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With these recommendations we strongly agree. 



The federal agency link with higher education is especially critical to American agriculture. The 

 American Food and Agricultural system is the world's largest commercial industry with assets 

 exceeding $1 trillion. This great size and the system's very favorable competititve position in 

 the world economy is due in large measure to our ability to substitute scientific knowledge for 

 natural resources and labor. 



Thus a strong case can be made for the fact that the most critical challenge to the food, 

 agricultural, and natural resource system in the 1990s will be attracting and educating the 

 requisite human resources. Not enough talented college graduates in the food and agricultural 

 sciences are being produced to fill highly important roles in business, science, and environmental 

 management Of course the contribution of state funds for the education of undergraduates in 

 the food and agricultural sciences is enormous. Yet critical "catalytic" federal funding is 

 necessary to encourage innovative cooperative programs at our colleges and universities. 



SITUATION: 



The Office of Higher Education Programs of the Cooperative State Research Service is key to 

 the continued improvement of the quality of higher education in our nation's colleges of 

 agriculture. And this continued improvement in the academic programs is a national need of 



