| Goal
1: The Agricultural Production System is Highly
Competitive in the Global Economy.
Objective
Enhanced understanding by policy makers, regulators,
program managers, and those shaping public debate
of economic issues affecting the U.S. food and agriculture
sector's competitiveness, including factors related
to performance, structure, risk and uncertainty,
marketing and market and nonmarket trade barriers.
Key Accomplishments
Agriculture and International Trade Negotiations
The ERS research program provided valuable understanding
and insight for senior USDA policy staff and the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to
support negotiation of bilateral trade disputes,
regional trade negotiations, and the WTO agricultural
negotiations. An ongoing series of reports on trade
issues for commodity markets (e.g., The New Agricultural
Trade Negotiations: Background and Issues for the
U.S. Beef Sector) provides an assessment of
what's at stake in trade negotiations for specific
markets. The published report and briefings for
senior staff in USDA and USTR, Congress, and commodity
and trade groups provided an important analytic
base for developing the detailed U.S. negotiating
position on agriculture in the Doha Development
Agenda trade negotiations.
Farm Bill Implementation
On May 22, 2002 (six days after passage of the
new farm bill), ERS posted an extensive, provision-by-provision
"side-by-side" comparison of previous
and new legislation that quickly became the most
popular product ever posted on the ERS website.
The popularity of ERS's Farm Bill web site was instantaneous
and grew through time. The site had 52,387 hits
(accesses) on its first day, increasing to 61,226
hits per day in the following week. The site has
had 1.6 million hits in over 163,000 visits since
it was launched. ERS also made a major contribution
to the official analysis of the new farm bill on
USDA's website. This assessment provided the groundwork
for an ERS report, The 2002 Farm Act: Provisions
and Implications for Commodity Markets, released
on November 20, which analyzed the legislation's
effects on agricultural production, commodity markets,
and net farm income over the next 10 years. The
results indicated that commodity market impacts
are fairly small compared to previous farm legislation.
Performance of Agricultural Commodity Markets
ERS continued its research on policy reform and
implications for production response on the part
of major markets and competitors. A series of reports
on Japanese agricultural policy changes and several
other reports, including Agricultural Productivity
and Efficiency in Russia and Ukraine: Building on
a Decade of Reform and China's Food and Agriculture:
Issues for the 21st Century assessed the key
factors driving trade in major markets and competitors
in global trade. These new relationships provide
an enhanced analytic base for the Department's short-term
market analysis and long-term outlook projection
activities.
Expanding Markets for US Agriculture
ERS supported USDA's successful launch of the
national program for organic production and marketing.
The Department's implementation of the final rule
ensured that the goals of the Organic Foods Production
Act of 1990 were met, including certification by
a State or private agency accredited under the national
program of all but the smallest organic farmers
and processors. ERS had a large impact on the program
through its research and data collection on pre-existing
State and private organic certifying organizations,
organic production practices, and organic food marketing.
The report, Recent Growth Patterns in the U.S.
Organic Foods Market, analyzed growth in organic
markets for all types of agricultural products.
In September 2002, ERS, AMS, and ARS jointly hosted
an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Workshop on Organic Agriculture that presented the
latest research on organic agriculture to policy
makers from European, Asian, and Latin American
countries and U.S. stakeholders.
Food and Agricultural Structure
In its ongoing research on the structure of food
and agriculture, ERS is assessing the consolidation
of some kinds of farms into larger and more specialized
operations, the changes in contracting and other
business arrangements governing transactions between
farmers and agribusinesses, and the continued viability
of small farms. ERS also is analyzing the effects
on agriculture of consolidation and other changes
in the food processing, farm inputs and farm credit
sectors. This effort is particularly important so
that decision makers will understand the heterogeneity
of farms and agribusinesses across the nation, and
the implications of differences for policy design.
In FY 2002, ERS analyzed specific structural changes
in various components of the food and agriculture
sector in the following reports:
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Economic and Structural Relationships in
U.S. Hog Production detailed the profound
shifts in hog production toward much larger
enterprises and toward a greater reliance on
contracting. The reports found that larger enterprises
realize much higher levels of productivity (and
hence lower costs) than smaller hog enterprises,
and that those with production contracts realize
still higher levels of productivity.
