Previous Newsroom Items: February 2009

10-Year Baseline Projections
(Feb. 12, 2009)
Long-term agricultural baseline projections (to 2018) cover major commodities, trade, farm income, and food prices, and assume specific conditions for the U.S. and global economic conditions, weather, and policy.

2009 Farm Income Forecast
(Feb. 12, 2009)
Farm sector income and farm operator household income are forecast to decline in 2009. ERS provides a comprehensive forecast of earnings and expenses across commodities and regions.

Rural Broadband at a Glance
(Feb. 27, 2009)
Six-page brochure presents information and data on broadband availability and use, and the relationship of broadband to rural businesses and to key services for rural residents.

Amber Waves, March (Feb. 17, 2009)
Featuring:
• Lessons of earlier commodity price spikes
• Grain prices and livestock production cycle
• Recent volatility in fertilizer prices
• Behavioral economic theory and food choices
• Crops for biofuels: spillover effects
(Get Podcast interview)

Behind the Rise in Fertilizer Prices
(Feb. 13, 2009)
U.S. prices of fertilizer nutrients rose steadily starting in 2002 and reached historic highs in 2008, due to a number of domestic and global long- and shortrun supply and demand factors.

Expanding U.S. Red Meat Trade
(Feb. 10, 2009)
ERS examines factors in the rapid expansion of U.S imports and exports of red meats— beef, pork, lamb, and mutton—over several decades, which has linked U.S. livestock sectors to those of major trading partners.

Food Safety Briefing Room (Feb. 6, 2009)
ERS provides analyses of economic issues that affect the safety of the U.S. food supply, including the effectiveness and equity of alternative policies and programs to protect consumers.

Declining Orange Consumption in Japan
(Feb. 5, 2009)
The aging of Japan’s population only partially explains the downward trend in orange consumption, and the negative trend could continue. Get Report Summary