Sometimes it is easy to focus on the work at hand. The heat of planting can really center the mind on what we might call the “micro” of your operation; but when the immediate work is done, you’ll want to focus on the “macro,” or bigger, picture too.

In this column, I have written of the need to connect with lawmakers to share your story and help them understand what it takes to profit in agriculture — but also to help them understand your environmental focus, too. That’s great from a policy standpoint, but there is another area that needs all of our attention: research.

My friend and colleague, Max Armstrong, has spoken on television and radio about the need for more research funding in agriculture. This is funding for basic research: the foundational work that doesn’t always have an immediate connection to commercial profit, but is crucial to meeting future challenges just the same.

The mapping of a corn genome, or even the basic genomic science, didn’t have an immediate commercial benefit and was supported by government research. Today, the corn genome map is helping to unlock increased yield for corn and other mapped crops. Research into the very innards of plants and animals to have a better understanding of how they produce needs support, too.

Then there is work into new uses for crops. The National Corn Growers Association recently awarded $150,000 in funding to six startup programs that could eventually mean a host of new demand for this abundant crop.

Where the money is
Funny thing is that those six awards went to companies producing materials that can be used in bottles or industrial products. These are esoteric, research-based products that could take time to develop into commercial tools. Why spend research effort on those chemicals? Well, as one person pointed out during a presentation of the awards, this work is kind of like why bank robbers choose banks: That’s where the money is. It turns out the plastics industry is very interested in tools that can replace petrochemicals with bio-renewables. For these renewable startups, that’s where the money is.

There are proposals for the new farm bill that speak of adding more research funding to the budget. And farm groups want to see the same thing. We as an industry know that university research has made a big difference in how we do business in agriculture, but that funding is more limited. There is one area where spending has risen — checkoff-funded research. In fact, the amount of farmer-supported checkoff money that supports university and private research has risen dramatically. You are stepping up with those dollars. But more work is needed.

Research funding has to keep climbing. We are charged with feeding a lot of people in the future, with less resources and land. The only way that happens is with more, not less, research.