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A Comparison of Vertical Coordination in
the U.S. Poultry, Egg, and Pork Industries and
Vertical Coordination of Marketing Systems:
Lessons From the Poultry, Egg, and Pork Industries
explored incentives for contract use and vertical
integration by comparing recent increases in
contracting in the pork industry with historic
changes in poultry and eggs. Results of the
report were provided to program leaders in AMS
and GIPSA.
-
The U.S. Food Marketing System, 2002
provided details regarding structure, performance,
information systems, new technology, and foreign
direct investments of the U.S. food marketing
system. The report provided a thorough description
of the current structure and important developments
in the food marketing system. Results suggest
several important trends, noting that: (1) merger
and acquisition activity continues to result
in increased concentration, but changes in concentration
vary by food marketing stage, segments within
a particular stage, and types of products processed
and handled; (2) the food marketing system continues
to embrace new technology that improves the
flow of information and assists with scheduling
and inventory; and (3) buyer-seller relationships
are changing throughout the food supply chain
as stages become increasingly interdependent.
Economic Well-Being of Farm Households
On an ongoing basis, ERS assesses the economic
well-being of farm households. The agency's estimates
of income and wealth not only provide links among
farms, farming households, and sectors of the economy,
but also enable economists to assess what factors
affect the level and distribution of income and
wealth among households. In FY 2002, ERS released
a report, Income, Wealth, and Economic Well-Being
of Farm Households, addressing the following
key questions: How do the economic circumstances
of farm households' compare to non-farm households?
Is household income sufficient to support the consumption
and family living needs of farm families? How do
the career paths and choices of farm people compare
across farms and with non-farm people? The report
shows that farm households draw income from various
sources, including farming, off-farm work, other
businesses operated, and non-farm investments. As
a result, farm households are virtually indistinguishable
from non-farm households in the levels of income
and diversity of employment. The report illustrates
that household choices made with regard to employment
vary widely: there is no standard model of how farm
households earn a livelihood. The report indicates
that focusing on a single indicator of well-being,
such as income, overlooks other indicators such
as wealth held by the household. Using an expanded
definition of well-being, the report shows that
farm households as a whole are better off than the
average U.S. household, but that 6 percent remain
economically disadvantaged.
Global Food Security
ERS provided analytical support for the World Food
Summit plus 5 meetings hosted by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in June
2002. We provided analysis of trends in food security
for 67 low income developing countries, showing
that, while some progress has been made in reducing
global food insecurity, additional resources are
needed to meet the World Food Summit goal of a 50
percent reduction in food insecurity by 2015. ERS's
Food Security Assessment was also used as
an analytic complement to the U.S. foreign food
assistance mission where the research is used by
decision makers on most major global food security
issues.
A Role for Technology in 21st Century Agriculture
During 2002, ERS developed a presentation on agricultural
research funding and productivity for the Secretary's
meeting with agricultural ministers from Australia,
Canada, the European Union and Japan for the 5th
Quint Agricultural Ministerial meetings in Japan.
The presentation suggested that developed countries
should take an aggressive role in transferring agricultural
technologies to developing countries because rising
incomes from increased agricultural production would
provide greater markets for developed country agricultural
exports. The presentation also played a central
role in a symposium organized for the American Agricultural
Economics Association Meetings in July 2002. It
was reproduced, along with supporting research publications,
on a CD-ROM for distribution and was featured on
the ERS web site. The analysis is the basis for
the Secretary's International Conference and Exposition
on Agricultural Science and Technology, planned
for June, 2003.
Goal 2: The Food Production System is Safe.
Objective
Enhanced understanding by policy makers, regulators,
program managers, and those shaping public debate
of economic issues related to improving the efficiency,
efficacy, and equity of public policies and programs
designed to protect consumers from unsafe food.
