§ 5925. — Highpriority research and extension initiatives.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC5925]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 88--RESEARCH
SUBCHAPTER VII--MISCELLANEOUS RESEARCH PROVISIONS
Sec. 5925. High-priority research and extension initiatives
(a) Competitive specialized research and extension grants authorized
The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the
``Secretary'') may make competitive grants to support research and
extension activities specified in subsections (e), (f), and (g) of this
section. The Secretary shall make the grants in consultation with the
National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics
Advisory Board.
(b) Administration
(1) In general
Except as otherwise provided in this section, paragraphs (1),
(6), (7), and (11) of subsection (b) of section 450i of this title
shall apply with respect to the making of grants under this section.
(2) Use of task forces
To facilitate the making of research and extension grants under
this section in the research and extension areas specified in
subsection (e) of this section, the Secretary may appoint a task
force for each such area to make recommendations to the Secretary.
The Secretary may not incur costs in excess of $1,000 for any fiscal
year in connection with each task force established under this
paragraph.
(c) Matching funds required
(1) In general
The Secretary shall require the recipient of a grant under this
section to provide funds or in-kind support from non-Federal sources
in an amount at least equal to the amount provided by the Federal
Government.
(2) Waiver authority
The Secretary may waive the matching funds requirement specified
in paragraph (1) with respect to a research project if the Secretary
determines that--
(A) the results of the project, while of particular benefit
to a specific agricultural commodity, are likely to be
applicable to agricultural commodities generally; or
(B) the project involves a minor commodity, the project
deals with scientifically important research, and the grant
recipient is unable to satisfy the matching funds requirement.
(d) Partnerships encouraged
Following the completion of a peer review process for grant
proposals received under this section, the Secretary may provide a
priority to those grant proposals, found in the peer review process to
be scientifically meritorious, that involve the cooperation of multiple
entities.
(e) High-priority research and extension areas
(1) Brown citrus aphid and citrus tristeza virus research
and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of--
(A) developing methods to control or eradicate the brown
citrus aphid and the citrus tristeza virus from citrus crops
grown in the United States; or
(B) adapting citrus crops grown in the United States to the
brown citrus aphid and the citrus tristeza virus.
(2) Ethanol research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of carrying out or enhancing research on ethanol derived
from agricultural crops as an alternative fuel source.
(3) Aflatoxin research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of identifying and controlling aflatoxin in the food and
feed chains.
(4) Mesquite research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing enhanced production methods and commercial
uses of mesquite.
(5) Prickly pear research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of investigating enhanced genetic selection and
processing techniques of prickly pears.
(6) Deer tick ecology research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of studying the population ecology of deer ticks and
other insects and pests that transmit Lyme disease.
(7) Red meat safety research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing--
(A) intervention strategies that reduce microbial
contamination on carcass surfaces;
(B) microbiological mapping of carcass surfaces; and
(C) model hazard analysis and critical control point plans.
(8) Grain sorghum ergot research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing techniques for the eradication of sorghum
ergot.
(9) Peanut market enhancement research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of evaluating the economics of applying innovative
technologies for peanut processing in a commercial environment.
(10) Dairy financial risk management research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of providing research, development, or education
materials, information, and outreach programs regarding risk
management strategies for dairy producers and for dairy cooperatives
and other processors and marketers of milk.
(11) Cotton research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of improving pest management, fiber quality enhancement,
economic assessment, textile production, and optimized production
systems for short staple cotton.
(12) Methyl bromide research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of--
(A) developing and evaluating chemical and nonchemical
alternatives, and use and emission reduction strategies, for
pre-planting and post-harvest uses of methyl bromide; and
(B) transferring the results of the research for use by
agricultural producers.
(13) Potato research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing and evaluating new strains of potatoes
that are resistant to blight and other diseases, as well as insects.
Emphasis may be placed on developing potato varieties that lend
themselves to innovative marketing approaches.
(14) Wood use research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing new uses for wood from underused tree
species as well as investigating methods of modifying wood and wood
fibers to produce better building materials.
(15) Low-bush blueberry research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of evaluating methods of propagating and developing low-
bush blueberry as a marketable crop.
(16) Wetlands use research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of better use of wetlands in diverse ways to provide
various economic, agricultural, and environmental benefits.
(17) Wild pampas grass control, management, and eradication
research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of control, management, and eradication of wild pampas
grass.
