ASPB is pleased to sign a letter urging U.S. House and Senate Democratic leadership to prioritize and protect the vital investments in agricultural climate research, agricultural innovation, and agricultural research infrastructure within the Build Back Better human and climate infrastructure package.
These proposed investments are a generational down payment to fill critical R&D gaps and climate-proof our food system — realizing agriculture’s beneficial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting carbon sequestration. They provide funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research, the land grant colleges and universities, as well as tribal colleges and universities, historically Black colleges and universities, and Extension programs throughout the nation. Without these investments, we will face food supply shortages as well as an inability to mitigate climate change by storing carbon in our soils and forests.