Key Accomplishments
Industry Incentives for Food Safety Management
ERS, in cooperation with Washington State University,
completed the first post-Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HACCP) national survey of meat and
poultry slaughter and processing plants. The survey
finds that HACCP raised costs about 1 percent, or
about $850 million for the industry. Survey results
will allow companies to assess their own adaptation
performance vis-a-vis the industry average. While
larger than pre-regulation estimates of HACCP costs,
the estimated costs are still considerably smaller
than expected benefits. Results showed plants with
branded products, strong customer requirements,
and export orientation made the largest post-HACCP
investments in new food safety management processes
or technologies, suggesting market forces are also
at work. ERS completed the publication, Managing
for Safer Food: The Economics of Sanitation and
Process Controls in Meat and Poultry, which
provides a valuable reference for regulators as
food safety policy continues to evolve. The study
found that small plants are not at an economic disadvantage
when it comes to sanitation and other food safety
process controls. In fact, large plants may find
the tasks more cumbersome to manage, and so may
be more likely to invest in new food safety technologies
like steam pasteurization systems. It found that
performing food safety tasks costs the plants money
in the short run. However, it also found, using
FSIS deficiency records coupled with Census data,
that plants with poor food safety track records
are more likely to go out of business than those
with better records. It concluded that good food
safety management is generally good business.
Calculating Costs of Foodborne Illness
ERS has become well-known for pioneering estimates
of the societal costs associated with foodborne
illnesses due to E. coli and other known
pathogens. During FY 2002, ERS expanded the foodborne
illness research to include estimates of mortality
due to gastroenteritis of unknown cause. This research
was accepted for publication in the Journal of
Infectious Disease. ERS also developed its first
interactive web-based data product, the foodborne
illness calculator. "The calculator,"
to be publicly released in early 2003, will allow
users to choose a pathogen of interest, the number
and severity of illnesses, and from among several
alternative methodologies employed by economists
for calculating societal costs. The calculator also
has homeland security applications for assessing
costs of potential outbreaks due to intentional
acts as well as natural occurrences.
Goal 3: The Nation's Population is Healthy and
Well-Nourished.
Objective
Enhanced understanding by policy makers, regulators,
program managers, and organizations shaping public
debate of economic issues relating to the nutrition
and health of the U.S. population, including factors
related to food choices, consumption patterns at
and away from home, food prices, food assistance
programs, nutrition education and food industry
structure. Such understanding underpins the capacity
to ensure equitable access to a wide variety of
high-quality, affordable food.
Key Accomplishments
Eating Patterns and Obesity
An increasing proportion of both adults and children
are overweight or obese. More needs to be known
about the behavior underlying this trend and its
economic and health consequences in order to shape
an appropriate and cost effective public response.
During FY 2002, ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition
Research Program (FANRP) highlighted childhood obesity
and eating patterns and obesity as priorities, and
awarded several related competitive grants and cooperative
agreements. ERS's intramural research program also
made several new contributions to this area. A study
of beverage consumption among U.S. children and
adolescents, published in the European Review
of Agricultural Economics, provided strong empirical
support that milk is displaced by soft drinks as
a child or adolescent grows older, and that soft
drink consumption is positively related to TV watching.
A study of the relationship between fruit and vegetable
consumption and obesity found that higher fruit
consumption is more likely to be associated with
a low chance of being obese than high vegetable
consumption. Another study showed a low correlation
for most adults, especially women, between their
perceptions of their own weight status and their
measured status, and looked at the role of diet
and health knowledge in affecting the perceptions
gap. ERS also measured per capita U.S. calorie consumption,
based on the U.S. food supply series, and assessed
how the composition of calories among the various
food guide pyramid categories has changed. These
and other studies will be published in a special
early 2003 issue of FoodReview devoted to obesity.
ERS's measures of food and calorie consumption are
routinely cited in the press and have helped underpin
the growing national dialogue on obesity.
Food Security in U.S. Households
ERS has continued to fund the National Food Security
Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau as a supplement
to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The survey
is designed to measure whether U.S. households always
have access to enough food to meet basic needs.
ERS focuses its efforts on improving the measurement
of food security, promoting the use of the CPS 18-item
food security index, and contributing to a better
understanding of the determinants and consequences
of food insecurity in the United States. ERS released
the annual report, Household Food Insecurity
in the United States, 2001, which for the first
time included State level estimates of food security.
