Federal and public investment in agriculture and food safety research and education is key to the development of sustainable solutions for modern agriculture. In the last decade, America’s food and agriculture system has taken significant strides to increase federal funding of their farm programs. The research title from the 2008 Farm Bill included increased research funding, as well as the development of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. Is this enough to develop new technology and solutions to satisfy the needs of a growing global population? What must the 2012 Farm Bill research and technology title include to further advance agriculture research and development efforts? Should government be investing in agriculture during a time of scarce resources?