Last week I had the chance to join the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (NCFAR) for visits on Capitol Hill. NCFAR is a nonpartisan coalition and a unified voice for federal investment in USDA research, and I have the privilege of serving on its board of directors. After a day of walking the halls of Congress with this coalition, I’m reminded of how much more persuasive agriculture is when we show up together.
Sitting next to researchers is also a good way to remember where the progress in wheat comes from. Better varieties, stronger disease resistance, improved grain quality, and smarter management practices don’t appear on their own. They come from scientists working years ahead of the harvest they’ll influence, which is why NAWG works closely with groups like the National Wheat Improvement Committee (NWIC) and the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI). The yield a grower will count on a decade from now is being decided by research funded today. It’s worth noting the total federal public funding for agriculture research in the United States declined by one-third since 2002 when adjusting for inflation.
The message researchers carried was refreshingly direct: finish the farm bill and keep agriculture research funding a priority in appropriations. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its version of the farm bill on September 16, and the legislation includes support for agricultural research, along with the risk management tools, credit access, and Food for Peace transfer that wheat growers have prioritized. But a committee vote isn’t a law. Like farming, research depends on the certainty a farm bill provides. Researchers asked Congress to get it across the finish line, and we asked the same.
They also offered their own perspective on the state of the farm economy. The numbers are hard to argue with: the national average price of diesel is 70 percent higher than one year ago, and USDA-tracked farm production expenses are running roughly 44 percent higher than in 2018. When margins are this thin, research that helps a farmer grow more with less and fend off pests isn’t a luxury. It’s how family farms stay in business and how the United States stays food secure.
What stayed with me most from the day was how consistent messaging matters. Congressional offices hear from a lot of groups, with a lot of asks. When growers, researchers, and the broader agricultural community arrive with the same priorities (finish the farm bill, invest in research, and recognize the strain on the farm economy), the message gets easier for lawmakers to remember and harder to set aside. Collaboration doesn’t dilute any one group’s voice. It makes every voice more credible. The challenges we’re up against, from input costs to weather to plant disease, don’t stop at the edge of any one organization, and neither should our solutions.
NAWG will keep working with partners like NCFAR because the work ahead is too important for any one voice to carry alone. And I’d encourage every grower to remember that the people you meet on the road this fall, whether they’re candidates, researchers, or neighbors, are all potential allies in the same cause. Researchers work for the next decade. Farmers grow their business for the next generation. Congress should legislate with both in mind.