Other monographs on the topic of food security include
Measuring Children's Food Security in U.S. Households,
Reducing Food Insecurity in the United States-Assessing
Progress Toward a National Objective, A Revised
30-Day Food Security Scale for Current Population
Survey Food Security Supplement Data, and Food Security
Among Higher Income Households.
The WIC Program
The mission of the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is
to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants,
and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional
risk. Almost half of all infants and about one-quarter
of all children 1-4 years of age in the United States
now participate in the WIC program. Federal program
costs were $4.5 billion in FY 2002. A new ERS publication,
The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Issues,
provided comprehensive information on the WIC program,
including its operation, history, program trends,
and the characteristics of the population it serves.
The report also examined issues related to program
outcomes and the administration of the program.
How the WIC community responds to these issues may
have a large impact on future program operations.
Consumer Driven Agriculture
In FY 2002 ERS completed projections of commodity
demand and food expenditures through the year 2020.
The research was in response to the Secretary of
Agriculture's interest in understanding the role
of consumers in driving change in U.S. agriculture,
and was prompted by the release of Census 2000,
which provided new insights into the changing demographics
of the nation. The study found that aging and increasing
ethnic diversity will result in some slight shifts
in the average American's food consumption and expenditure
habits, and that fruit and vegetable growers will
benefit the most from demographic changes. Overall,
the U.S. demand for quantities of agricultural commodities
will grow more or less at the rate of U.S. population
growth, making growth in trade especially important
for some sectors. Food expenditures by Americans
will grow faster, however, driven by expected income
growth. Americans will spend some of their higher
incomes for more quality, more convenience, and
more variety. Thus, the dynamic aspect of the food
market is the high-value or service component, including
food away from home. Results of the consumer-driven
agriculture study are highlighted in FoodReview,
Vol. 25, issue 1 and are documented in Food
Expenditures by U.S. Households: Looking Ahead to
2020 and Food and Agricultural Commodity Consumption
in the U.S.: Looking Ahead to 2020.
WIC Cost-Containment Practices
ERS completed a Congressionally mandated study
that assessed the effects of the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC) cost-containment practices by State agencies
on program participation; access and availability
of prescribed foods; voucher redemption rates and
actual food selections by participants; participants
on special diets or specific food allergies; participant
use and satisfaction of prescribed foods; achievement
of positive health outcomes; and program costs.
The study provides the first systematic data on
the balance struck by WIC state agencies between
the goals of nutritional improvement and customer
satisfaction and the need to make the most of available
program funds. ERS completed Assessment of WIC
Cost-Containment Practices: A Final Report to Congress
and Assessment of WIC Cost-Containment Practices:
Executive Summary, which will be released in
early 2003.
Nutrition and Health Outcomes of USDA Food and
Nutrition Assistance Programs
The objective of this major ERS project is to
improve and expand understanding of the effects
of USDA's food and nutrition assistance programs
on food consumption, nutrient availability and intakes,
dietary quality, nutritional status, and health
outcomes. The publications from the research will
consist of four volumes: Research Methodology, Data
Source, Literature Review, and Executive Summary.
The second volume, Effects of Food Assistance
and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health:
Volume II, Data Sources was released in 2002,
joining the previously released Research Methodology
volume. The third and fourth volumes will be published
by the end of calendar year 2003.
Emergency Food Assistance System
This work is the first comprehensive Government
study of the Emergency Food Assistance System (EFAS).
The study provides detailed information about the
system's operations and about each of its five types
of organizations (emergency kitchens, food pantries,
food banks, food rescue organizations, and emergency
food organizations). Findings suggest that public
and private food assistance may work in tandem to
provide more comprehensive nutrition assistance
than either provides by itself. Despite substantial
amounts of food distributed by EFAS, the system
remains much smaller in scale than the Federal programs.
