Chapter 6. Department of Agriculture

Overview

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has broad responsibilities in areas of farm services; food safety; food, nutrition and consumer services; marketing and regulatory programs; rural development; natural resources and environment; and, research, education and economics.

Organization of environmental R & D in USDA: (internal links)

• Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
• Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
• USDA Forest Service
• USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (external)
  • Conservation Innovation Grant Program

Additional environmental research opportunities can be found within the USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area.

Offices within REE contributing to environmental R & D: (external links)

• Economic Research Service (ERS)
• National Agricultural Library (NAL)
• National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

The USDA Forest Service also supports significant environmental R&D activities as part of the USDA's natural resources and environment function. USDA Forest Service R&D accounted for 52 percent of the Department of Agriculture's Environmental R&D in FY 2006.

A more detailed analysis of USDA research activities can be found through a Department-wide Current Research Information System (CRIS). "CRIS contains over 30,000 descriptions of current, publicly-supported research projects of the USDA agencies, the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, the State land-grant colleges and universities, State schools of forestry, cooperating schools of veterinary medicine, and USDA grant recipients." CRIS classifies research projects in three ways: [1] Subject of Investigation, [2] Research Problem Area, and [3] Field of Science. Any given project can be divided among several subjects, problem areas or fields of study. For the purposes of this report, we have utilized the Research Problem Area classification and chosen those areas most consistent with our definition of environment. The most recent CRIS data does not include data from the Forest Service.

Additional Information

• Congressional Research Service Reports on Agriculture
  • The FY 2009 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (updated March 17, 2008)
  • The FY 2007 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (updated February 16, 2006)
  • The FY 2006 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (updated March 2, 2005)
  • Appropriations for FY 2005: U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies (updated December 9, 2004)
• Congressional Research Service Reports on Forestry