Cover Crops, Sensors, and Food Security
Forward-Thinking Ideas for the USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda
Research ecologist Steven Mirsky evaluates a cereal rye cover crop. Credit: Matthew Ryan (USDA-ARS)
By DJ McCauley
“Oh well, guess we’ll have to wait a year until it’s finished,” Marty says.
“Marty, you’re just not thinking fourth dimensionally!” Doc Brown says.
“Right, right, I have a real problem with that,” Marty replies.
Of course, in the future, the DeLorean
won’t jet off the end of the bridge the bridge will be finished!
It was “fourth-dimensional” ideas that Elizabeth Stulberg sought when leading a task force of 12 agricultural stakeholders to think about the biggest problems confronting farmers in the United States.
TSCA/FIFRA/TRI
EPA Seeks Comments On Draft Compliance Guide Addressing Surface Coatings Under PFAS SNUR: On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a draft compliance guide that outlines which imported articles are covered by EPA’s July 2020 final significant new use rule (SNUR) that prohibits companies from manufacturing, importing, processing, or using certain long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) without prior EPA review and approval. 85 Fed. Reg. 81466. The draft guide provides additional clarity on what is meant by a “surface coating,” identifies which entities are regulated, describes the activities that are required or prohibited, and summarizes the notification requirements of the final SNUR. More information on the draft compliance guide is available in our December 14, 2020, memorandum, “EPA Publishes Draft Compliance Guide Addressing Surface Coatings under PFAS SNUR.” Comments on the draft g
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced in February 2020 the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, with a goal of increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40%, while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. One component of the AIA is the formulation of a U.S. Agriculture Innovation Strategy – seeking to establish discovery goals that align with or inform both the public and private-sector research ecosystems.
As part of its ongoing efforts, USDA released its U.S. Agriculture Innovation Strategy Directional Vision for Research to help guide future research decisions within USDA. Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Scott Hutchins says the strategy is based on input and follow up discussions from stakeholders.