Wind and water erosion continues to be a problem in all sections of the country. An expanded erosion control research program is planned by the State stations and will include the characterization of different soils; the evaluation of the interrelationships between climate, topography, soil characteristics, cover and management practices; and the investigation of the basic principles and mechanics of water erosion. Basic factors involved in immobilization, mineralization, and losses of fertilizer nitrogen are being identified and characterized. Microbial processes involved in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen will also be investigated. The growing need for water supplies for farm, municipal, and industrial requirements, is recognized by the State agricultural experiment stations. Research must develop means of insuring that all the moisture which falls on the land is controlled for beneficial use. To this end, expanded research is proposed to design and evaluate criteria for water control structures; study the effects of land use patterns on water yield from watersheds; develop mathematical explanations of the physics of soil moisture; develop systems for measurement of moisture flow; determine meteorological relationships between precipitation and interception losses, infiltration, and runoff. Much of the new work will be directed to developing the basic scientific laws governing moisture movement in the various phases of the hydrologic cycle. The present research program in forestry at the State stations is directed toward solving problems concerned with private forest land holdings of all sizes, including small farm woodlots and combination enterprises such as grazing in conjunction with timber production. Basic research in forestry at the State stations will benefit public as well as private forests. The need for this program is evidenced by the fact that more than one-third of the forest lands in the United States are in small holdings, many of which are relatively unproductive. Present studies are directed toward developing recommendations which will make these woodlots more productive and, hence, a better source of supplemental income. Research is needed on the problems of the nearly 1 billion acres in the United States which produce forage classified as rangeland. Forage production per acre on these lands is comparatively small, but in the aggregate their support to the cattle and sheep industry is large. For example, in Wyoming and Nevada over 50 percent of the agricultural income of these States depends upon range and pasture land. Added to this are the values of these lands for water collection and conservation, support of wildlife and recreation. Development of the Nation's land and water resources is basic to economic growth. Research at the State stations assists in determining what agricultural land is likely to move toward less intensive use and what will likely move toward intensive nonagricultural uses. The increased demand for land for urban purposes and open space warrants research. The growing demand for water for urban, industrial, recreational, and agricultural uses has made research on the legal and economic relationships of this resource of growing importance. The depressed farm price and income situation continues to be a major problem for agricultural research. Farmers, public agencies, legislative committees, and, to an increasing extent, the general public are calling upon the State agricultural experiment stations for economic evaluations of alternative policies and programs designed to raise farm and community incomes. With the shifts of population from rural to urban areas and the steady rise in income and leisure time, new needs are arising for greater opportunities for outdoor recreation. The provision of these services provides new opportunities for land and labor released from traditional production. The stations are moving into research on the demand for the various forms of outdoor recreation, the adaptability of areas for development, and managerial problems faced by farmers. Research is showing that essential to the success of practically every public and private activity concerned with rural family living, with maximum returns to agriculture, and with adequate conservation of soil, water, and forest resources, there must be developed more adequate knowledge of noneconomic factors at the grassroots level. This includes information on numbers of people, their educational and vocational abilities, levels, and standards of living, and health, customs, patterns of communication, and of diffusion of ideas. All these influence acceptance and adoption of effective farm, home, and community practices, returns to agricultural production, effective adjustment, and the wellbeing of rural families and communities. Housing, foods, and nutrition Home economics is concerned with the welfare and well-being of the family in relation to the impact of the home and daily living. Reflecting these interests, home economics research at the agricultural experiment stations is centered around (1) human nutrition, (2) improvement of the rural home, and (3) the welfare of the consumer, both in the marketplace and in the home where products are used. Food and nutrition research provides knowledge basic to improvement in market demand and the orientation of agricultural production to market demand and stimulates improvement in the household utilization of foods. Much of the nutrition research at the State stations is basic-fundamental. Investigations of nutrient metabolism and research on the chemistry and nutrient composition of foods have opened up a vast new area. Some 80 nutrientsvarious amino acids, fatty acids, and other lipids, minerals, and vitamins-are now considered important. Research will continue in order to explore fully the functions of these nutrients and the interrelationships among them and their role in the human body. Expanded research on housing and related requirements of farm families and rural communities and especially on meeting those requirements at least cost is urgently needed. Improving market efficiency and expanding utilization All aspects of efficiency of operation-including productivity of the worker, managerial efficiency, relative profitability of alternatives in the product and service mix, quality of products produced and effectiveness of sales-will become increasingly important as cost rates increase and competition for the consumer's dollar becomes keener. Product quality is of paramount importance since all agricultural commodities must meet market standards in passing through marketing and distribution channels