Ag Research Spending and the Farm Bill

Everyone in Congress loves “cutting-edge” agricultural research, they just don’t pay for it very well. The result is that dollar for dollar, U.S. agricultural research spending actually declined over the past decade while China, the European Union, India and Brazil — among others — have increased their investments in agricultural research dollars. Groups committed to boosting ag research spending in the farm bill want nearly $7 billion more in committed mandatory spending over the next decade.