Two volumes, The Emergency Food Assistance System-Findings
From the Provider Survey, Volume I: Executive Summary
and The Emergency Food Assistance System-Findings
From the Provider Survey, Volume II: Final Report
(FANRR 16-2) were released in 2002. Two additional
volumes are being prepared that will report on the
findings of a survey of EFAS clients.
Effects of EBT Customer Service Waivers
Most State agencies are now using electronic benefits
transfer (EBT) systems to issue food stamp benefits.
To promote operational efficiency, some States have
received waivers of certain rules governing EBT
use. An exploratory study was conducted to ascertain
the effects of these waivers on food stamp recipients.
Perhaps the most important conclusion is that the
customer service waivers do not affect recipient
satisfaction with the EBT system; the high level
of satisfaction expressed suggests that most problems
with the waivers are either transitory or minor.
Detailed findings are contained in Effects of
EBT Customer Service Waivers on Food Stamp Recipients:
Executive Summary and Effects of EBT Customer Service
Waivers on Food Stamp Recipients: Final Report
released in April 2002.
Goal 4: Agriculture and the Environment are in
Harmony.
Objective
Enhanced understanding by policy makers, regulators,
program managers, and those shaping public debate
of economic issues relating to development of Federal
farm, natural resource, and rural policies and programs
to protect and maintain the environment while improving
agricultural competitiveness and economic growth.
Key Accomplishments
Adoption of Bioengineered Crops
Use of crop biotechnology products, such as genetically
engineered (GE) crops with input traits for pest
management, has risen dramatically since commercial
approval in the mid-1990s. ERS has addressed several
of the economic dimensions regarding farmer adoption
of bioengineered crops, including herbicide-tolerant
and insect-resistant varieties. In particular, ERS
has examined: (1) the extent of adoption of bioengineered
crops, their diffusion path, and expected adoption
rates over the next few years; (2) the factors affecting
the adoption of bioengineered crops; and (3) the
farm-level impacts of the adoption of bioengineered
crops. Data used in the analysis are mostly from
USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).
Results of ERS analysis were communicated in several
publications, including the report entitled Adoption
of Bioengineered Crops; an Agricultural Outlook
article, "Genetically Engineered Crops:
U.S. Adoption and Impacts"; four articles
published in refereed professional journals; and
two book chapters. ERS presented its research findings
in web briefing rooms on biotechnology and agricultural
chemicals and in several papers at professional
meetings as well as at the National Research Council.
U.S. Organic Agriculture
The organic farming industry became one of the
fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture during
the 1990's and has sustained that momentum. In October
2002, organic regulations came to fruition with
the unveiling of the "USDA Organic" label,
which could facilitate further growth in this sector.
Congressional interest in organic farming, and media
awareness of organic issues, were heightened throughout
the year due to the imminence of the USDA regulations.
ERS anticipated an increase in demand for information
on the U.S. organic farm sector this year, and accelerated
completion of two reports on this sector to meet
this demand. ERS estimates of the adoption of certified
organic farming systems in the U.S. between 1997
and 2001were cited in numerous newspapers and magazines
- from the Natural Foods Merchandiser to the New
York Times - in stories on the Department's new
"USDA organic" label. ERS complemented
its work on U.S. organic adoption rates, marketing
issues and policy developments this year by co-organizing
an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
workshop on organic farming to examine these issues
from an international perspective. ERS also facilitated
information exchange on organic agriculture and
regulation through participation in numerous academic
and industry forums across the U.S. and in Mexico,
Italy and other international venues.
Conservation Programs in the Farm Bill
ERS's quick web site response to passage of the
Farm Bill included a conservation program overview,
an overview of all land retirement programs, and
an overview of programs designed to improve the
environmental performance of working farm lands.
The huge success of that project can be attributed
in large part to its high quality, informative and
concise content, and its timely release. Dramatic
changes in the conservation provisions created both
a challenge —to accurately, concisely, and
quickly present and discuss the many changes—and
an opportunity—to respond to the thirst for
information on the part of stakeholders, researchers,
and policy makers alike regarding the significant
changes.
