Media

Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) and Representative Andrea Salinas (OR-06) introduced the NSF and USDA Interagency Research Act to strengthen a longstanding interagency research partnership between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote cross-cutting and collaborative research and development to enhance agricultural sustainability through advanced technological solutions.

“As a farmer myself, our agriculture industry should have access to cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, to transform farming practices, improve severe weather predictions, better protect our crops, and grow crop yields,” said Congressman Baird. “Operating in a silo is never a good practice when it comes to research and development. By strengthening the partnership between the NSF and USDA, we can drive innovation, produce groundbreaking research, and tackle challenges facing our agricultural sector.”

“Our bill will empower the National Science Foundation and Department of Agriculture to collaborate on research, development, and educational activities related to agriculture,” said Representative Salinas. “It would support our rural communities by developing strong workforce pathways, and it would ensure local producers can take advantage of the latest technologies. As our climate changes, farmers increasingly face changing growing seasons, worsening wildfires, and more frequent extreme weather events. This affects consumers too, who pay for these disruptions in the form of higher grocery prices. I thank Rep. Baird for his partnership on this legislation to ensure rural communities and farmers have the tools they need to thrive.”