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Foreword 



I am pleased to present the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) program implementation 

 plan for the period 1992-1998. This document outlines those research programs to receive 

 emphasis by the agency in the coming 6 years. Just as important, the plan describes the 

 policies and strategies ARS will follow to acquire, deploy, and manage resources needed 

 to cany out its research programs. The plan also addres.ses the need for human workforce 

 forecasting and modernization of facilities to support future programs. 



Today, agriculture faces a multitude of research challenges. Issues involving the environ- 

 ment and natural resource conservation, agricultural sustainability. food safety, human 

 nutrition, waste management, animal well-being, and genetic resources have steadily 

 moved to the forefront. The competitive position of U.S. agricultural products in the global 

 marketplace must be bolstered, while demands for altemative energy sources are being 

 raised more widely. The cutting edge of science, particularly bioscience, is advancing 

 rapidly. ARS must keep up with that cutting edge if agriculture is to benefit from the 

 innovations it will generate. 



ARS identification of these many problems and research opportunities has emerged 

 through joint planning and priority setting processes using inputs from numerous sources, 

 including the Secretary of Agriculture, other USDA policy officials. Congress, research 

 users, scientists, cooperalors. and the general public. ARS program leaders have worked 

 hard to assimilate these many inputs and reach a consensus on future program directions 

 and areas of research emphasis within the ARS mission and available resources. The 

 collective judgments are presented in this plan, but ARS will remain flexible so we can 

 adapt to changing conditions and priorities, as necessary. 



I want to emphasize the special working and planning relationships ARS shares with its 

 fellow USDA agencies and with other performers and users of agricultural research in the 

 stale systems and the private sector, as we jointly plan, conduct, and coordinate our 

 research. We have a particularly close relationship with the USDA Cooperative State 

 Research Service (CSRS). the Slate agricultural experiment stations (SAES). and the 1890 

 Land Grant Institutions. In implementing future research, it is clear that we must all 

 increasingly address issues of broad public and consumer concern in addition to continuing 

 to be responsive to the needs of farmers and ranchers, the agribusiness sector, and other 

 traditional users of agricultural research. 



ARS has made considerable progress in accomplishing the goals and objectives estab- 

 lished in the 1984 and 1986 program plans. I am convinced that ARS, with a dedicated 

 workforce committed to scientific excellence, accountability, and public service, will meet 

 the new challenges presented in this plan. 



(3l;§c3Su/>«rfi^ 



R.D. Plowman 

 Administrator 