on the way to consumers. Research is needed to determine what quality of fruits and vegetables is desired and price differentials consumers are prepared to pay for various types and levels of quality. Much attention is being given to grades of meat, to what extent consumers recognize quality, and whether their preference and knowledge coincide with the terms and practices of the trade. There is an urgent need for basic research to develop objective measures of quality and the price differentials and systems needed to provide an incentive for the production of quality products. Much more basic research also is needed on factors affecting market prices for farm products, including the influences of scale, integration, cost structures, and extent of competition as these affect bargaining power and price determination. Such information is essential to farmers, cooperatives, processors, and distributors. Utilization research should be expanded to develop new and improved food, feed, fiber, and industrial products from agricultural raw materials and to improve methods for processing, storing, and distributing farm products. State experiment stations have the facilities and technical competence to make significant contributions to utilization research. Centers of competence exist in over 20 food science and technology departments and in many agricultural chemistry and biochemistry departments. 9, 573 Estimated allotments to State agricultural experiment stations under $1,500,000 Alabama Alaska. Arizona__ This appropriation provides the Federal Government's contribution to the State and Puerto Rican agricultural experiment stations, established pursuant to the provisions of the Hatch Act of 1887. The State agricultural experiment stations conduct research and experiments along lines authorized by the Hatch Act, as amended, on the problems constantly encountered in the development of a permanent and sustaining agriculture and in improvement of the economic and social welfare of rural families. Because of differences in climate, soil, market outlets, and other local conditions, each State has distinct problems in the production and marketing of crops and livestock. The farmers in the individual States naturally look to their State agricultural experiment stations for solution of the State and local problems and, in recent years, have requested increased services to help meet changing conditions. Research programs at the State stations, to be most effective, include participation in regional and national programs. Joint attack by a group of State stations is the most effective and often the only practical approach to problems of common interest. The stations, to an ever-increasing extent, are acting together as regional groups to provide cooperative coordinated attacks on problems of regional and national interest. In a similar manner, the research programs of the State agricultural experiment stations and the Department of Agriculture are supplementary and interdependent. The Federal grant funds constitute a powerful force in bringing about interstate cooperation and Federal-State collaboration in the planning and conduct of this overall program of agricultural research. Therefore, the full impact of the Federal grant funds cannot be fully evaluated solely on the basis of the amount of funds provided. Research at State stations during the fiscal year 1963 included approximately 6,250 specific lines of research financed wholly or in part by Federal grant funds and about 6,650 lines of research under non-Federal funds. These lines of research are continued as long as they are productive. Approximately 14 percent of the research program passes its point of maximum productiveness annually and is replaced by new research on pressing problems. Distribution of payments (1) The Hatch Act, as amended on August 11, 1955, provides that the distribution of Federal payments to States for fiscal year 1955 shall become a fixed base and that any sums appropriated in excess of the 1955 level shall be distributed in the following manner: Twenty percent shall be allotted equally to each State. Not less than 52 percent shall be allotted to the States as follows: onehalf in an amount proportionate to the relative rural population of each State to the total rural population of all States, and one-half in an amount proportionate to the relative farm population of each State to the total farm population of all States. No more than 25 percent shall be allotted to the States for cooperative research in which two or more State agricultural experiment stations are cooperating to solve problems of the agriculture of more than one State. Three percent shall be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for the administration of this act. The amended act also provides that any amount in excess of $90,000 available for allotment to any State, exclusive of the regional research fund, shall be matched by the State out of its own funds for research, and for the establishment and maintenance of facilities necessary for the prosecution of such research. It also retains the requirement for marketing research as it existed in fiscal year 1955 and provides that 20 percent of the funds appropriated in excess of the 1955 appropriations shall be used for conducting marketing research projects approved by the Department of Agriculture. In addition, section 204 (b) of the Agricultural Marketing Act also authorizes payments to State agricultural experiment stations on a matching basis for cooperative projects in marketing research. (2) The Cooperative Forestry Research Act of October 10, 1962, provides that the apportionment among States shall be determined by the Secretary after consultation with a national advisory board of not less than seven officials of the forestry schools of the State-certified eligible colleges and universities chosen by a majority of such schools. In making such apportionments consideration shall be given to pertinent factors including, but not limted to, areas of nonFederal commercial forest land and volume of timber cut annually from growing stock. The act also limits the payments to the amount made available and budgeted from non-Federal sources by the certified institution for expenditure for forestry research. Table 1 shows the distribution of Federal payments to States and non-Federal funds for research at State agricultural experiment stations for the fiscal year 1963. Table 2 shows the appropriations for State experiment stations for the fiscal year 1963 and estimated for fiscal 1964 and 1965. Table 3 shows the estimated distribution of Federal funds by fields of research for the fiscal year 1964. |