NSF and USDA Interagency Research Act

This plan tells the Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation to team up on research that helps farms, food, and rural communities. They would work together on projects like improving crops and animals, keeping food and water safe, boosting rural economies, and building “smart” farming tools that use things like AI, robotics, and precision technology. The goal is to solve real problems on the farm and in small towns, from better sensors for soil and plants to tracking germs in food and water. The programs must pick projects through a competitive process that chooses the best ideas.

It also encourages colleges, community colleges, and nonprofits to share data and work together, supports new labs, equipment, and rural broadband, and helps move inventions from the lab to the marketplace. It offers grants to create Centers for Agricultural Research, Education, and Workforce Development, and backs activities like Cooperative Extension, teacher workshops, and K–12 farm science lessons to grow the future workforce. The agencies must follow federal research security rules and give Congress a progress report within two years.

• Who is affected: Farmers, rural communities, students and teachers, colleges and community colleges, and researchers.
• What changes: Closer USDA–NSF research partnership; competitive grants; shared data; support for facilities and rural broadband; education and workforce programs; help turning research into useful products.
• When: A report to Congress is due two years after the law takes effect.