First Chief Of New USDA Agency Named

Roger N. Beachy has been appointed the first director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) by President Barack Obama. Beachy, the founding President of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, MO., will join the new agency on Oct. 5.

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NIFA was established as an agency of the USDA in the 2008 Farm Bill to spearhead agricultural research. The new agency will have a proposed budget of $1.3 billion and 300 employees.

Congress is currently debating the amount of research funding the agency will distribute through competitive grants, but a proposed figure hovers at $250 million. The USDA in recent years has distributed between $120 million and $180 million in competitive research grants.

Development of NIFA has been a major legislative priority of such groups as the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities for several years. The Association’s president, Peter McPherson, and vice president, Ian Maw hailed the selection of Beachy as a step in the right direction. They issued the following joint statement in a press release.

“The appointment of Roger Beachy as the founding director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture is an excellent choice to lead USDA’s new premier science agency. As an eminent scientist and director of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Dr. Beachy’s experience will be an important major asset during the NIFA’s formative years. The higher education research community looks forward to working with Dr. Beachy and his staff to address the many challenges facing agriculture and related sciences.”

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Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

I sure could use decrease in taxes not an increase that it will cause. How much will I get compared to what Beachys going to get…….

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

Another Czar if you would! Another money pit agency!
What will this do for the unresolved food safety issues in this country? The last comment I submitted fell on deaf ears. As I write, nothing has changed in food safety! Wake Up AMERICA. Our daily food safety supply has huge holes in it’s protective nets and no one is doing anything about this.

Julian Galeote
Ops Manager Produce Wholesale Dist. Miami, Fl.
HACCP Certified / AIB Food Safety / ISO 9000

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

And govt grows even larger with another Czar and hundreds more govt jobs. Each one of those govt jobs will cost us more in the future when they retire as well, not to mention health care and all the other perks. The “Association of Public and Land-grant Universities” is just a bunch of govt paid educators, of course they are going to agree with the establishment of this new agency. Now we will all get a thorough cavity exam to make sure we are complying. Many of the farmers will be bought off with all the grant money being handed out. By the way, where is all the money coming from for these grants not to mention the funding of this agency? Our back pockets? Borrowed from the Chinese? Maybe just print some more? Think people!

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

I sure could use decrease in taxes not an increase that it will cause. How much will I get compared to what Beachys going to get…….

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

Another Czar if you would! Another money pit agency!
What will this do for the unresolved food safety issues in this country? The last comment I submitted fell on deaf ears. As I write, nothing has changed in food safety! Wake Up AMERICA. Our daily food safety supply has huge holes in it’s protective nets and no one is doing anything about this.

Julian Galeote
Ops Manager Produce Wholesale Dist. Miami, Fl.
HACCP Certified / AIB Food Safety / ISO 9000

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

And govt grows even larger with another Czar and hundreds more govt jobs. Each one of those govt jobs will cost us more in the future when they retire as well, not to mention health care and all the other perks. The “Association of Public and Land-grant Universities” is just a bunch of govt paid educators, of course they are going to agree with the establishment of this new agency. Now we will all get a thorough cavity exam to make sure we are complying. Many of the farmers will be bought off with all the grant money being handed out. By the way, where is all the money coming from for these grants not to mention the funding of this agency? Our back pockets? Borrowed from the Chinese? Maybe just print some more? Think people!

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