have long been served. Of the seemingly endless tally of injustices of mass incarceration, one of the worst humiliations gets little attention from outside: the food. Read the full story.

The Senate confirmed Jennifer M. Granholm to be energy secretary on Thursday, positioning the former governor of Michigan to play a key role in President Biden’s plans to confront climate change. Ms. Granholm, a longtime champion of renewable energy development, was confirmed by a vote of 64 to 35, with support from both Democrats and Republicans. She will be the second woman to lead the Department of Energy, after Hazel R. O’Leary, who served under President Bill Clinton. Read the full story.

Science and Society News

Regenerative grazing can store more carbon in soils in the form of roots and other plant tissues. But how much can it really help the fight against climate change? Adam Isaacs stood surrounded by cattle in an old pasture that had been overgrazed for years. Now it was a jumble of weeds. “Most people would want to get out here and start spraying it” with herbicides, he said. “My family used to do that. It doesn’t work.” Read the full story.

Many researchers have looked at nitrogen pollution hotspots around the country. But a new first-of-its-kind, multi-year study from the University of Vermont looks at areas where nitrogen pollution reduction is most feasible without affecting crop yield. Read the full story.

The NSF-funded Agricultural Microbiomes Research Coordination Network (Ag Microbiomes RCN) is launching a community-wide survey to assess the current state of the science. This 10-minute survey will build engagement within this research community. Complete the survey now.

The fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae causes Verticillium wilt in a variety of horticultural crops, including cultivated strawberry. University of California–Davis researchers recently published a screening study in The Plant Genome examining Verticillium wilt resistance in nearly 1,000 strawberry genotypes. Their findings are an important step in the fight to increase strawberry resistance to fungal pathogens. Read the full story.

New research seeks to help predict speed and rate at which nitrogen gets released to crops. Organic farming is a $50 billion industry in the U.S., involving more than 5 million certified acres of farmland and more than 14,000 farms. Organic farmers can only use organic soil amendments—fertilizers—which aren’t as thoroughly tested as conventional fertilizers and often tend to come from local sources. Thus, figuring out how essential nutrients like nitrogen will be released to their crops can be a challenge. Two new studies aim to help farmers predict how fast and how much nitrogen will be released. Read the full story.

International Corner

China points to ‘instability of the external situation’ in latest rural policy blueprint, urges boost in domestic seed supplies. China will put greater pressure on its regions to boost grain yields and step up support for its domestic seed industry as it strengthens its focus on food security after the COVID-19 pandemic, a key policy document issued late on Sunday showed. Read the full story.

Impressed by the high yields realized in open field trials, Kenyan farmers are urging their government to speed up the process of allowing them to access genetically modified Bt maize. The excited farmers said the bountiful returns from Bt maize, which has been genetically modified to resist insect pests, reminded them of decades long gone when their parents and grandparents harvested large amounts of the crop from their fields. Read the full story.

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). The Tennessee Department of Agriculture administers the grants, which are authorized through the USDA. SCBGP funds are granted to enhance production and competitiveness of specialty crops, including fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, tree nuts, honey, floriculture, and other nursery crops. Eligible organizations include universities, institutions, cooperatives, producers, and industry or community-based organizations. The program aims to support projects that directly affect multiple Tennessee producers and have a positive, long-lasting impact on Tennessee agriculture. Deadline: March 15. Read the full announcement.

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center is making funding available through the Multi-Business Dairy Agritourism Grant Program to elevate dairy businesses through agritourism across the Northeast region. Projects funded through this program should benefit multiple dairy businesses by promoting the access and sale of regionally produced milk and related products. Grants are available to applicants in all New England states, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The minimum grant award is $10,000 and the maximum is $25,000. Producers and processors of cow, goat, or sheep milk may apply, and dairy producer associations in the Northeast region may also apply. Deadline: March 16. Read the full announcement.

Applications are currently being accepted by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry (ODAFF) for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. To be eligible for this grant, projects must enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in either domestic or foreign markets and must provide a benefit to more than just the applicant. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture). Projects will be evaluated on how well they enhance the competitiveness of Oklahoma's specialty crops, soundness and quality of the project plan, measurable outcomes and return on investment. Grant funds will not be awarded for projects that solely benefit a particular commercial product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual. Single organizations, institutions, and individuals are encouraged to participate as project partners. Deadline: March 17. Read the full announcement.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is accepting applications for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Technical Assistance Program funding. Funds awarded through this competitive grant process will be distributed to the Resource Conservation Districts, the University of California Cooperative Extension, and nonprofit organizations with demonstrated technical expertise in designing and implementing agricultural management practices to support CDFA’s Healthy Soils Program (HSP) and State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP). Eligible organizations may request up to $60,000 for each Climate Smart Agriculture program supported, over three years, to provide technical assistance to applicants and awardees of the HSP and SWEEP. Deadline: March 22. Read the full announcement.

