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The Economics Behind the Headlines: January 2005

ERS data and analysis can shed more light on current events.

In the News	Number of U.S. farms down for 6th year (Reuters, January 31, 2005)
From ERS	Growing Farm Size. The trend to larger farms is sector-wide. Based on USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey, farms in the largest sales class (at least $500,000 in 2002 dollars) accounted for 43.9 percent of production in 2002, up from 28.9 percent in 198l.

In the News	States gearing up to combat soybean rust (Reuters, January 29, 2005)
From ERS	Economic and Policy Implications of Wind-Borne Entry of Asian Soybean Rust into the United States. The economic impacts of soybean rust will depend on the timing, location, spread, and severity of an infestation and on how soybean and other crop producers, livestock producers, and consumers respond.

In the News	Monsanto to purchase smaller seed company (Dailies, wires January 24 - January 25, 2005)
From ERS	The Seed Industry in U.S. Agriculture. The seed industry changed significantly as small businesses give way to larger enterprises integrate plant breeding, production, conditioning, and marketing functions, and as the roles of public and private research and development have shifted.

In the News	China looks to cheaper Brazil soybeans for poultry feed (Reuters, January 25, 2005)
From ERS	China's Soybean Imports Expected To Grow Despite Short-Term Disruptions. Rapid demand growth for soybeans and soybean products has outstripped supply in China over the past two decades. Its Liberalization in production and trade policies has general a boom in soybean imports.

In the News	Labor Department suspends migrant worker survey (Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2005)
From ERS	Farm Labor Data Sources. Although the Department of Labor has ended the National Agricultural Workers Survey, several data sources including USDA’s Census of Agriculture and quarterly Farm Labor Survey provide useful information on the patterns of farm labor use and the characteristics of hired farm workers.

In the News	Biotech corn at 10-year mark (Associated Press, January 8, 2005)
From ERS	Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S. An ERS online data product summarizes the extent of adoption of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant crops from their introduction in 1996 through 2004.

In the News	Water conservation by farms is urged (Associated Press, January 9, 2005)
From ERS	Western Irrigated Agriculture. Large ERS database includes statistics on acreage, type of irrigation technology, and participation in Government conservation cost-share programs. Data are summarized by farm size and by State.

In the News	U.S. farmers see record incomes (Financial Times, UK, January 6, 2005)
From ERS	Farm Income and Costs: Farm Sector Income. Two consecutive years of exceptionally large harvests for major crops and unusually high prices for livestock and milk have generated record earnings for the farm sector in 2004, according to ERS's November forecast.

In the News	Crop disease, shrinking exports plague Brazil's soybean farmers (New York Times, January 6, 2005)
From ERS	Dynamics of Agricultural Competitiveness: Policy Lessons From Abroad. Reforms implemented in Brazil and Argentina in the past decade made it possible for these countries to benefit significantly from their large land area, fertile soils, and favorable climate.

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For more information, contact: Mary Reardon

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Updated date: March 7, 2006