The transition team for the Biden Administration introduced the Climate 21 Project as the blueprint for how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can help advance the role of agriculture and forestry to mitigate and adapt to climate change pressures. This report will summarize for each of the key recommendations and priorities where current agricultural science and technology for plant and animal production can be applied and where new investments will be critical to meeting the goals of the administration.

Although efficiency of our agricultural systems has increased, water quality remains a concern with minimal measured improvements observed nationwide. This paper provides an overview of the processes, conservation practices, and programs that influence the impact of agriculture on surface and groundwater quality.

Pollinators are responsible for about 1/3 of our human diet by volume. Although honey bees are one of nearly 20,000 bee species, they support more than $19B in food and crop production in the United States each year.

This one-page Ag quickCAST contains excerpted material from its companion CAST document (IP 51), Food, Fuel, and Plant Nutrient Use in the Future.

Future food, fiber, and fuel demands will not be met by expanding cropland area; continued advances in nutrient use efficiency will moderate increased nutrient demand. With a growing population, dwindling arable land, and an increased demand for biofuels, the world cannot count on an expansion of harvested area to fill the demands of the world’s growing population.

Energy Issues Affecting Corn/Soybean Systems: Challenges for Sustainable Production (IP 48) speaks to energy issues […]

A panel of experts has outlined key issues regarding biomass crops by examining the harvest, transportation, and storage of cellulosic material. Task Force Chair Jerry Fruin indicates that successful biomass feedstock production depends on the smooth blending of successful approaches to these three logistical necessities.

This new CAST Special Publication (SP 30), “Sustainability of U.S. Soybean Production: Conventional, Transgenic, and Organic Production Systems,” documents the ecological and economic implications of the various systems used in U.S. soybean production. Soybean production has changed in the United States since its first introduction in the mid-1880s. Initially, the crop was produced mainly for forage and received only minimal inputs

This Special Publication describes the biology and agronomic practices in alfalfa that should be considered in developing coexistence strategies to allow growers to have choices, specifically between genetically engineered (GE), conventional, and GE-sensitive markets in the United States.

Concern about rising prices and unstable sources of petroleum fuels is driving the search for U.S. domestically produced, renewable transportation fuels, such as biodiesel, which is developing into a widely accepted alternative fuel.