Project activities and outcomes should address a watershed or source water protection need in the local community within American Water service areas. Source water protection projects are activities that result in the protection or improvement of the community’s public drinking water supplies. Watershed protection projects should focus on activities that improve, restore or protect one or more watersheds. To qualify for Environmental Grant funding, a proposed project must be: located within an American Water service area; completed between May and November of the grant funding year; be a new or innovative community initiative or serve as significant expansion to an existing program. Last year, American Water and it state subsidiaries funded 49 projects that were awarded grants totaling $188,000. Deadline: March 31. Read the full announcement.

Each year, Northeast agricultural credit associations and CoBank award grants ranging from $500 to $10,000 to help organizations promote awareness and strengthen agriculture, commercial fishing and forest products in the six New England states, New York and New Jersey. Since its inception in 1996, the Farm Credit AgEnhancement Program has awarded more than two million dollars in grants to organizations across the Northeast. Eligible programs promote and strengthen the agriculture, forest products or commercial fishing industries in any of the following ways: development of young and beginning farmers; encourage leadership; develop a greater understanding of agriculture; recognize the accomplishments of ag leaders, study the economic viability of agriculture; promote interest in the industry; impact the Northeast (statewide and regional projects also eligible). Deadline: April 1. Read the full announcement.

The purpose of the partnership is to provide grants on a competitive basis that will support the adoption of conservation practices and regenerative agriculture principles on working lands. Funded projects will advance goals of: 1) NRCS’s landscape conservation initiatives; 2) NFWF’s conservation priorities; and 3) the NRCS–U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnership, Working Lands for Wildlife. To maximize benefits to these priorities, the CPP targets investments in identified program priority areas. The CPP program funding will support: projects that provide private landowners with technical assistance to accelerate on-the-ground; delivery and implementation of NRCS/NFWF initiatives and Farm Bill conservation programs within the program priority areas listed below; incorporation of best available science in applying conservation systems and strategically focusing resources where the greatest conservation opportunities exist; efforts to increase the number and diversity of landowners/managers aware of and participating in NRCS/NFWF initiatives and Farm Bill programs; identifying and promoting positive economic outcomes as a result of conservation system implementation; identifying and promoting positive environmental outcomes as a result of conservation system implementation. Deadline: April 6. Read the full announcement.

Since its creation in 2015, the New England Forests and Rivers Fund has awarded 75 grants that will restore early successional and mature forest habitat, modify and replace barriers to fish movement, restore riparian and instream habitat, and engage hundreds of volunteers in forest habitat restoration and stream connectivity projects in the New England states, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, plus the Upper Hudson and Lake Champlain watersheds in New York. These projects are expected to: open 1,044 miles of streams for eastern brook trout and river herring through modification or replacement of 157 barriers to fish passage; restore 3,749 acres of young forest habitat for New England cottontail and American woodcock; restore 6,424 acres of mature forest habitat for black-throated blue warbler and wood thrush; and recruit at least 1,868 volunteers to engage in on-the-ground conservation. The program has awarded more than $9.1 million in grant funding to date. Grantees, in turn, are leveraging an additional $15.2 million in matching contributions, for a total conservation impact of more than $24.3 million. Deadline: April 12. Read the full announcement.

Northeast SARE’s Partnership Grant program funds projects conducted by researchers, educators and agricultural service providers working in direct partnership with farmers to encourage design and implementation of innovative solutions to current sustainability challenges related to production, marketing and/or household and community well-being in Northeast farming and food systems, or to strengthen working partnerships between farmers and agricultural service providers to advance sustainable agriculture. Grants may be used for: research to improve production practices, marketing approaches, or farmer, farmworker or community well-being; education and training programs to increase knowledge and improve decision-making about sustainable practices; on-farm or in-market demonstrations of new techniques; and developing new farm management and community development approaches that support sustainable agriculture outcomes. Northeast SARE funds a broad range of projects; there are no set restrictions on the topics that Partnership Grants may address so long as the projects lead to new information or working relationships that are consistent with our outcome statement and address the program’s review criteria. In the past, Partnership projects have experimented with new crop and production methods, addressed farm management challenges, developed unique machines and tools, explored innovative pest control and grazing strategies, tested new ways of marketing agricultural products, and more. The online submission system will open on March 1. Deadline: April 13. Read the full announcement.

