Featuring

USDA's Projections for 2002 and for 2002-11

USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum 2002

Held February 21-22 2002

...Unveiled farm-sector projections for 2002 and the USDA Agricultural Baseline Projections to 2011

...Presented 2 days of information-packed sessions on agricultural prospects and related timely issues

At the annual Outlook Forum, a decades-old institution, crop and livestock prospects have long been a staple topic. Today's forum also explores the relationships between policy and markets, the challenges of delivering a safe food supply, and the economics of rural development. Among the offerings on this year's Forum program:

2002 Agricultural Prospects
Keith Collins, Chief Economist, USDA

U.S. Trade and Agricultural Policy
J.B. Penn, Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, USDA

Impacts of China's WTO Accession
Neilson Conklin, Director, Market and Trade Economics Division, Economic Research Service, USDA

Tracking Food Products for Quality, Safety, and Efficiency
Susan Offutt, Administrator, Economic Research Service, USDA

USDA Agricultural Baseline Projections to 2011

Released at the Forum, the 2002 Baseline indicates that slow U.S. and global economic growth and a strong U.S. dollar provide a weak setting for the agricultural sector in the initial years of USDA's long-term, 10-year projections.

Export competition and a strong dollar are projected to continue, but more vigorous global economic growth in the longer term, particularly in developing countries, leads to gains in trade and U.S. exports.

The projected results: rising market prices, increases in farm income, and improvement in the financial condition of the U.S. agricultural sector.

Also Available:

Outlook Forum speeches are available on the web and by e-mail.
Look for Outlook Forum-based articles on USDA's baseline projections and on the impacts of China's WTO accession in the April issue of ERS's Agricultural Outlook magazine.

USDA's Economic Research Service, which played the lead role in preparing the 2002 Baseline Projections report, produces a range of other products. Interested in more? Sign up for e-mail notification of ERS releases of new information on a variety of topics.

For more information, contact: webadmin@ers.usda.gov

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Updated date: March 27, 2002