On 8 June 2026, AGU joined a group of other organizations to express concern over changes to USDA Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area. 

The REE mission area – comprising the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Economic Research Service (ERS), and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) – is the backbone of American agricultural innovation. For farmers and ranchers, federal food and agricultural research translates directly into better seeds, more effective pest
management, lower input costs, and the agronomic knowledge that keeps American producers competitive in global markets. Just as critically, USDA research safeguards the quality and safety of the food supply itself, increasing yields, advancing pathogen reduction, improving post-harvest handling, strengthening processing technologies, and ensuring that the nutritional value of crop and livestock products is maintained from farm to consumer.

This research is not an academic exercise; it is the practical science that helps corn growers in Iowa increase yields per acre, enables cattle ranchers in Texas to manage drought conditions, and equips fruit growers in California to combat invasive pests. America’s agricultural global dominance is not an accident; it is the earned result of decades of sustained, strategic federal investment in research and science. To weaken it now is to cede ground to our competitors at precisely the moment we can least afford to do so.

Read the full letter and signatories here.