COALITION LETTER: Agricultural Appropriations

April 1, 2025 

Dear Chairman Harris, Chairman Hoeven, Ranking Member Bishop, and Ranking Member Shaheen: 

As your Committees prepare the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill and Report for FY2026, the undersigned organizations, companies, and institutions urge you to provide an investment of $10 million for the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA). 

Advanced research agencies have been effectively deployed in defense, energy, and health to tackle the biggest challenges facing these industries in novel and groundbreaking ways. Established in the 2018 Farm Bill and modeled after successful advanced research agencies like the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), AGARDA will foster research, development, and technology transfer resulting in significant benefits across the U.S. food and agriculture value chain. 

The challenges facing agriculture today require bold, forward-thinking solutions. Emerging pest and disease pressures, like Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and high farm input costs continue to impact producers across the country. Agricultural research can address these challenges, help producers thrive, and ensure consumers have access to affordable food. Research can also better equip American agriculture with the innovations needed to lead as the global population, and food demand, continues to grow. Therefore, we must invest in novel research mechanisms and new technologies that prioritize mission-driven innovation and collaboration across disciplines. By providing AGARDA with sufficient funding, Congress can demonstrate its commitment to supporting agriculture as a cornerstone of our economy and a fundamental component of global food security. 

Congress has appropriated less than $4 million to AGARDA to date. While we appreciate this funding, programs such as DARPA, ARPA-E, and ARPA-H received substantial initial

investments and had dedicated leadership to ensure success. Individual projects under ARPA-E’s ROOTS and TERRA programs ranged from $3-10 million. A typical DARPA project can be tens of millions of dollars. AGARDA will require similar levels of investment to support high-impact research that can produce transformative results. 

While funding AGARDA at its authorized level will give the program the greatest chance at success, we understand the budgetary constraints facing Congress in FY2026. Therefore we urge the Subcommittee to fund AGARDA at a minimum of $10 million for FY2026. It is critical that AGARDA has the necessary funds to appoint leadership, hire staff, and support a sufficient number of agricultural research projects to show that this model can produce impactful results. In doing so, we can unlock the potential for groundbreaking innovations that will not only benefit producers and consumers but also ensure the resilience of our agricultural systems and keep U.S. agriculture globally competitive. 

As Congress looks for ways to respond to the challenges facing the U.S. food and agricultural system, we urge you to provide $10 million for AGARDA in FY2026. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

2Blades 

Agricultural & Applied Economics Association 

American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges 

American Conservation Coalition Action 

American Farm Bureau Federation 

American Farmland Trust 

American Feed Industry Association 

American Institute of Biological Sciences 

American Meat Science Association 

American Phytopathological Society 

American Society for Horticultural Science 

American Society for Microbiology 

American Society of Agronomy 

American Society of Animal Science 

American Soybean Association 

Biotechnology Innovation Organization 

Bipartisan Policy Center Action 

C3 Action

Cereals & Grains Association 

ClearPath Action 

Crop Science Societies of America 

Ecological Society of America 

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative 

Enhanced Weathering Alliance 

Entomological Society of America 

Farm Journal Foundation 

Federation of American Scientists 

Institute of Food Technologists 

International Fresh Produce Association 

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture National Barley Improvement Committee 

National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research Natural Resources Defense Council 

Pet Food Institute 

Soil Science Society of America 

Spark Climate Solutions 

Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council 

The Breakthrough Institute 

The Good Food Institute 

The Nature Conservancy 

US Dairy Forage Research Center Stakeholder Advisory Committee

See the original letter here.