Short answers, pulled from the story.
Agricultural science, also called agriscience, is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that draws on exact, natural, economic, and social sciences to understand and practice agriculture. Its research topics include improving crop and animal productivity, minimizing pest effects, transforming primary products into consumer goods, and preventing adverse environmental effects such as soil degradation.
The Hatch Act of 1887 was a United States federal law that introduced the term "agricultural science" into official use. It was driven by farmers' interest in knowing the constituents of early artificial fertilizer, and it established a scientific research foundation in the United States. For the 44 years following 1906, federal expenditures on agricultural research outpaced private spending.
John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert began long-term field experiments at Rothamsted Research in England in 1843. Some of those experiments were still running as of 2018, making Rothamsted the site of one of the longest-running agricultural research programs on record.
Agriculture is the set of activities that transform the environment to produce animals and plants for human use. Agronomy is the research and development focused specifically on improving plant-based crops. Agricultural science is the broader academic field that encompasses both, along with economics, engineering, and social sciences.
Climate change has made weather patterns less predictable and increased the frequency of extreme events such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves, making crop production more uncertain. Agricultural scientists have responded by developing climate-smart strategies that include breeding heat- and drought-resistant crop and livestock strains, improving water and nutrient efficiency, and working to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems.
Prominent agricultural scientists named in the field's history include Norman Borlaug, Gregor Mendel, Louis Pasteur, George Washington Carver, Justus von Liebig, Jethro Tull, M. S. Swaminathan, Luther Burbank, Robert Bakewell, Jay Laurence Lush, Wilbur Olin Atwater, Sir Albert Howard, and Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, among others. Their work spans multiple continents and several centuries.