Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 5.djvu/426

 104 STAT. 3748 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 ability to provide sitenspecific weather forecasting for farmers and the agricultural sector in general; and (5) to ensure that the weather and climate data bases needed by the agricultural sector are of the highest scientific accuracy and thoroughly documented, and that such data bases are easily accessible for remote computer access. 7 USC 5852. SEC. 1638. AGRICULTURAL WEATHER OFFICE. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE SYSTEM. — (1) ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED.— The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish in the Department of Agriculture an Agricultural Weather Office to plan and administer the National Agricultural Weather Information System. The system shall be comprised of the office established under this section and the activities of the State agricultural weather information systems described in section 1640. (2) DIRECTOR. —The Secretary shall appoint a Director to msinage the activities of the Agricultural Weather Office and to advise the Secretary on scientific and programmatic coordination for climate, weather, and remote sensing. (b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, acting through the Office, may undertake the following activities to carry out this subtitle: (1) Enter into cooperative projects with the National Weather Service to— (A) support operational weather forecasting and observation useful in agriculture; (B) sponsor joint workshops to train agriculturalists about the optimum utilization of agricultural weather and climate data; (C) jointly develop improved computer models and computing capacity; and (D) enhance the quality and availability of weather and climate information needed by agriculturalists. (2) Obtain standardized weather observation data collected in near real time through State agricultural weather information systems. (3) Make, through the Cooperative State Research Service, competitive grants under subsection (c) for research in atmospheric sciences and climatology. (4) Make grants to eligible States under section 1640 to plan and administer State agricultural weather information systems. (5) Coordinate the activities of the Office with the weather and climate research activities of the Cooperative State Research Service, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Sciences Foundation Atmospheric Services Program, and the National Climate Program. (6) Encourage private sector participation in the National Agricultural Weather Information System through mutually beneficial cooperation with the private sector, particularly in generating weather and climatic data useful for site-specific agricultural weather forecasting. (c) COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM. — (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED. —With funds allocated to carry out this subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture may make grants to State agricultural experiment stations, all colleges and universities, other research institutions and organizations. Fed-

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