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making and programs of research that address the needs and opportunities of individual 

 states. They support a diversified set of agricultural and related industries which are based 

 on the specific natural resoiu-ces and other factors that also make U.S. agriculture site- 

 specific. Despite the distributed nature of this network, it has a consistent ability to find 

 consensus on the major national issues of overarching importzuice that require programs of 

 research to provide new knowledge and solutions. There is a growing need and opportunity 

 to share resources and trade-off responsibiUties in four regions of the country into which the 

 SAES community is divided. 



The ESCOP-CSRS strategic plan has been and is successful in recognizing both the 

 continuing and new needs for research on food, agriculture, natural resources, and the 

 environment. In the past, the system has redirected the existing portfolio of research 

 projects to meet changing national and local needs. The federal government has provided 

 sustaining support for the on-going progrsmis as well as selected new funding in high priority 

 areas. In the present environment, this system is challenged to continue to use the basic 

 procedures now in place for effective planning, but to shift its budgeting strategies towards 

 a reinvestment of existing resources rather than an investment of new resources added to 

 current appropriations. While this has been done in practice at the state level for many 

 years, the system has less experience with seeking and maintaining consensus at the national 

 level in the "net sums" situation. 



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