2020 Congressional visits day: Advocacy in action

It's that time of year again when dozens of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA members flood the Hill asking Congress to #SupportAgResearch! On 2–3 March, 78 Society members, graduate and undergraduate students, Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs), and staff participated in the 2020 Congressional Visits Day. They met with more than 120 congressional offices advocating for increased funding for USDA research programs in fiscal year (FY) 2021.

About three-quarters of our CVD participants are first-time advocates. All participants receive extensive advocacy and communication training before going to the Hill. Our training day also included guest speakers such as a panel of congressional staff and presentations from USDA leadership—Deputy Undersecretary for Research, Extension, and Education, Scott Hutchins, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture Director, Scott Angle.

USDA Research Programs Highlighted

Continuing our success from previous years, the CVD teams again advocated for increased funding for the USDA competitive grants program, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). Over the past decade, AFRI has seen its budget more than double due in no small part to the advocacy efforts of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA members at events like CVD.

“My favorite part of CVD was sharing my personal story with congressional staff,” says Cornell graduate student, Lena Abu-Ali. “USDA-AFRI directly funds my research and makes my Ph.D. studies possible, so advocating for that was really meaningful for me.”

Two other USDA research programs were highlighted by CVD participants—a competitive equipment grants program and a new research program called AgARDA (Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority). Established in the 2018 farm bill, AgARDA is a pilot program that would fund “breakthrough” research projects to address agriculture's most pressing challenges. The program was not funded last year, so CVD participants made the case for this new funding mechanism within USDA that could lead to transformative changes in agriculture.

Overall, congressional offices were highly receptive to the funding requests of the CVD participants. Dozens of offices included the three USDA research programs in their FY2021 appropriations requests. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives were also asked by CVD participants to sign two “Dear Colleague” letters in support of AFRI and AgARDA. Just days after CVD, the letters had more than 90 signatures!

The 2020 CVD was also the first opportunity for new ASA, CSSA, and SSSA CEO, Nick Goeser, to attend. “The importance and impact of our Ninth Congressional Visits Days was felt throughout our training and delivered in Capital Hill visits,” Goeser said. “Washington, DC moves fast—and it is essential to educate, inform, and communicate our needs to our elected officials through Hill visits. These visits not only relay our priorities but create change and impact in our political process to deliver research funding and support for our members and certified professionals.”

Leadership, Networking Opportunity

Not only is CVD an opportunity for participants to engage in face-to-face advocacy with members of Congress, it's also an excellent leadership and networking opportunity.

“CVD was a unique opportunity for me, as an early career scientist and student, to make a meaningful connection with my Society and work together for a common purpose,” said Colorado State University student, Courtland Kelly. “I feel much more connected to the Societies and now feel like I have a supportive network to join at the Annual Meeting and build throughout my career.”

CVD is an annual event that any Society member can participate in. While the Societies provide funding awards for 18 graduate students and three postdoc or senior members to attend CVD (see sidebar), every year we have several Society members who provide their own funding to participate in this unique advocacy and networking event. We encourage all Society members to engage in the various advocacy opportunities that the Society offers; you might be surprised how much you enjoy it.

“I am so jazzed to set up follow-up meetings [in Arizona] with my Senate and House reps I met with in DC,” said Arizona CCA, Karl Wyant. “I think this training could open up more political participation for me in the long term!”

Follow the hashtag #SupportAgResearch on social media to check out our participants in action, and see photos from the 2020 CVD here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmLPzxJQ.