AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

Explanation of Program

Under the Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1980, Agricultural Research carries out the following activities:

1.

Research on animal production. -- Research is conducted to improve livestock (including poultry) productivity and to improve the quality of meat and livestock products through improved breeding, feeding, and management practices. Research is conducted to develop methods for controlling diseases, parasites, and insect pests affecting livestock. Research is also conducted on ways to reduce rural housing construction and operating costs and on ways to control insects affecting man.

2. Research on plant production.

Research is conducted to improve plant productivity through improved varieties of food, feed, fiber, and other plants; develop new crop resources; and improve crop production practices, including methods to control plant diseases, nematodes, insects, and weeds.

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3. Research on the use and improvement of soil, air, and water. Research is conducted to improve the management of natural resources, including investigations to improve soil and water management, irrigation and conservation practices; to protect natural resources from harmful effects of soil, water, and air pollutants, and to minimize certain agricultural pollution problems; and to determine the relation of soil and water to plant growth, including impact on animal and human nutrition. The research includes studies on hydrologic problems of agricultural watersheds, and the application of remote sensing techniques in solving agricultural problems.

4.

Processing, storage and distribution, food safety and consumer services
research.

Research is conducted to provide a basic reservoir of knowledge which will stimulate technological development and innovation in the processing, storage, and distribution of food and feeds and thereby improve productivity and reduce costs to the consumer. The research additionally provides support to the regulatory agencies in assuring the quality, safety, and nutrition of food and fiber, and in grading to facilitate movement in. commerce and export. Research is conducted to reduce losses in post harvest handling of agricultural commodities including control of insects in storage and quality in export. Research is conducted on utilization of commodities, byproducts, wastes and agricultural biomass as chemicals, alternative fuels and other critical materials.

5. Human nutrition research. Research is conducted on human nutritional requirements and the composition and nutritive value of food as needed by consumers, and by Federal, State, and local agencies administering food and nutrition programs.

The research performed by Agricultural Research is authorized by the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1862 (5 U.S.C. 511) and the Research and Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 427, 4271).

JUSTIFICATION OF INCREASES AND DECREASES

(1) A net increase of $7,633,000 for research on animal production efficiency consisting of:

(a) An increase of $769,000 for 1981 pay increases:

(b) An increase of $1,350,000 in basic animal research ($40,845,000 available in FY 1981).

Need for Change: Animal products contribute more than half of the total
nutrients of the average human diet in the United States. Present
trends indicate that the demand for meat products will increase more
rapidly than the demand for grains. Because of the continued
competition for renewable resources such as grain for feed, lumber for
housing, and energy for heating, animal production methods must change
to meet changing resources and demands. Important breakthroughs in
research are necessary to continue these advances to meet future needs
for animal proteins. These breakthroughs are highly dependent on
fundamental knowledge of stress, immunology, diseases, reproduction,
and growth.

Nature of Change: The basic research program includes $0.35 million
to initiate and reinforce basic animal protection research programs at
USDA laboratories. This includes basic research on the effects
of environmental stress and nutritional stress on the immune system
as related to disease research. New immunological techniques will be
adapted to study the immune response to pathogens and to develop
improved methods to diagnose disease agents.

The basic research program also includes $1.0 million for basic animal production research. The research will provide fundamental knowledge on physiological and biochemical factors regulating utilization of forage nutrients by dairy cattle; explore basic structural and biochemical characteristics of a variety of residue and byproduct feeds and determine their metabolism in animals; and integrate basic aspects of growth engineering and production practices to optimize carcass characteristics of red meat species to best meet nutritional needs and desires of consumers.

(c) An increase of $2,000,000 for research in support of FDA/FSQS/APHIS ($15,163,000 available in FY 1981).