Working Lands Conservation Program
In FY 2002, ERS released an Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP) data product, which includes
an overview of what conservation practices are being
funded, estimates of unit costs for the most commonly
contracted conservation practices and a comparison
of unit costs for different contract sizes. All
data are presented at the national level, by ERS
Farm Resource Regions, and for ERS Farm Production
Regions. A state-by-state breakdown of the allocation
of EQIP funds is also provided. ERS added significant
value to the raw data that came from NRCS by developing
per-unit costs and by making the data more accessible.
Despite relatively little fanfare and being a somewhat
specialized product, the EQIP data product has received
nearly 2,000 hits since being posted to the ERS
web page last spring.
Invasive Species Briefing
In FY 2002, ERS began a new program to assess
the range of economic problems invasive pest species
pose to US crop and livestock producers and the
economic issues involved in formulating cost-effective
public sector responses to these pests. The initial
product of this program was a briefing for the USDA
Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
and the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS). The briefing provided
a broad economic perspective on recent APHIS emergency
eradication payments, a retrospective of APHIS indemnity
payments and a comparison with other national disaster
assistance programs, farm sector disaster programs,
and the crop insurance program. Initial findings
suggested that the recent increases in APHIS indemnity
payments are consistent with the growth in other
forms of disaster relief payments. Economic data
suggest that indemnity payments tend to be concentrated
in areas experiencing some form of farm sector or
commodity market stress and in areas where other
forms of farm income support are not available.
Finally, ERS economic analysis suggests indemnity
payments should be set high enough to encourage
producers to report pest damages, but not so high
as to encourage fabricating pest problems.
Goal 5: Enhanced Economic Opportunity and Quality
of Life for Rural Americans.
Objective
Enhanced understanding by policy makers, regulators,
program managers, and organizations shaping public
debate of economic issues affecting rural development,
including factors related to farm finances and investments
in rural people, businesses and communities, and
of economic issues relating to the performance of
all sizes of American farms.
Key Accomplishments
Rural Amenities
Public amenities provided by a rural agricultural
landscape, arising from open space and farm activity,
are important to many citizens and policymakers.
Widespread development of farmland in some parts
of the country is spawning farmland protection programs
at various levels of government and at nonprofit
organizations. ERS produced a new report on rural
amenities that investigated the relative importance
of preserving different rural amenities associated
with farmland. This report examined the legislation
establishing these programs and specifically the
implementation of programs in five Northeastern
States. It also assessed how farmland protection
programs fit into rural land conservation programs.
Changing Rural Racial and Ethnic Patterns
ERS is at the forefront of analysis of changing
population and racial/ethnic composition based on
the recently released 2000 Census data. The Shifting
Pattern of Black Migration Into and From the Nonmetropolitan
South, published in 2002, documented the reversal
of the long-standing trend of Black migration loss
from the South and connected these regional migration
patterns to changes in economic development in the
rural South. The study found that Black migration
patterns in the South lowered the education level
of the rural Black population due to the net loss
of college graduates and a net inflow of persons
who had not finished high school. These findings
indicated a continuation of the disadvantaged social
and economic status of Blacks in the rural and small-town
South. Ongoing ERS research also focuses on the
rapid Hispanic growth in rural areas over the last
decade and its implications for rural communities
and services. Early findings suggest that new Hispanic
settlement patterns are contributing to the revitalization
of many small towns but are perilously straining
local community resources in others.
The Roots of Population Loss
ERS research investigated the factors affecting
population growth and loss in rural areas of the
United States. Rural places generally shared in
the Nation's economic prosperity during the 1990s,
but areas of the Great Plains and western Corn Belt
lost population as they dealt with declining agricultural
employment and the lack of replacement jobs in other
industries. People and businesses are often reluctant
to move to these areas absent family ties and compensating
natural amenities. Some low-amenity remote counties
managed to gain population in the 1990s, due largely
to the development of industrial agriculture, Native
American casinos, new prisons, and lake-based recreation
and retirement. Absent natural amenities, there
are no easy answers in the most remote counties.
This research was published in the ERS periodical,
Rural America.
