Payments to Agricultural Experiment Stations Under the Hatch Act

To assist State Agricultural Experiment Stations, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Insular Areas in conducting agricultural research programs. These activities are broad and include research on all aspects of agriculture, including soil and water management and use; plant and animal production, protection, and health; processing, distribution, safety, marketing, and utilization of food and agricultural products; forestry, including range management and range products; multiple use of forest rangelands, and urban forestry; aquaculture; home economics and family life; human nutrition; rural and community development; molecular biology; and biotechnology. Research may be conducted on problems of local, State, regional, or national concern. Not less than 25 percent of the total Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361c(c)(3)) funding is allotted to the states for cooperative research employing multidisciplinary approaches in which a State agricultural experiment station, working with another State agricultural experiment station, the Agricultural Research Service, or a college or university, cooperates to solve problems that concern more than one state. These funds are designated as the “Multistate Research Fund.” Funds are allocated on a pro rata basis, and allocations are adjusted to support national and regional projects. These projects and their associated budgets are reviewed and approved annually.