Science Policy Report

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23 June 2021

In This Issue:

Policy News

Science and Society News

International Corner

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

Policy News

Congress is currently negotiating a federal infrastructure package. Agricultural researchers, students, and other stakeholders have a once in a generation opportunity to urge Congress to make a transformational investment in agriculture research, innovation, and infrastructure to meet today’s challenges and those of the future. A Dear Colleague Letter is circulating in the House supporting an investment of at least $40 billion, for agricultural climate research, agricultural innovation, and agricultural research infrastructure. Ask your Representative to sign the Dear Colleague letter today.
 

Sethuraman Panchanathan has a lot to celebrate this week as he marks his first anniversary as director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). President Joe Biden has asked Congress to boost its current $8.5 billion budget by 20% in 2022, and a bipartisan majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has embraced the idea of making NSF the lead agency in a massive increase in federal research spending aimed at helping the United States outinnovate the rest of the world. Lawmakers also want to give NSF a new multibillion-dollar directorate tasked with developing new technologies. Read the full article.
 

The House Appropriations Committee is beginning a series of meetings this week to advance its versions of the 12 spending bills that will fund the federal government for fiscal year 2022. House Democrats have set a $1.5 trillion total budget for the bills, which accommodates President Biden’s request for large increases across non-defense science programs, though it has also drawn Republican objections. The committee has not yet announced how it will allocate the total across the 12 bills. Senate appropriators have not yet agreed on an overarching budget figure and expect that Congress will not finalize spending legislation until well after the start of the fiscal year. Read the full article.
 

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA sent a letter of congratulations to Dr. Eric Lander after his confirmation as the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Lander is the first ever Cabinet-level Science Adviser to President Biden. Read the letter.
 

House Republicans are preparing to announce a new climate caucus focused on educating its members. The group will be open only to Republican lawmakers and will be used to share science and data about climate change, clean energy and jobs, according to three sources close to the effort. It's being spearheaded by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah). It is intended to show conservatives how climate change affects their districts and to introduce possible solutions focused around conservative values, such as free-market principles and job creation. Read the full article.

Science and Society News

Thank you to the almost 700 Society members, CCAs, and other experts who responded to the recent climate survey. “We are looking forward to learning what strategies and tactics our colleagues and partners believe will have the greatest impact on adapting to and/or mitigating change. Several surprises have already emerged from our preliminary analysis. We will be engaging experts on key climate issues identified in the survey to explore options for science and society. Results from a complete analysis will be shared with members and decision makers later this year.” Jeff Volenec, ASA President, Climate Survey Team member. Learn more about the climate survey, the climate survey team, and the Societies’ position on climate change here.
 

As part of the SSSA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, vote by July 16 to approve an SSSA Bylaws change to add a DEI Member-at-Large to the Board. Vote here.
 

The U.S. National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy today announced the formation of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Task Force. As directed by Congress in the "National AI Initiative Act of 2020," the task force will serve as a federal advisory committee, developing an implementation roadmap for the National AI Research Resource, a shared research infrastructure providing AI researchers and students across all scientific disciplines with access to computational resources, high-quality data, educational tools and user support. Read the full article.
 

A pair of mountains in Antarctica might literally be the loneliest place in the world. Not even bacteria or fungi live at the top of these freezing peaks, National Geographic reports. Researchers found no signs of life in soil from the mountains, which they analyzed by testing for the presence of DNA in the samples they collected. The sites are the first places on Earth’s surface that host no microbial life, the team reported last month in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. What’s more, experts say the conditions resemble the surface of Mars, and so could help future explorers learn more about conducting missions on the Red Planet. Read the full article.
 

In a recent election at the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), Dr. Sally Flis—Sustainable Ag Field Manager with Nutrien Ag Solutions—was chosen as the President-Elect for 2021-2022. Flis is a member of and has chaired the Plant Ag and Environment workgroup (PWG) at CAST. She has also served on the Board of Directors since 2018 as the PWG Liaison, has led the efforts for three CAST publications, and is a contributing author for the USDA Climate21 Response paper. Read the full article.
 

New research in Natural Sciences Education focuses on the impact of internet access on student learning experiences and the ability of faculty to maintain personal teaching styles in the context of online instruction. Specifically, this article discusses the role of internet access in higher education for rural students and instructors. Synchronous classes (where participants are “live” online together) typically require high-speed internet capabilities. Asynchronous classes, on the other hand, can function with slower connections as students access course materials at their discretion. In 2019, 57% of U.S. farms had broadband access while the remaining 43% of farms used slower internet connectivity, suggesting that rural students may face barriers to fully engaging in their online courses. Read the full article.
 

Climate change and population growth are increasing concerns for global food security. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached record high levels and the world is currently on track to overshoot the targets of the Paris Agreement, heightening the importance of developing technologies to help farmers adapt to climate change. This is especially urgent for the poorest and most vulnerable farmers, who already struggle to produce enough food. There is an urgent need for crop varieties and technologies that help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. Read the full article.
 

Scientific information is a key ingredient needed to tackle global challenges like climate change, but to do this it must be communicated in ways that are accessible to diverse groups, and that go beyond traditional methods (peer-reviewed publications). For decades there have been calls for scientists to improve their communication skills—with each other and the public—but, this problem persists. During this time there have been astonishing changes in the visual communication tools available to scientists. I see video as the next step in this evolution. In this paper I highlight three major changes in the visual communication tools over the past 100 years, and use three memorable items—bamboo, oil and ice cream—and analogies and metaphors to explain why and how Do-it-Yourself (DIY) videos made by scientists, and shared on YouTube, can radically improve science communication and engagement. Read the full article.
 

