AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE-Continued U. S. Department of Agriculture, detailed statement of obligations, by project—Con. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE-Continued U. S. Department of Agriculture, detailed statement of obligations, by project-Con. * Included in Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1958, approved Aug. 28, 1957. ↑ 16,826,000 122,002, 890 - 17,300,000 104, 702, 890 17,326,000 120, 202, 890 120, 202, 890 * Includes $987,445 obligated for control of Mediterranean fruit fly in fiscal year 1956 from 1957 appropriation which provided that $1,250,000 be immediately available for expenditure in fiscal year 1956 for such purpose. It is anticipated that an additional amount, which cannot be determined as of January 1958, will be required from the contingency fund for surveys and quarantine operations. 3 Amounts available under the contingency fund in fiscal year 1957 have been obligated under specific control programs; in 1958, $809,000 of the $1,000,000 appropriated for the contingency fund has been estimated under specific control programs. In fiscal years 1957 and 1958 part of this work has been financed by transfers from the Commodity Credit Corporation, subject to later reimbursement by appropriation. Authority to transfer CCC funds expires June 30, 1958, and the amount estimated for 1959 represents appropriated funds only. 7 Does not reflect transfer of $115,000 from "Plant and animal disease and pest control" to "Meat inspection" pursuant to 5 U. S. C. 572. GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. PETERSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, we are glad to present for your consideration our budget proposals for fiscal year 1959 for the Agricultural Research Service of the Department of Agriculture. We appreciate the care and understanding which this committee gives to its consideration of the Department's research program. It is our purpose to lay before you, as fully and completely as you may wish, whatever information we have which may be helpful to you in your deliberations. We believe that research applied to the processes of agriculture has proven its worth to farm people and to the Nation. The benefits of agricultural research are reflected in better and more prosperous farm homes, more productive farms, and better living for all our citizens. It has, we believe, in large measure made possible our development as a great industrial nation. We further believe that agricultural research, as it continues to enlarge the fund of human knowledge about agriculture and all of its related aspects, is a necessary part of the continued progress of farm people and of the Nation. Today, farming is characterized by high capital investment, growing cash operating costs, increasing dependence upon the urban and industrial communities, increased financial risk, need for competence of farm management, and markets largely dominated by the buyers' point of view. At the same time, farmers are beset with technological problems involving all phases of production. Soil and water management becomes more critical with each passing day. Processing, distribution, and marketing also grow in complexity and are influenced both by new knowledge stemming from science and technology, and by consumer demands and preferences. VALUE OF RESEARCH Research holds answers to many of these problems that are inherent in American agriculture today. For one thing, agricultural research is well organized for making good progress over broad areas. There is a Federal structure which is competently manned and capable. Through the land-grant colleges and universities, a decentralized agricultural research system is maintained to deal with the problems of State and local importance. Cooperative relations between the USDA and these institutions are excellent. There is full interchange of views, appraisals, and information, as well as joint and cooperative efforts in many lines of research. There is need for such an efficient and well-organized publicly supported research effort, for there is much to be done. Research must anticipate the economic problems involved in changes in farming technology and help farmers anticipate and prepare to meet them. Research must anticipate the needs of consumers in a growing urban population and help farmers provide high-quality products at prices fair to all concerned. And research must anticipate and develop industrial needs for raw materials and help farmers meet these needs with adequate and stable supplies of agricultural products meeting required quality standards. INCREASE FOR UTILIZATION RESEARCH We must accelerate our research to find new uses and new markets for agricultural products. We are recommending for your consideration an appropriation increase of $5 million for utilization work. Of this amount, $400,000 is for the Forest Service, to strengthen utilization work on forest products. During fiscal year 1959, this increase would be used to replace the present boiler plant at the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis. Thereafter, the funds would be used for expanding research at the Laboratory. The major share of the proposed increase, $4.6 million, would be used to strengthen the utilization_research and development in the Agricultural Research Service. In addition, that agency would provide another $805,000 by redirection of