Southern Region Priority Areas for
Multistate Research Activities

The Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors’ vision is be a highly efficient and effective facilitator of high quality research relevant to the needs of the Southern Region. To successfully accomplish this vision, the Southern Directors will engage faculty with expertise in the physical, biological, and social sciences in multistate research activities in high priority areas. In addition, to assure relevancy of our research programs, our stakeholders from agriculture, forestry, natural resources, and rural communities will assess the merit of our research activities. When appropriate, research activities will include the entire range from discovery to application.
The following are areas of high priority for multistate research and will serve as a guide for soliciting and approving multistate research activities over the next five years.

GOAL 1. AN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM THAT IS HIGHLY COMPETITIVE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

  1. Integrated and sustainable agricultural production systems
  2. Precision agriculture
  3. Regional impact of FQPA
  4. Value-added plant and animal genes in conventional breeding and molecular biology
  5. New plant and animal species for agricultural production
  6. Bio-based products
  7. Competitiveness in international markets
  8. Processing agricultural byproducts
  9. Health and well-being of food animals
  10. Public policy & economics of agricultural production systems

GOAL 2. A SAFE AND SECURE FOOD AND FIBER SYSTEM

  1. Food safety
  2. Plant and animal food and fiber processing systems

GOAL 3. A HEALTHY AND WELL NOURISHED POPULATION

  1. Nutritional quality of plant and animal food products
  2. Food choices for optimum nutrition and individual health
  3. Functional foods for enhancing health
  4. Prevention and treatment of diet-related diseases
  5. Interrelationships of food animal health and human health

GOAL 4. GREATER HARMONY BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

  1. Air, soil, and water resources conservation and enhancement
  2. Natural resource and ecosystem management
  3. Multiple uses of agricultural lands
  4. Environmentally benign agricultural operations
  5. Nutrient management in agricultural systems
  6. Integrated pest management systems, including biologically-based tactics
  7. Environmental policy and regulations

GOAL 5. ENHANCED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR AMERICANS

  1. Economic and policy analysis of agricultural industrialization
  2. Rural community development and revitalizing rural economies
  3. Risk management and assessment in agricultural systems
  4. Suburbanization of rural areas
  5. Housing quality in rural areas
  6. Agriculture-related social and consumer concerns