(18) Food safety, including pathogen detection and
limitation, research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of increasing food safety, including the identification
of advanced detection and processing methods to limit the presence
of pathogens (including hepatitis A and E. coli 0157:H7) in domestic
and imported foods.
(19) Financial risk management research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of providing research, development, or education
materials, information, and outreach programs regarding financial
risk management strategies for agricultural producers and for
cooperatives and other processors and marketers of any agricultural
commodity.
(20) Ornamental tropical fish research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of meeting the needs of commercial producers of
ornamental tropical fish and aquatic plants for improvements in the
areas of fish reproduction, health, nutrition, predator control,
water use, water quality control, and farming technology.
(21) Sheep scrapie research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of investigating the genetic aspects of scrapie in
sheep.
(22) Gypsy moth research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing biological control, management, and
eradication methods against nonnative insects, including Lymantria
dispar (commonly known as the ``gypsy moth''), that contribute to
significant agricultural, economic, or environmental harm.
(23) Forestry research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section to
develop and distribute new, high-quality, science-based information
for the purpose of improving the long-term productivity of forest
resources and contributing to forest-based economic development by
addressing such issues as--
(A) forest land use policies;
(B) multiple-use forest management, including wildlife
habitat development, improved forest regeneration systems, and
timber supply; and
(C) improved development, manufacturing, and marketing of
forest products.
(24) Tomato spotted wilt virus research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of control, management, and eradication of tomato
spotted wilt virus.
(25) Genetically modified agriculture products (GMAP)
research
Research grants may be made under this section for the purposes
of providing unbiased, science-based evaluation of the risks and
benefits to the public and the environment of specific genetically
modified plant and animal products. Grants may be used to form
interdisciplinary teams to review and conduct research on
scientific, social, economic, and ethical issues during the review
process, to answer questions raised by the release of new
genetically modified agriculture products, to conduct fundamental
studies on the health and environmental safety of genetically
modified agriculture products (including quantitative risk
assessment, the effect of specific genetically modified agriculture
products on human health, and gene flow studies), to communicate the
risk of genetically modified agriculture products through extension
and education programs, and to engage the public and industry in
relevant issues.
(26) Wind erosion research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of validating wind erosion models.
(27) Crop loss research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of validating crop loss models.
(28) Land use management research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purposes of evaluating the environmental benefits of land use
management tools such as those provided in the Farmland Protection
Program.
(29) Water and air quality research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of better understanding agricultural impacts to air and
water quality and means to address them.
(30) Revenue and insurance tools research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purposes of better understanding the impact of revenue and
insurance tools on farm income.
(31) Agrotourism research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of better understanding the economic, environmental, and
food systems impacts of agrotourism.
(32) Harvesting productivity for fruits and vegetables
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of improving harvesting productivity for fruits and
vegetables (including citrus), including the development of
mechanical harvesting technologies and effective, economical, and
safe abscission compounds.
(33) Nitrogen-fixation by plants
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of enhancing the nitrogen-fixing ability and efficiency
of legumes, developing new varieties of legumes that fix nitrogen
more efficiently, and developing new varieties of other commercially
important crops that potentially are able to fix nitrogen.
(34) Agricultural marketing
Extension grants may be made under this section for the purpose
of providing education materials, information, and outreach programs
regarding commodity and livestock marketing strategies for
agricultural producers and for cooperatives and other marketers of
any agricultural commodity, including livestock.
(35) Environment and private lands research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of researching the use of computer models to aid in
assessment of best management practices on a watershed basis,
working with government, industry, and private landowners to help
craft industry-led solutions to identified environmental issues,
researching and monitoring water, air, or soil environmental quality
to aid in the development of new approaches to local environmental
concerns, and working with local, State, and federal officials to
help craft effective environmental solutions that respect private
property rights and agricultural production realities.
(36) Livestock disease research and extension
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of identifying possible livestock disease threats,
educating the public regarding livestock disease threats, training
persons to deal with such threats, and conducting related research.
(37) Plant gene expression
Research grants may be made under this section for the purpose
of plant gene expression research to accelerate the application of
basic plant genomic science to the development and testing of new
varieties of enhanced food crops, crops that can be used as
renewable energy sources, and other alternative uses of agricultural
crops.