work within present funding bases, thus making available a total of $5.4 million more for utilization research under its 1959 appropriation. You are familiar with many of the developments that are coming as a result of previous work in the field of utilization. For example, some 330 million pounds of surplus fats are now finding outlets in livestock formula feeds. Additional millions of pounds are going into plastics and other industrial products. We have evidence that there are areas in which agriculture can develop industrial markets for many of its products through research. In recommending the increase in our utilization-research funds, we have given highest priority to those commodities that are currently in greatest supply. We propose to use most of the increase for utilization research on cereal grains ($1.9 million), cotton ($800,000), fats and oils ($1.35 million), and milk ($500,000). We are proposing an increase of $150,000 in our work of screening the world's plants in a search for new crops which will provide industrial raw material and which will be fully competitive with other industrial raw materials. The rest of the increase is divided among wool, fruits, vegetables, sugar, meat, hides, and leather. USE OF PUBLIC LAW 480 FUNDS We contemplate also using Public Law 480 funds to utilize the scientific capacities and facilities available in other countries, especially those in Western Europe and Japan, to advance knowledge for the use of our agricultural products. We believe very specific benefits to American agriculture will accrue from utilization research conducted in foreign institutions having highly trained scientific personnel with specialized experience and particularly suitable techniques and facilities. This program can help foster greater sales of our agricultural commodities abroad. As you know, some countries are making little or limited use of our agricultural exports because the quality of these commodities does not meet their particular market standards. We believe utilization research can discover means of modifying these qualities so that limitations on their use in foreign markets will be lessened or removed. Much of this research will, of necessity, be basic, and foreign scientists, particularly those in Europe, have excellent capabilities in basic research. For example, we would expect to use their talents in identifying and characterizing the components of agricultural products for which we want to find new uses. This knowledge, then, would be applied to problems associated with our exported commodities, or it would be applied in our own laboratories to develop new products for markets in this country. There is a further advantage to be gained from this program. By employing foreign scientists to solve these problems, we believe the adoption of improved processes and products stemming from their research would be speeded, and additional markets for our farm products would be opened. This international research program will be carried out under contract or grant arrangements and will be carefully coordinated with research undertaken by the Department within the United States. If this program meets with the success anticipated, we would like to see it continued as long as Public Law 480 funds are available. Dr. G. E. Hilbert is now in Europe surveying the potentialities and assembling information that will serve as a basis for negotiations on specific projects. We hope by July 1 to have underway research contracts and grants involving some 11⁄2 to 2 million dollars of Public Law 480 funds. And our plans call for the similar use of some $5 million during fiscal year 1959. Adding this amount to the approximately $21 million utilization budget proposed for the Department would give us a total of about $26 million for this work during the coming year. FORESTRY RESEARCH Senator ROBERTSON. Mr. Chairman, if I may interrupt the witness, the Senator from New Mexico could not be present and the chairman of the full committee has designated me to serve as chairman of this subcommittee. However, I am very much interested in this research program of the Department of Agriculture and I wish someone would ask the Assistant Secretary about research for timber utilization. Our State forester says it produces $800 million of revenue in Virginia and Virginia has plenty of timber but it is not being properly utilized. There was testimony, in the Interior bill, I believe; for some reason this research for Agriculture or Forest Service got into the Interior bill, is that right? Senator RUSSELL. That is correct; under the so-called reorganization that took place over in the Appropriations Committee of the House. Senator ROBERTSON. There was testimony that they could use to good advantage $100,000 for research work and they proposed that it be done in the Piedmont area of Virginia. Now it is immaterial to me where it is done if we could really improve the current or future income of our farmers by better harvesting or production of the timber. It would be worthwhile to look into that. I can't be here. Maybe the Secretary can cover that before he finishes. Senator RUSSELL. Can you touch on that, Mr. Secretary? Mr. PETERSON. The Forest Service is one of the agencies within the group for which I am generally responsible within the Department. Senator ROBERTSON. We have $5 million in this bill for research and that is not enough. 23506-58- 3 |