Science Policy Report | Dec. 21, 2022 | Congress Releases FY23 Appropriations

December 22, 2022 - Rachel K. Owen

Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter: 

  1. A few big things happening in Washington, DC and beyond.

  2. Hot off the press statements and activities from the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA science policy office.

  3. Engagement opportunities to help you build advocacy skills. Look for the  for other calls to action throughout the newsletter.

  4. New reports and articles with policy-relevant scientific findings.

  5. Funding alerts to power your research with tips for creating more effective proposals.

Let’s dive in.

Policy Updates: Congress reaches a deal on FY23 appropriations

The big picture: Late Monday, Congressional leadership released an omnibus package for FY2023 funding. For agriculture, rural development, FDA, and related agencies, the bill included $25.480 billion in discretionary funding.

By the numbers: Overall, agricultural and science research funding programs received 5-10% increases in support. To see the full list of accounts, check out our federal funding chart. Some highlights include:

  •  Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is funded at $1.74 billion, an increase of $111 million

  •  National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is funded at $1.701 billion, an increase of $64 million.

  •  Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) -- $455, a $10 million increase

  •  AgARDA -- $1 million for the Office of Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics to further build out the planning and management structure of AGARDA and hire staff. 

Go deeper: In addition to the funding levels for federal food, ag, and natural resources research programs are outlined above, the bill also includes several pieces of ag-related legislation.

  • Based on the Growing Climate Solutions Act, the final bill creates a registry of third-party vendors with whom farmers could consult, but USDA won’t go so far as to certify the consultants as the original bill proposed.

  • Also included is the SUSTAINS Act which would authorize USDA to match contributions of nonfederal funds to support a broad range of conservation programs.

  • The omnibus will also reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA), which regulates fees for maintenance and registration of active ingredients. PRIA 5 would increase user fees by 30%, includes process improvements to the registration and review process, and phase-in a requirement that pesticide labels be available in Spanish.

Climate-Smart Commodities Round 2: The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an additional $325 million for 71 projects under the second funding pool of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities effort. A complete list of projects is available at usda.gov/climate-smart-commodities.

International Deal on Biodiversity: Countries on Monday struck a new deal to stop and reverse biodiversity loss, with governments now on the hook to put land and seas under greater protection, limit pesticides, slow the extinction of species and boost cash flows from rich countries to poorer ones to pay for nature preservation.

From the Science Policy Office: 2022 Science Policy Wrap

It’s been a great year! In 2022, the ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Science Policy Office accomplished a lot, made possible by your feedback and support.

  • Submitted 23 letters to Congress and USDA on policy priorities.

  • Sent 17 letters to Congressional appropriators to request increased research funding.

  • Nominated individuals for 7 federal scientific advisory boards.

  • Helped 93 people meet with 101 Congressional Offices during the 2022 Virtual Congressional Visits Day.

  • Brought members to Washington, DC 4 times to advocate for our priorities to Congress and other partners.

  • Supported 2 members in providing testimony at Congressional hearings.

  • Welcomed the 4th class of SEED Ambassadors.

  • Launched the Science Policy Specialty Group.

What’s next: We will kick off 2023 with the 118th Congress. Our top priorities on the Hill will be the Farm Bill and agricultural research appropriations. We also look forward to finding ways to advocate for our certified professionals. See you next year!

Engagement Opportunities: USDA seeks trade advisory members

Seeking Trade Advisory Committee Members: The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are accepting applications for new members to serve on agricultural trade advisory committees. Members of the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee provide advice to the administration on the implementation and enforcement of existing U.S. trade agreements, negotiation of new agreements, and other trade policy matters with a focus on the following six topics. Apply online by January 31, 2023. 

  • Animals and animal products. 

  • Fruits and vegetables. 

  • Grains, feed, oilseeds, and planting seeds.

  • Processed foods.

  • Sweeteners and sweetener products.

  • Tobacco, cotton, and peanuts.

What's next: 2022 Census of Agriculture is Here! USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has mailed invitations to respond online to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Starting December 13, NASS will mail paper questionnaires to all known agricultural producers. The deadline to respond is February 6, 2023. 

Policy-Relevant Science & Reports: New report on federal R&D for climate-smart agriculture

Show me the money: The Breakthrough Institute released a report on federal research and development (R&D) funding related to climate-smart agriculture. Findings were based on project data from key federal funding agencies, such as USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), and DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E). Key findings include:

  • The federal R&D agencies and programs included in the analysis spent an average of $241 million per year on agricultural climate mitigation from 2017 to 2021.

  • Though agriculture accounts for about 10% of US GHG emissions, the U.S. government spent at least 35 times more on clean energy innovation in 2020 than R&D agencies spent on climate mitigation in agriculture.

  • About 90% of mitigation-related R&D funding that we could categorize in more detail was directed to projects related to soil carbon sequestration. Less than 2% focused on enteric methane, between 2017 and 2021, despite it accounting for 28% of agricultural emissions.

  • A wide range of practices and technologies with large climate mitigation potential, such as methane-inhibiting feed additives, received little R&D funding, as shown in the figure below.

Biochar Research and Commercialization: On March 29 – 30, 2022, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and American Farmland Trust co-hosted a two day virtual convening event on biochar research and commercialization. Last week, participants released a report on the findings titled ‘Scaling Sustainable Biochar Research & Commercialization for Agriculture & Conservation.’ The report found that:

  • Sustainably sourced, fit-for-purpose biochar can be a powerful tool in the soil health; however, there is a critical need to coordinate characterization, address research gaps, and support industry growth.

  • Key gaps in implementation and research are fundamental research on different biochars, on-farm research, conservation benefits, decision support tools, and life cycle analysis (LCA)

December saw Decode 6’s overview of the way agriculture impacts greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Think of this month’s content like an emissions baseline—it’s giving you the information you need to understand agriculture’s role in GHG emissions and carbon sequestration. Armed with that knowledge, we can find ways to improve it! Check out some of our favorites:

  1. What adds to agricultural GHG emissions in the US?

  2. Which practices reduce emissions and sequester carbon on the farm?

  3. How does changing nitrogen management impact GHG emissions?

Sign up for updates from Decode 6 to get the latest information on decoding carbon and ecosystem services.

From our blogs:  

Upcoming Funding and Award Opportunities

  1. SDA-AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program | Dec 31

  2. DOE Early Career Research Program | Jan 5

  3. NSF Convergence Accelerator’s CORE Fellows Program | Jan 8

  4. DOD Strategic Environmental R&D Program Core | Jan 10

  5. USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative | Jan 12

  6. DOE Climate Resilience Centers | Jan 19

  7. USDA-NIFA Biotech Risk Assessment Research Grants | Jan 19

  8. USDA-NIFA AgrAbility - Assistive Technology Program | Jan 19

  9. AGI Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching | Jan 20

  10. USAID-BIFAD Awards for Scientific Excellence | Jan 23

  11. DOE EPSCoR Implementation Grants | Jan 25

  12. Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Scholarships | Feb 28

  13. Geosciences Open Science Ecosystem (GEO OSE) Program | Mar 16

  14. NSF Advancing Plant Transformation Program | Various

  15. FFAR Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research | Ongoing

Happy holidays from the ASA, CSSA, SSSA Science Policy Office!

Our offices are closed on December 23, 26, and January 2 in observance of upcoming holidays. See you in the new year!

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