Environment Subcommittee - Innovations in Agrichemicals: AI’s Hidden Formula Driving Efficiency
2025-05-20
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Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
The subcommittee on the environment will come to order. Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare recesses of the subcommittee at any time. Welcome to today's hearing entitled Innovations in Agrochemicals, AI's Hidden Formula for Driving Efficiency. And I recognize myself for five minutes for an opening statement. And first, as I've mentioned to our witnesses, I apologize for the delay in getting started this morning. We had a little change in agenda. that we weren't anticipating. It took us a little longer. So my colleagues will be filtering in here. Hopefully they won't miss much of the opening testimony, but we will go ahead and get rolling with it. So with that, good morning. Thank you to our witnesses for being with us today. This morning's hearing topic on agricultural innovations is very important to me as my home district is home to over 200 specialty crops, including most of Florida's citrus operations and many other different diversified agriculture interests. I represent what we think is probably the largest agricultural district east of the Mississippi, which is a surprise to a lot of people who aren't from Florida and think everyone either lives at Disney World or at the beach, but we actually have a lot of agriculture interest in Florida. We... We absolutely require safe and effective access to agrochemicals like pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, which are essential to keeping our crops healthy and productive. Today we're discussing the current and emerging AI-driven scientific and technological advancements in agrochemicals. We will explore how artificial intelligence, is transforming the industry by enhancing key functions such as research and development, testing, production, compliance, safety, reviews, and applications. In fiscal year 24, I was able to secure $4.5 million in federal funding for the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of Florida's Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. It's a mouthful, but it's our AI Center for Agriculture associated with University of Florida. That center will serve as a hub for statewide agricultural and AI initiatives and demonstrations with a strong focus on pest management.
And in my district, citrus greening has devastated growers and weakened the backbone of Florida's agriculture economy. The research conducted by the Institute and other academic partners like the ones represented here today are critical to our discussion. These efforts are not only advancing pest management, but also lead to the breakthroughs that we need in agricultural technology to finally cure the disease that's killing Florida citrus. Additionally, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced much needed changes to address the backlog of over 504 new chemical reviews and 12,000 pesticide reviews that are well past the expected timelines under the federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, FIFRA, and statutory timelines under the Toxic Control Substance Act, TSCA. As a part of Administrator Zeldin's powering the Great American Comeback Initiative, advancing American leadership in artificial intelligence is a central pillar with a focus on supporting AI development through clean energy to position the United States as a global leader in AI. I believe this hearing will demonstrate what's possible with AI in agricultural review space and inform policy making as the EPA continues to develop its AI plan. I'm eager to hear each witness's testimony and look forward to working with committee members to ensure the United States remains a global leader in AI driven scientific and technological agricultural advancements. I now recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee for his opening statement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening today's hearing on innovations in agrochemicals. And thank you to our witnesses for sharing your insights. Now, Rhode Island may not be the first state that comes to mind when people think of agriculture, but we're home to innovative aquaculture and many small farms and producers, including Wright's Dairy Farm in North Smithfield, and Phantom Farms in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District is also home to research institutions, scientists, and innovators working on the front lines of resiliency and sustainability. And in a state with a long coastline, finding solutions to the climate crisis is crucial to preventing long-term damage from sea level rise. Agrochemical innovation to reduce the harmful climate impacts of farming through artificial intelligence, data modeling, and chemical safety is important and matters to us. AI systems depend on a foundation of long-term, high-quality data. For the agrochemical sector to operate safely and effectively, models must account for shifting climate and weather patterns. That foundation is under attack as we speak. The Trump-Musk administration has crippled the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's data infrastructure and hollowed out its scientific workforce. Dozens of important data sets, reports, and services have been thrown out the window over the past several weeks due to what I believe to be reckless actions, actions that will be problematic and cause irreparable harm. Without accurate and transparent forecasting and climate modeling, farmers cannot react and plan ahead. So let's be clear, no algorithm is better than the data that it runs on. And if we let politics dismantle the very systems that provide the data farmers use to determine when to plant, water, apply pesticides, and harvest,
We're setting ourselves up for failure, and that's across sectors, that's across states, that's across our entire country. We must also remember that innovation often begins with research. At public universities, funded by federal dollars, but these investments are being systematically eroded by the Trump administration.
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