There is a growing recognition about the urgency to increase the investment in public agricultural research and extension. Economic analysis provides metrics to monitor the stocks in research capital and their returns. Economics also contributes frameworks and analyses for evaluating regulatory and policy issues, as well as the acceptance, adoption, and benefits of innovations to the intended stakeholders.

There is broad agreement on the importance of investments in productivity-enhancing agricultural research and extension and new research shows social rates of return to public investment are greater than previously measured. However, the decline in public investments starting in the mid-90s is a drag on future U.S. agricultural productivity.

Advances in beef genomics has begun to provide information on how specific DNA profile information is linked to traits with potential value in the marketplace. It is not yet clear if the costs of the tools are worth the market returns. Moreover, given their relatively recent development, little is known about the consumer acceptance of these production tools.

The recent NAS Report on GE crops concluded that there are no known substantial environmental and health concerns of existing GE crops. To realize the potential to improve society's welfare, it’s necessary to enhance innovation, regulatory and evaluation approaches, and the ability to frame GE technologies in their societal context.