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U.S. Code as of:
01/03/05
Section 427. Agriculture research; declaration of policy; duties of Secretary of Agriculture; use of existing facilities
It is declared to be the policy of the Congress to promote the
efficient production and utilization of products of the soil as
essential to the health and welfare of our people and to promote a
sound and prosperous agriculture and rural life as indispensable to
the maintenance of maximum employment and national prosperity. It
is also the intent of Congress to assure agriculture a position in
research equal to that of industry which will aid in maintaining an
equitable balance between agriculture and other sections of our
economy. For the attainment of these objectives, the Secretary of
Agriculture is authorized and directed to conduct and to stimulate
research into the laws and principles underlying the basic problems
of agriculture in its broadest aspects, including but not limited
to: Research relating to the improvement of the quality of, and the
development of new and improved methods of the production,
marketing, distribution, processing, and utilization of plant and
animal commodities at all stages from the original producer through
to the ultimate consumer; research into the problems of human
nutrition and the nutritive value of agricultural commodities, with
particular reference to their content of vitamins, minerals, amino
and fatty acids, and all other constituents that may be found
necessary for the health of the consumer and to the gains or losses
in nutritive value that may take place at any stage in their
production, distribution, processing, and preparation for use by
the consumer; research relating to the development of present, new,
and extended uses and markets for agricultural commodities and
byproducts as food or in commerce, manufacture, or trade, both at
home and abroad, with particular reference to those foods and
fibers for which our capacity to produce exceeds or may exceed
existing economic demand; research to encourage the discovery,
introduction, and breeding of new and useful agricultural crops,
plants, and animals, both foreign and native, particularly for
those crops and plants which may be adapted to utilization in
chemical and manufacturing industries; research relating to new and
more profitable uses for our resources of agricultural manpower,
soils, plants, animals, and equipment than those to which they are
now, or may hereafter be, devoted; research relating to the
conservation, development, and use of land, forest, and water
resources for agricultural purposes; research relating to the
design, development, and the more efficient and satisfactory use of
farm buildings, farm homes, farm machinery, including the
application of electricity and other forms of power; research and
development relating to uses of solar energy with respect to farm
buildings, farm homes, and farm machinery (including equipment used
to dry and cure crops and provide irrigation); applied research to
develop agricultural, forestry, and rural energy conservation and
biomass energy production and use; research relating to the
diversification of farm enterprises, both as to the type of
commodities produced, and as to the type of operations performed,
on the individual farm; research relating to any other laws and
principles that may contribute to the establishment and maintenance
of a permanent and effective agricultural industry including such
investigations as have for their purpose the development and
improvement of the rural home and rural life, and the maximum
contribution by agriculture to the welfare of the consumer and the
maintenance of maximum employment and national prosperity; and such
other researches or experiments bearing on the agricultural
industry or on rural homes of the United States as may in each case
be deemd (!1) advisable, having due regard to the varying
conditions and needs of Puerto Rico, the respective States, and
Territories. In effectuating the purposes of this section, maximum
use shall be made of existing research facilities owned or
controlled by the Federal Government or by State agricultural
experiment stations and of the facilities of the Federal and State
extension services. Research authorized under this section shall be
in addition to research provided for under existing law (but both
activities shall be coordinated so far as practicable). For
purposes of sections 427 to 427j of this title, the term "solar
energy" means energy derived from sources (other than fossil fuels)
and technologies included in the Federal Non-Nuclear (!2) Energy
Research and Development Act of 1974, as amended [42 U.S.C. 5901 et
seq.].
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