(38) Animal infectious diseases research
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of developing prevention and control methodologies for
animal infectious diseases (including evaluation under field
conditions in countries in which an animal disease occurs) such as
laboratory tests for quicker detection of infected animals and
presence of disease, prevention strategies (including vaccination
programs), and rapid diagnostic techniques for animal disease agents
considered to be risks for agricultural bioterrorism attack.
(39) Program to combat childhood obesity
Research and extension grants may be made under this section to
institutions of higher education with demonstrated capacity in basic
and clinical obesity research, nutrition research, and community
health education research to develop and evaluate community-wide
strategies that catalyze partnerships between families and health
care, education, recreation, mass media, and other community
resources to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity.
(40) Integrated pest management
Research and extension grants may be made under this section to
coordinate and improve research, education, and outreach on, and
implementation on farms of, integrated pest management.
(41) Beef cattle genetics
Research and extension grants for beef cattle genetics
evaluation research may be made under this section to consortia of
institutions of higher education that have expertise in beef cattle
genetic evaluation research and technology and that have been
actively involved for at least 20 years in the estimation and
prediction of progeny differences for publication and use by seed
stock producer breed associations.
(42) Dairy pipeline cleaner
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of preventing and eliminating the dangers of dairy
pipeline cleaner, including development of safer packaging and
transfer mechanisms, outlining accident causes and potential
prevention measures, and other means of improving efforts to prevent
ingestion of dairy pipeline cleaner.
(43) Development of publicly held plants and animal
varieties
Research and extension grants may be made under this section for
the purpose of development of publicly held plants and animal
varieties (including germplasm for identity-preserved markets) and
genetic resource conservation activities.
(44) Sugarcane genetics
Research grants may be made under this section for the purpose
of maintaining acceptable yields under reduced production inputs,
implementing marker-assisted breeding strategies and other basic
plant genomic technologies to screen for improved plant resistance
to diseases, weeds, and insects toward minimizing pesticide use,
enhancing food, fiber and energy production, and developing
varieties for maximum performance under prevailing conditions,
including management for improved soil and water conservation.
(f) Imported fire ant control, management, and eradication
(1) Task force
The Secretary shall establish a task force pursuant to
subsection (b)(2) of this section regarding the control, management,
and eradication of imported fire ants. The Secretary shall solicit
and evaluate grant proposals under this subsection in consultation
with the task force.
(2) Initial grants
(A) Request for proposals
The Secretary shall publish a request for proposals for
grants for research or demonstration projects related to the
control, management, and possible eradication of imported fire
ants.
(B) Selection
Not later than 1 year after the date of publication of the
request for proposals, the Secretary shall evaluate the grant
proposals submitted in response to the request and may select
meritorious research or demonstration projects related to the
control, management, and possible eradication of imported fire
ants to receive an initial grant under this subsection.
(3) Subsequent grants
(A) Evaluation of initial grants
If the Secretary awards grants under paragraph (2)(B), the
Secretary shall evaluate all of the research or demonstration
projects conducted under the grants for their use as the basis
of a national plan for the control, management, and possible
eradication of imported fire ants by the Federal Government,
State and local governments, and owners and operators of land.
(B) Selection
On the basis of the evaluation under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary may select the projects that the Secretary considers
most promising for additional research or demonstration related
to preparation of a national plan for the control, management,
and possible eradication of imported fire ants. The Secretary
shall notify the task force of the projects selected under this
subparagraph.
(4) Selection and submission of national plan
(A) Evaluation of subsequent grants
If the Secretary awards grants under paragraph (3)(B), the
Secretary shall evaluate all of the research or demonstration
projects conducted under the grants for use as the basis of a
national plan for the control, management, and possible
eradication of imported fire ants by the Federal Government,
State and local governments, and owners and operators of land.
(B) Selection
On the basis of the evaluation under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary shall select 1 project funded under paragraph (3)(B),
or a combination of those projects, for award of a grant for
final preparation of the national plan.
(C) Submission
The Secretary shall submit to Congress the final national
plan prepared under subparagraph (B) for the control,
management, and possible eradication of imported fire ants.
(g) Formosan termite research and eradication
(1) Research program
The Secretary may make competitive research grants under this
subsection to regional and multijurisdictional entities, local
government planning organizations, and local governments for the
purpose of conducting research for the control, management, and
possible eradication of Formosan termites in the United States.
