Subsection 3(c) 3 of the Hatch Act (69 Stat. 671) authorizes use of Federal Grant funds for cooperative research in which two or more States Agricultural Experiment Stations are cooperating to solve problems that concern the agriculture of more than one state. Section 4 further authorizes the use of appropriations to the States for planning, coordinating, and conducting cooperative research. The cooperative research is carried out under specific regional projects recommended by the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture. In some instances, extended cooperation under formal research plans in unnecessary if conferences, work groups and like methods can serve to bring researchers together for exchange of experience and opinion and coordination of State and Federal research. In many cases, problems can be solved by such initial attack without the need for more formal interstate cooperation. In order to conserve effort and expense in the administration of RRF and to facilitate cooperation action on urgent problems, this RR Coordination Project can serve as authorization for such conferences, work groups and like methods.

Regional Research Funds are allotted to the individual States for participation in the RRF program. Coordination of the research between the States and between projects requires interstate travel of State station scientists, administrative advisers, and scientists for technical committee meetings, conferences, and work groups and appurtenant services. The technical committee is a distinct entity. It meets in separate sessions and carries out its functions independently of other regional committees having broader interests in the same subject-matter field. It is essential that funds be available for travel and expenses appurtenant to meetings of technical committees of the approved regional research projects, and for the conferences and work groups to facilitate regional cooperative effort by the participating state stations.