Dr. Roger Beachy has announced his resignation as director of the U.S. National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), effective May 20. As head of NIFA, Beachy championed the need to boost funding for agricultural research. He also overhauled the institute’s competitive grants program, the agriculture and food research initiative, installed a new system that focused on producing concrete solutions to a series of challenges including mitigating climate change, improving food safety, and producing sustainable biofuels. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is housed within USDA’s Office of Research, Education, and Economics (REE).