U.S. Agriculture Built the 20th Century. Innovation Will Decide the 21st.

By Jeremy Harrell

Some of the world's greatest accomplishments came from American farmers.

In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, dramatically increasing cotton production and fueling economic growth. In 1837, John Deere invented the steel plow, allowing farmers to cut through soil more efficiently. In the 1940s, Norman Borlaug developed methods to increase crop yields and help feed the world. 

But for the past two decades, America’s research and development has stalled. China has more than doubled our investments in agriculture R&D. India and Brazil are also on pace to pull ahead of the U.S. The world will need approximately 50% more food by 2050 to support a growing global population. To meet this demand, America’s manufacturers and farmers will have no choice but to innovate. At the same time, our government leaders must commit to supporting these innovations.

Under President Donald Trump’s first term, we made significant progress. The 2018 Farm Bill, which improved farmer and rancher access to Environmental Quality Incentives Program grants, established the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority, or AgARDA, a new research program to replicate the success of the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and reauthorized the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a successful public-private partnership. The following year, Trump signed Executive Order 13874–Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products.

Additionally, the USDA developed the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, under then-Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, which set the ambitious goal of increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40 percent by 2050 while reducing agricultural emissions by half through the development of new and truly transformative innovations in agriculture.

These initiatives were a strong first step toward unleashing America’s agricultural dominance. But under the previous administration, we lost this momentum. Now, we have the opportunity to get back on track by passing a new farm bill.

This year’s reconciliation package was a strong start. It included $37 million for FFAR to maintain investments in American agricultural R&D and leverage private sector partnerships, as well as $16 billion in baseline mandatory funding for conservation programs, such as EQIP, to support American farmers. Programs like these boost yields and keep America the global agriculture leader while also helping reduce emissions and protect our environment.