Rural America at a Glance
ERS analyzed the ongoing changes in rural areas
and assesses Federal, State, and local strategies
to enhance economic opportunity and quality of life
for rural Americans. In FY 2002, ERS initiated a
new series of publications that reported the most
current indicators of social and economic conditions
in rural areas for use in developing policies and
programs to assist rural people and their communities.
This series of reports began with an analysis of
2000 Census data on population, employment, and
poverty. The series supplemented up-to-date analyses
and data found in eleven ERS rural briefing rooms
on such topics as population and migration, labor
and education, poverty and income, housing, transportation,
and infrastructure and rural development policy.
Also new in FY 2002 is the ERS Rural Indicators
Map Machine,
an Internet-based mapping utility that provides
a visualization of indicators for rural areas by
county.
Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform
The welfare reform legislation of 1996 dramatically
altered the social safety net for poor Americans.
Early results from myriad studies have been positive,
yet many rural areas have not shared in the success
of welfare reform. The impact of welfare reform
does not appear to differ greatly between rural
and urban areas at the national level, but when
national level findings are disaggregated by State
and rural-urban areas within States, welfare reform
impacts on caseloads, employment, and earnings are
smaller in rural than in urban areas. These smaller
effects in rural areas result from differences in
State welfare programs as well as in rural-urban
differences in job opportunities, availability of
critical work supports, and characteristics of welfare
recipients. Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform,
edited by ERS staff and published by the W.E. Upjohn
Institute for Employment Research in 2002 provided
the first comprehensive look at the spatial dimensions
of welfare reform, based on findings from a conference
funded by ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research
Program. The research findings summarized in this
monograph will provide a strong empirical base for
the 2003 policy debate on welfare reform.
The Dynamics of Hired Farm Labor
ERS conducts a program of research on factors affecting
the supply of and demand for hired farm labor. The
Dynamics of Hired Farm Labor: Constraints and Community
Responses, edited by ERS staff and published
in 2002, highlighted farm labor adjustments to technical
change, factors affecting labor supply and demand,
community response to changing labor demographics,
and farmworker health and safety issues. The interdisciplinary
research addressed farm labor issues in the United
States, Canada, and Australia, drawing from national
level analyses and area studies presented at a research
conference funded by ERS and co-sponsored with the
Pennsylvania State University.
Goal 6: ERS Effectively Marshals Its Diverse Capabilities
and Resources in Support of Mission Area and Agency
Program Goals.
Objective
ERS provides an environment that supports staff
accomplishment and development and cultivates excellence
in research and information dissemination, actively
valuing diversity and treating all—staff and
customers—with dignity and respect.
Key Accomplishments
ERS web site
In 2002, the ERS web site served as the major showcase
for ERS work, raising the agency's profile, extending
the value of its products, and providing opportunities
for innovation in new services and products. More
and more users have come to expect, and want more,
high-quality online products and services from ERS.
Usage of ERS online services increased substantially,
as demonstrated by the following statistics:
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96,922 web visitors in September 2002 (up 70%
from 57,128 in September 2001)
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About 20,000 subscribers to the notification
service, which sends e-mail alerts of newly
released or updated products, including data
products, outlook reports and yearbooks
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About 60 GB of content was sent, as compared
to 25 GB in September 2001—the web equivalent
of about 60,000 documents published
In the past year, over a dozen new web site features synthesized
ERS research and products, and contributed to decision-making on
major timely issues. Notable examples included:
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2002 Farm Bill: A synthesized overview of the
Act and a side-by-side comparison of 1996-2001
farm legislation and the 2002 Act presented
a week after Congressional approval
-
World Food Summit: A comprehensive ERS analysis
and current assessments of U.S. and global food
security to support the June 2002 "World
Food Summit Five Years After" conference
ERS doubled its electronic publishing program in the past year.
The agency produced twelve electronic-only research
reports in FY 2002, compared with five in FY 2001
and none in FY 2000. ERS produced 66 electronic-only
Outlook reports in FY 2002, compared with 32 last
year, and 23 the year before. ERS also produced
another 22 electronic Food Assistance and Nutrition
Research Program reports in FY 2002.
