Producers are leaders in innovation, and a new federal initiative aims to help them maintain that competitive edge in a global market, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue says. He addressed farmers during the 2020 Farm Journal Field Days virtual farm show.
“U.S. agricultural output has grown significantly over the past 90 years,” notes Perdue, whose full video remarks are embedded in this article (see a transcript below). “We’ve increased the production of food and fiber by over 400%, while using nearly 10% less land. With the Ag Innovation Agenda, I committed USDA to stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the shared goal of increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40% while cutting environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050.”
Announced in February, USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda is designed to help farm operations of all sizes and effectively creates a scoreboard—the sports metaphor is fitting for an “old jock,” Perdue quips—with producer-focused goals that prioritize innovation and evaluate progress.
Additionally, the initiative aims to:
- Synchronize public & private sector research
- Ensure USDA programs facilitate adoption of innovation tech & practices for producers
- Help farmers and the U.S. food and agriculture industry meet the food, fuel, feed, fiber and environmental demands of the future
Proactive investment to grow production while lowering environmental impact will secure access to global markets such as the United Kingdom and European Union, Perdue adds. There, he says, misinformation about production has led to consumer mistrust of U.S. agriculture. With the UK’s departure from the EU, the U.S. has the opportunity to negotiate new trade agreements—and for American farmers to “get out from behind the farm gate” and tell the story of how they are being good stewards, with science and research to demonstrate it.
“Amid the coronavirus,” Perdue says, “we have learned firsthand how lucky, how fortunate we are to live in a country that produces a wholesome, abundant, sustainable supply of food that’s really self-sufficient.”
To learn more about the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, visit usda.gov/aia.
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