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NEWS RELEASE

Three Scientific Societies Celebrate the Launch of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture

ASA-CSSA-SSSA are energized by the launch of NIFA, a cross-agency ‘federal science enterprise’

MADISON, WI, OCTOBER 9, 2009 -- Three scientific societies with ties to American and international agriculture applaud the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s establishment of a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which was officially unveiled yesterday in Washington, DC by Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture. He was accompanied by John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Rajiv Shah, Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and USDA Chief Scientist.

The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) -- three scientific societies based in Madison, WI -- are energized by the launch of the new Institute; which takes the existing USDA-CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service) and transforms it into NIFA, a cross-agency “federal science enterprise,” according Vilsack. To lead NIFA, President Obama appointed Roger N. Beachy, a plant scientist from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO.
 
“The goals of the new Institute align well with ASA's mission. We look forward to working with Sec. Vilsack, Dr. Shah, and Dr. Beachy in supporting research and science that will help U.S. agriculture meet the challenge of doubling global food production on existing farmland by 2050 with production systems that: increase input use efficiency; are resilient to and mitigate global climate change; sustain or improve soil, water, and air quality, biodiversity, and ecosystem health; and are socially responsible and economically viable,” says Mark Alley, President of the American Society of Agronomy and W.G. Wysor Professor of Agriculture at Virginia Tech.
 
NIFA is the new home for the USDA’s extramural research endeavor in U.S. food, fuel, feed, and fiber production, and will be partnering with agencies and stakeholders across the federal science enterprise to develop innovative solutions to the critical issues that challenge rural communities or our national food supply.
 
According to Vilsack, this new home for research will encourage greater investment in the agricultural and natural resource sciences, leading to an acceleration of scientific discovery, a more rapid application of new knowledge to address challenges facing U.S. and global food and agriculture, and clear translation of new knowledge into tangible benefits for the American people and the world.
 
With the support of NIFA-administered programs, ASA, CSSA, and SSSA member-researchers will have the renewed investment needed to:
  • keep American agriculture competitive
  • work towards ending world hunger
  • improve food safety
  • secure America's energy future
  • develop new approaches to better our stewardship of America's agricultural lands, environment, and natural resources
     

“I am optimistic that the new Institute will serve as the focal point for the increased investments, both human and monetary that are needed to achieve the increased agricultural productivity that is necessary for the people of the world,” adds Alley.

The ACSESS is an international scientific and professional society with its headquarters in Madison, WI.