needed answers. 



Economists and sociologists are also exploring 

 improved ways of estimating the comparative so- 

 cial and economic attainments of various com- 

 munities so that the most meaningful and objec- 

 tive sets of indicators, of progress can be pro- 

 duced. Preliminary findings using principal compo- 

 nent analysis demonstrate the feasibility of quan- 

 tifying various dimensions of socioeconomic well- 

 being at the county level. 



Food, nutrition, and income. A general realiza- 

 tion is emerging that some income assistance pro- 

 grams are likely to be needed even in a full em- 

 ployment economy without undue wage-price in- 

 flation. Thus, adequate basic analyses will be 

 needed of the role of income assistance programs 

 in national and rural development, in the national 

 economy, and in the attainment of a minimum 

 level of living by all citizens. Adequate public 

 evaluation of alternative minimum income pro- 

 grams depends on objective analyses of the un- 

 derlying economic effects of these programs. 



Capital and credit. Farm production is increas- 

 ingly specialized and capital intensive. To remain 

 competitive, some farms must use larger amounts 

 of land of rapidly increasing value and buy large 

 amounts of nonfarm inputs. At the same time, the 

 Federal Government, through the Rural Develop- 

 ment Act of 1972 and other policy instruments, 

 has encouraged nonfarm activities in rural areas. 

 The population turnaround of the 1970's also in- 

 volved a relative increase in the population of 

 many nonmetropolitan communities. At the same 

 time, we have had wage-price inflation and high 

 unemployment. These changing circumstances 

 place a premium on addressing issues relating to 

 the provision of credit to rural people and institu- 

 tions. Addressing these and related issues re- 

 quires a basic understanding of the functioning 

 and significance of rural credit markets in the con- 

 text of national development and the associated 

 advancement of the food and fiber industry and 

 rural communities. 



Impact assessments. The 1970's have seen in- 

 creasing conflicts between national development 

 and the maintenance of environmental quality and 

 community well-being. One of the evident con- 

 tinuing public concerns is that of attaining ade- 

 quate levels of output of food, natural fiber, and 

 wood products at the same time as the Nation 

 undertakes to protect and improve environmental 

 quality and provide needed sources of energy. 



Impact assessments depend in a large measure 

 on conceptualizing key interrelationships that 

 underlie the major trade-oflfs that must be consid- 

 ered. For example, studies are needed to devise 

 improved methodologies for evaluating and inter- 

 preting effects of discontinuing a pesticide use. 



These need to encompass changes in cost of pro- 

 duction and farm and forest income for typical sit- 

 uations. Additionally, in a broader context, they 

 need to relate to economic implications for na- 

 tional farm and forest income, consumer prices, 

 and foreign exchange earnings. 



Organization and Management of 

 Research Activities 



Most of the Nation's publicly supported agricul- 

 tural research is performed by the 4 major and 2 

 smaller research agencies in the USDA; 56 Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Stations in the 50 States, 

 Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia; 19 schools of forestry; 16 land- 

 grant colleges of 1890; and the Tuskegee Institute. 

 This geographically decentralized agricultural and 

 forestry research system has built-in responsive- 

 ness to a wide range of national, regional. State, 

 and local problems. In general, research in the 

 USDA is more heavily concentrated on problems 

 of national and regional significance, but not ex- 

 clusively. The research agencies of the USDA 

 and the State Agricultural Experiment Stations 

 historically have pooled ideas, manpower, and 

 facilities in order to ensure a coordinated attack 

 on problems common to several States or to a re- 

 gion. Cooperative research efforts are coordinated 

 and implemented through joint planning sessions, 

 workshops, reviews, and scientist-to-scientist con- 

 tacts. 



Organization and Management Within the 

 Agricultural Research Service 



The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) con- 

 ducts basic, applied, and developmental research 

 on the production of plants and animals; on the 

 use and improvement of soil, water, and air re- 

 sources; on the processing, marketing, safety, and 

 use of agricultural products; and on rural housing 

 and consumer services. Research is usually fo- 

 cused on national and regional problems of con- 

 tinuing significance. 



For purposes of administration and manage- 

 ment of its research programs, the Agricultural 

 Research Service is organized into 4 regions and 

 26 areas, which include 7 large research centers 

 administered as separate units. The research is 

 located at 149 separate locations in the United 

 States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

 Intramural research in 12 foreign countries is sep- 

 arately administered by an International Programs 

 Division. The research centers have large aggrega- 

 tions of diversified expertise concentrated at two 



AGRICULTURE 29 