(2) Eradication program
The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with
regional and multijurisdictional entities, local government planning
organizations, and local governments for the purposes of--
(A) conducting projects for the control, management, and
possible eradication of Formosan termites in the United States;
and
(B) collecting data on the effectiveness of the projects.
(3) Funding priority
In allocating funds made available to carry out paragraph (2),
the Secretary shall provide a higher priority for regions or
locations with the highest historical rates of infestation of
Formosan termites.
(4) Management coordination
The program management of research grants, cooperative
agreements, and projects under this subsection shall be conducted
under existing authority in coordination with the national formosan
\1\ termite management and research demonstration program conducted
by the Agricultural Research Service.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be capitalized.
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(h) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2007.
(Pub. L. 101-624, title XVI, Sec. 1672, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3770;
Pub. L. 102-237, title IV, Secs. 406, 407(11), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat.
1864, 1865; Pub. L. 104-127, title VIII, Secs. 836, 863, 888, Apr. 4,
1996, 110 Stat. 1169, 1174, 1180; Pub. L. 105-185, title II, Sec. 242,
June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 549; Pub. L. 107-171, title VII, Secs. 7119,
7208(b), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 434, 442.)
Amendments
2002--Subsec. (e)(25) to (44). Pub. L. 107-171, Sec. 7208(b), added
pars. (25) to (44).
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 107-171, Sec. 7119, substituted ``2007'' for
``2002''.
1998--Pub. L. 105-185 amended section catchline and text generally,
substituting present provisions for provisions which in subsecs. (a) to
(f) which authorized specialized research programs relating to,
respectively, brown citrus aphid and citrus tristeza virus, ethanol,
aflatoxin, mesquite, prickly pear, and deer tick ecology and related
research, and for provisions in subsec. (g) subjecting research to peer
review, setting limitation on use of funds, and providing for general
eligibility to participate in programs.
1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-127, Secs. 863(1), 888, added subsec.
(a) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (a). Text read as
follows: ``The Secretary of Agriculture is encouraged to fund research
for the development of technology which will ascertain the lean content
of animal carcasses to be used for human consumption.''
Subsecs. (d)(4), (e)(4). Pub. L. 104-127, Sec. 836, substituted
``1997'' for ``1995''.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104-127, Sec. 863, redesignated subsec. (i) as
(f) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (f). Text read as
follows:
``(1) Research required.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish and carry out a program to make grants to colleges and
universities for research relating to immunoassay used--
``(A) to detect agricultural pesticide residues on agricultural
commodities for human consumption; and
``(B) to diagnose animal and plant diseases.
``(2) Preference.--In making grants under this subsection, the
Secretary may give preference to those colleges and universities that,
as of November 28, 1990, are conducting research described in this
subsection.''
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104-127, Sec. 863, redesignated subsec. (k) as
(g) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (g). Text read as
follows: ``The Secretary shall make research and extension grants
available for the development of agricultural production and marketing
systems that will service niche markets located in nearby metropolitan
areas. In awarding such grants, the Secretary shall pay particular
attention to areas--
``(1) with a high concentration of small farm operations; and
``(2) that experience difficulty in delivering products to
market due to geographic isolation.''
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104-127, Sec. 863(1), struck out subsec. (h)
which provided that Secretary of Agriculture may establish and carry out
a program to conduct research on disease of scrapie in sheep and goats.
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 104-127, Secs. 836, 863(2), redesignated
subsec. (i) as (f) and substituted ``1997'' for ``1995''.
Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 104-127, Sec. 863(1), struck out heading and
text of subsec. (j). Text read as follows: ``The Secretary of
Agriculture may--
``(1) conduct fundamental and applied research related to the
development of new commercial products derived from natural plant
materials for industrial, medical, and agricultural applications;
and
``(2) participate with colleges and universities, other Federal
agencies, and private sector entities in conducting such research.''
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 104-127, Sec. 863(2), redesignated subsec. (k)
as (g).
1991--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102-237, Sec. 407(11), redesignated pars.
(A) to (I) as (1) to (9), respectively.
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 102-237, Sec. 406(1), substituted ``Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Cooperative State Research Service,
to make competitive grants'' for ``Agricultural Research Service''.
Subsec. (k)(1). Pub. L. 102-237, Sec. 406(2), substituted
``Research'' for ``Except for research funded under subsection (i),
research''.
