The laws that comprise much of the Research Title were the second wave of U.S. farm policy, with the goal of improving the quality of life on the farm and ranch, and promoting efficient farming and ranching techniques.
These laws include the Smith-Lever Act that authorized extension programs under which the results of important agricultural research are shared with farm and ranch families to improve their practices. The 4-H program for young Americans is also a very recognizable example of the kinds of programs Smith-Lever authorizes. The Morrill Acts authorizing land grant colleges, including 1890s institutions, across the nation are yet another well-known example of the laws contained in the Research Title. Yet another is the Hatch Act and the agricultural experiment stations it authorizes in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories.
Since the early days of agricultural research laws, Congress has added others, including the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977; the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998; and research components to a number of Farm Bills, perhaps most notably the 1990 and 2008 Acts, the latter of which established the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