The Appalachian Mountain region, stretching 1,500 miles from Alabama to Canada, includes massive stores of forest carbon, absorbing 1 million tons of air pollution each year. This vast region – the world’s largest temperate broadleaf forest – is an essential resilient refuge for plants and animals, particularly as the climate changes. Tens of millions of people also call this region home, relying on its forests and waters for their health and well-being. Yet the Appalachian forest faces significant threats from encroaching development, poor management, and mineral and energy extraction. To ensure that this region continues to support plants, animals, and people, OSI has launched the Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund, an $18 million effort that will provide capital grants to protect 50,000 acres in key focus areas along the Appalachian Range. To complement land protection efforts, OSI’s Catalyst Program will work in partnership with states, local communities, Tribes, and land trusts, to reduce climate risks for communities disproportionately affected by flooding and other climate-induced threats. This Fund builds on the success of OSI's Resilient Landscapes Initiative (2013 - 2020), which advanced the use of Climate Resilience Science in land protection. This climate science remains a priority in this new fund, along with a new emphasis on forests’ ability to store and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Deadline: April 14. Read the full announcement.

The objective of the NOFO is to invite eligible applicants to submit applications for projects that benefit federally listed and other special-status species whose habitats and populations have been impacted by operation of the Central Valley Project (CVP) . An additional objective is to ensure the award selection process is in compliance with competition requirements related to federal financial agreements, and to ensure public participation in the Central Valley Project Conservation Program (CVPCP). Deadline: April 19. Read the full announcement.

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible applicants for projects carried out in the state of New Mexico. A total of up to $50,000 is available for the NM CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $50,000. Deadline: April 20. Read the full announcement.

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects carried out in the state of California. A total of up to $1,000,000 is available for the California CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $150,000. Deadline: April 23. Read the full announcement.

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects carried out in the state of Montana. A total of up to $225,000 is available for the Montana CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $75,000. Deadline: April 23. Read the full announcement.

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects carried out in the Pacific Islands Area. A total of up to $150,000 is available for CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $150,000. Deadline: April 26. Read the full announcement.

Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is accepting applications for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. This grant is open to producers, schools, trade associations, nonprofits, farmers markets, farming and ranching co-ops, etc. headquartered in Utah. Potential projects may include a broad range of focus such as improving marketing, research, training, certifications, food safety, pest control, plant health, and beyond for specialty crops. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to enhance the competitiveness of Utah grown specialty crops and benefit more than one producer or organization. Deadline: April 27. Read the full announcement.

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects carried out in the state of Louisiana. A total of up to $300,000.00 is available for the Louisiana CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $150,000.00. Deadline: April 30. Read the full announcement.

NRCS is announcing the availability of CIG funding to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from eligible entities for projects carried out in the state of Alaska. A total of up to $469,750 is available for the Alaska CIG competition in FY 2021. All non-federal entities (NFE) and individuals are invited to apply, with the sole exception of federal agencies. Projects may be between one and three years in duration. The maximum award amount for a single award in FY 2021 is $469,750. Deadline: May 14. Read the full announcement.

The Competitive State Wildlife Grant (C-SWG) Program provides Federal grant funds to help you and your partners implement programs for the benefit of fish and wildlife and their habitats, including species that are not hunted or fished. Eligible activities include conservation planning and implementation. Planning activities must contribute directly to the development or modification of your Wildlife Action Plan (Plan) approved by the Director of the Service or other Service designee. Implementation activities are those that you carry out to execute your Plan. Priority for use of these funds must be placed on your identified species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) and their habitats and should take into consideration the relative level of funding available for the conservation of these species. Ineligible activities include wildlife education and law enforcement activities, unless they are a minor or incidental component considered critical to the success of your project. In addition to State fish and wildlife agencies, only the four Regional Associations of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA, MAFWA, SEAFWA, NEAFWA) are eligible to apply. Deadline: May 21. Read the full announcement.

Sources: The New York Times, Fastcompany.com, Harvest Public Media, Al Jazeera, Cornell Alliance for Science

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.

This page of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA web site will highlight current news items relevant to Science Policy. It is not an endorsement of any position.