Data Activities
Fifteen new data products were launched in 2002,
including:
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Rural Indicators: Map-based visual indicators
for rural areas, notably a natural amenity scale,
rural typology, urban influence, rural-urban
continuum, and rural-urban commuting areas
-
Food Consumption Data System: An interactive
database on food disappearance allowing users
to develop customized spreadsheets and charts
that show how eating patterns have changed over
time
-
Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program
(FANRP): Online solicitation of proposals for
FANRP grants and cooperative agreements
-
International macroeconomic data: Gross Domestic
Product, population, real exchange rates, and
other variables for the 35 countries and 22
regions that are most important for U.S. agricultural
trade
-
ERS's agricultural exchange rate data: Annual
and monthly data for 80 countries
Improved Sharing of Interagency Data
In its first full year the ERS/FAS/World Agricultural
Outlook Board interagency trade data committee facilitated
more consistent data management and sharing across
the three agencies. The three agencies worked together
to apply annual revisions to the trade data, with
coordination among program and technical staff in
the respective agencies. Access to the data is now
provided at a single site, simplifying public access.
A separate initiative has moved forward to improve
and stabilize cross-agency access to USDA Production
Supply and Distribution (PSD) data, distributed
by FAS. The initiative created a single point of
access to PSD data, consistent and transparent metadata,
and changed management to allow effective production
of high quality data products. Finally, a prototype
data distribution system for the PSD data within
ERS has been launched. This system will allow for
more timely and direct access to PSD data for use
by analysts, modelers, and in regular ERS publications
and data products.
Homeland Security
During 2002, ERS contributed to a number of Homeland
Security exercises through estimation of potential
economic damages of security threats and the impacts
of alternative responses. Notably, the ERS SAS-USA
(Security Analysis System for U.S. Agriculture)
team developed a system to analyze security-threat
scenarios, building on the Agency's commodity market
expertise. The first version consisted of a Food-and-Mouth
Disease (FMD) scenario. Given the locations of FMD
outbreaks, the system automatically generates the
number of animals in the given quarantine zones,
shows the spatial pattern of neighboring animal
populations, displays information needed for mitigation,
estimates the local economic damages, and generates
a national impact analysis based on an economic
model. The team is currently building a time-phase
feature into the FMD scenario, developing both an
Avian Flu scenario module and a food contamination
scenario module into SAS-USA. The team has formed
a SAS-USA Technical Advisory Group, with representation
from many USDA agencies, to help steer the technical
direction of SAS-USA.
Geographic Information
Provided advanced technical and analytical support
for research programs including in the areas of:
land use and land values; agricultural productivity
and food security; manure management; assessing
rural digital access; and web mapping applications.
An example of the latter is the Rural Business Loan
Eligibility Identifier, which assists Rural Development
Agency loan officers by solving some current eligibility
determination problems and providing the framework
for better communication between government entities
making eligibility criteria decisions and the public.
Launch of New Positions
In 2002, ERS put into place eleven positions that
provided new, higher level opportunities for current
staff and met the changed demands of a web-based
information dissemination environment. The new positions
combined web and data management responsibilities.
The individuals selected were all minority staff
formerly in outdated support positions. Over the
course of the year, ERS supervisors worked with
the new staff, providing coaching and training,
and, by the end of the year, agreed that the new
positions were meeting both agency and individual
needs. Based on the success of the first set of
positions, additional vacancies will be announced
in FY 2003.
Minority Hiring and Internships
Because of its education requirements as a research
institution, ERS has found it difficult to increase
the diversity of its staff of economists. However,
in FY 2002, the agency was able to hire two African
American economists with Ph.D.'s. One of them, a
former ERS summer intern, was evidence of success
in the Agency's strategy of hiring and encouraging
interns to pursue further education in economics.
ERS provided an extremely successful internship
under the Washington Internships for Native Students
(WINS) program. The student, a member of the Cherokee
Nation, provided critical assistance on the Food
Assistance and Nutrition Research Program. As a
result of her experience in ERS, she decided to
modify her education and career plans, increasing
her focus on public policy. ERS also provided internships
for several 1890 National Scholars and selected
a new 1890 Scholar.
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