Need for Change: Food derived from animals will need to be even more
safe and nutritious than it is at present. Solving animal product
food safety problems has a direct impact on over 50 percent of the
human food supply. The lack of sufficient attention to these broad
problems will limit the availability of animal products for consumers
in the future. Because of many emerging safety problems associated
with eating foods that may contain hazardous chemicals, either man-
made or of natural origin, there is a need for new research to support
ongoing action and regulatory agency programs. Potential problems for
man from chemicals and biological agents in food may cause an early
onset of toxic symptoms or lead to long-term adverse effects. Also,
there is a need to identify the effects of drugs, chemicals, and
biological agents on the animal itself. Two specific areas require
attention: (1) The toxicology and metabolism of drugs, pesticides,
feed additives, hormones, and antibiotics in animals and the
elimination of these chemicals to insure high-quality, residue-free

animal products; and (2) the need to increase our knowledge of foreign animal diseases, bluetongue, screwworms, scabies, and ticks in order to reduce their threat to the livestock industry in the United States.

Nature of Change: The research increase is specifically aimed at
supporting critical research needs identified by APHIS, FSQS, and
FDA. The research on toxicology and metabolism of chemicals, feed
additives, hormones, and antibiotics will be devoted to developing
effective methods to predict potential toxicological problems to
animals and to evaluate the safety of animal products for humans;
to develop detailed research programs on the metabolism and the
elimination of pesticides, chemicals, and feed additives fed to
animals to improve the efficiency of production; and to develop
methods for early identification of natural, primarily plant,
toxicants that may be hazardous to animals and to the food products
derived from these animals.

Animal disease research in support of action and regulatory agencies will be initiated to solve problems on the control or eradication of bluetongue, African swine fever, screwworms, cattle ticks, and scabies; and toxicology of agricultural chemicals.

(d) An increase of $1,150,000 for research in animal protection ($23,096,000 available in FY 1981).

Need for Change: Research is needed to develop improved methods of
disease, parasite, and insect control in livestock and poultry.
Currently, it is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of food animals die
before reaching market. These losses, plus the growth inefficiencies
and treatment costs in animals that recover from illness, cost the
consumer an estimated $12 billion annually. In the nation's long-term
outlook, these losses and inefficiencies will have even greater
critical importance in terms of wasted energy and food resources and
in limiting the capacity to meet the requirements of expanding national
and international populations for high quality protein.

The Animal Health Science Research Advisory Board expressed strong
concerns for more intensive research to solve animal health problems.
This interest is understandable in view of the direct savings that
could result from such research. The following are some examples.
Respiratory disease of cattle causes an annual loss exceeding $225
million. There is strong expectation that the research proposed
in this increment will lead to highly effective vaccines which could
eventually reduce losses by 50 percent, an annual savings of $12
million. New knowledge leading to enhancement of immunity mechanisms
is expected to aid in controlling diarrhea of young animals. This
control could reduce by 25 percent the annual losses of 0.5 million
calves and 8 million pigs that die of intestinal disease. Savings
would exceed $100 million annually.

Nature of Change: The research will primarily be done at universities
through cooperative agreements employing recent technological advances
such as genetic engineering, cell-mediated immunity, monoclonal
antibodies, and subunit vaccines. It will include the development
of improved methods to control respiratory and enteric diseases
of cattle and swine, to control fever tick, scabies, and stable flies,
to control or eradicate slow viruses such as scrapie and chronic

progressive pneumonia in sheep, to control respiratory diseases of
poultry, and to distinguish between the American and African forms
of malignant catarrhal fever of cattle.

(e) An increase of $2,564,000 to provide for increased operating costs in animal production efficiency research.

Need for Change: Additional funding is essential to maintain the current level of program effort in animal productivity and animal protection research and to improve the efficiency of producing high quality animals and animal products. Costs of fuel, supplies, equipment, utilities, and other items used by researchers have risen sharply in recent years. The additional funds requested will provide some relief in meeting these increased costs and ensure that high priority research programs are not seriously disrupted.

Nature of Change: This increase will undergird facilities and staff operations. It will support ongoing programs and allow managers the flexibility to address crucial priority issues and respond to unanticipated problems of national importance.

(f) A decrease of $100,000 for contagious equine metritis research ($100,000 available in FY 1981).

