1. Short title This Act may be cited as the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act . 2. Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture joint research and development activities (a) In general The Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the Secretaries ) shall carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities focused on the joint advancement of Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture mission requirements and priorities. (b) Memorandum of understanding (1) In general The Secretaries shall carry out and coordinate the activities under subsection (a) through the establishment of a memorandum of understanding or other appropriate interagency agreement. (2) Requirements The memorandum or agreement described in paragraph (1) shall require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process that considers applications from Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate entities. (c) Coordination In carrying out the activities under subsection (a), the Secretaries may— (1) conduct collaborative research relating to a variety of focus areas, such as— (A) modeling and simulation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data assimilation, large-scale data analytics, and predictive analysis in order to optimize algorithms for purposes relating to agriculture and energy, such as life-cycle analyses of agricultural or energy systems; (B) fundamental agricultural, biological, computational, and environmental science and engineering, including advanced crop science, crop protection, breeding, and biological pest control, in collaboration with the program authorized under section 306 of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 18644 ); (C) integrated natural resources and the energy-water nexus, including in collaboration with the program authorized under section 1010 of the Energy Act of 2020 ( 42 U.S.C. 16183 )