BIO is pleased to announce that the BBC launched the Nature’s Building Blocks series. Biotechnology promises to revolutionize our everyday lives, from what we eat, to the fuel we use, to the medical treatments we receive. The idea of improving on Mother Nature’s inventions is not new; our ancestors cross-bred plants and used micro-organisms to produce cheese, bread and beer. But, groundbreaking discoveries in the field of genetics in the 20th Century have paved the way for modern biotechnology. Uncover the stories of how innovating with nature’s building blocks is changing the world around us every day. Read the full article.
 

Watershed-wide nutrient credit trading has been suggested as a mechanism for reducing agricultural pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay, but a new study by Penn State University researchers suggests that the high cost of producing nitrogen credits through the establishment of riparian buffers on Pennsylvania farmland currently does not incentivize buffer establishment. In a nutrient trading market, sources that reduce their nutrient runoff or discharges below target levels can sell their surplus reductions or “credits” to other sources. This approach allows those who can reduce nutrients at low cost to sell credits to those facing higher-cost nutrient reduction options. Read the full article.
 

The 6th Soil Health Institute Annual Meeting is an engaging virtual event bringing together the leading voices in soil science and the agriculture industry to share research and insights for advancing the adoption of soil health systems that are foundational for regenerative agriculture. Registration is free but required to attend. Aug 11 and 12, 10:00 AM – Noon and 1:00-3:00 PM ET. Learn more and register here.
 

The National Academies Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources is hosting two webinars next week. The first webinar, Addressing Reactive Nitrogen in Agriculture, is on Monday, June 28 from 1-3pm EDT. Learn more about the program and register here. The second webinar, Labor and Automation: Effects on Social Sustainability and Resilience in U.S. Agriculture, is on Tuesday, June 29 from 12-2:30pm EDT. Learn more about the program and register here.
 

CAST is releasing its latest Commentary—The Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Climate 21 Project Implementation. The transition team for the Biden Administration introduced the Climate 21 Project as the blueprint for how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can help advance the role of agriculture and forestry to mitigate and adapt to climate change pressures. The key program recommendations and opportunities for the USDA signal climate change as a top priority for the department. This report will summarize for each of the key recommendations and priorities where current agricultural science and technology for plant and animal production can be applied and where new investments will be critical to meeting the goals of the administration. The free public webinar will be held June 29 at 1pm EDT. Learn more and register here.
 

International Corner

Intensive vegetable producers in Australia apply high rates of nitrogen and manures to ensure production of vegetables meets the standards required by buyers. Nitrogren application is commonly greater than 300 kg—and sometimes greater than 600 kg—per crop. Much of this applied nitrogen is not utilized by the plants, resulting in a substantial risk for adverse environmental impacts. A new Journal of Environmental Quality study found that multiple applications of nitrogen over a growing season in a typical vegetable system exceeded the plant's needs. Read the full article.
 

Research, Education, Extension Funding Opportunities

The primary goal of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR) funding opportunity is to increase support for researchers at HBCUs interested in pursuing research in domains that align with NSF's research program areas. EiR is designed to establish stronger connections between researchers at HBCUs and NSF's research programs. EiR is administered by an agency-wide working group, comprised of representatives from all NSF Directorates and the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA). Proposals submitted to EiR are routed for review to the most appropriate research program(s) in one (or more) of the Directorates as identified by the principal investigator as the secondary program(s). Informed by that review process, the research programs involved provide advice to the EiR working group on the merit of the proposals. Letter of intent deadline, July 23. Read the full announcement.
 

Historical application of fertilizers, particularly manure, can lead to accumulation of phosphorus (P) in soils, which then becomes a chronic source of water pollution that is released during storm events or through gradual leaching. Typically, legacy P levels are high enough to support crop production with no additional nutrients for several years. Meanwhile, crop planting and harvesting will slowly drawdown legacy P. For this funding opportunity EPA seeks to reduce nutrient loading to the Great Lakes and their tributaries by creating phosphorus sinks on the landscape to intercept and filter agricultural runoff before it moves downstream. A successful project would target known areas of high legacy P levels and use engineered or natural hydrologic structures, such as wetlands, floodplains and two stage ditches to keep it on the landscape. For this funding opportunity, EPA specifically encourages the use of Phosphorus Removal Structures to accelerate drawdown of dissolved P, where site conditions are favorable to do so. Deadline, August 20. Read the full announcement. 
 

The goal of the Environmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems. These systems provide ecological services vital for human survival. Research efforts supported by the program typically consider long time horizons and may incorporate contributions from the social sciences and ethics. The program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society's need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. There are four principal general research areas that are supported: 1) Industrial ecology, 2) Green engineering, 3) Ecological engineering, and 4) Earth systems engineering. Proposals should address the novelty and/or potentially transformative nature of the proposed work compared to previous work in the field. Proposals accepted at any time. Read the full announcement. 
 

Sources: ScienceInsider; EENews; NSF; CAST; Agrilinks; Frontiers in Communication; BBC; PSU News; Soil Health Institute; National Academies; EPA

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.