Need for Change: Reductions proposed in FY 1982 reflect the Department's policy to fund only research projects now considered as most essential to the Nation's agricultural and consumer needs. Achievement of this policy has been a major concern of the USDA in past years and has become even more critical in the preparation of the 1982 Budget given the overriding need to provide increases in other higher priority areas while holding overall spending to a minimum level.

Nature of Change: Currently the disease is confined to the States of
Kentucky and Missouri and the extent of danger appears to be decreasing.
The disease is presently being contained. Studies currently underway
in Kentucky and Iowa and those planned within the current budget will
provide sufficient knowledge of potential threat to the equine industry
of the United States.

(g) A decrease of $100,000 for research on the impacts of the Mount St. Helens' eruptions ($100,000 available in FY 1981).

Need for Change: The 1981 Appropriations Act provided additional funds for research on the impacts of the Mount St. Helens' eruptions. These emergency funds are being utilized in FY 1981 for research on various aspects of volcanic ash and its effect on agriculture in the impacted area. Ongoing research programs related to this mission will be available to carry out the important aspects of this work in FY 1982 and the Department recommends a reduction of the additional funds provided in FY 1981, $100,000.

Nature of Change: Research on the most important facets of the impact of volcanic eruptions on animal production will continue under related ongoing research programs in FY 1982.

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(2)

A net increase of $12,883,000 for research on plant production efficiency
consisting of:

(a) An increase of $1,427,000 for FY 1981 pay increases:

(b) An increase of $3,150,000 for basic research on crops ($71,173,000
available in FY 1981).

Need for Change: Statistics continue to show increases in total crop
productivity, but maximum yield levels are not increasing and our
annual rate of increase of agricultural productivity appears to have
declined recently. The increases are mainly due to improvement by
below-maximum producers. Basic research is vital if yields are to
be further increased and crop production is to respond to new demands
for reducing inflation, improving human nutrition, expanding agricul-
tural exports, reducing dependence upon nonrenewable energy sources,
and minimizing adverse impacts of pests and environmental stresses.
The major strength of agricultural research lies in its capability to
utilize fundamental knowledge from the basic sciences in the development
of technologies, products, methodologies, and processes used by the vast
system of food and fiber supply called "American agriculture." Agricul-
tural research has been highly successful in this critical function, but
its capability to translate scientific knowledge into agricultural tech-
nology for use in the field is directly related to the amounts and kinds
of basic knowledge from which it can draw its applied and developmental
research efforts. At present, the pool of basic scientific knowledge
is being depleted rapidly. Our Nation must invest in basic biological
science as we invested in physical science during the post-Sputnik
period. In its broadest aspects, this increase would include fundamental
research on plant science, biochemical and biophysical mechanisms,
biochemistry and regulation of plant growth responses, gene manipulation
(genetic engineering), and integrated pest management.

Nature of Change: The following lines of work will be initiated or
strengthened:

(1) Plant metabolism and biophysical mechanisms. Physical and metabolic responses to environmental stress (water, mineral and thermal; membrane research related to water and nutrient transport, energy conversion, bioregulation and translocation; and heritable linkage of the above characteristics in agronomic crop germplasm).

(2) Factors affecting metabolism, reproduction, nutrient availability, membrane transport, and stress (environmental and biological).

(3) Gene transfer through the use of recombinant (engineered) DNA molecules to alter the value of crops and to improve their utilization as food, feed, fuel, and chemical feedstocks. The objective is to develop methodologies to control gene transfer and gene expression in organisms of agricultural importance.

(4) Impacts of biological agents that are introduced as pest controls into agricultural production systems. Mechanisms of host resistance/tolerance to pests; ecological relationships affecting host/ pest/biological agent population dynamics, survival, species balance and diversity; and bioregulation of host-pest interactions in achieving pest control.

SEA maintains a critical mass of scientific experts, equipment and
facilities for conducting fundamental research studies on all aspects
of plant growth and protection. This increase will provide new expertise
and techniques to strengthen and enhance the productivity of the existing
research teams throughout basic, applied, and developmental research
activities and provides new leads to future pest control technologies.