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 Agricultural policy affects not only the economic well-being of farm households, but also our food supply, the environment, and the future of rural communities. The current farm law (the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002) remains in force only through 2007. A proposal for a new farm bill was released by the Bush administration at the end of January, and other proposals have been made by various stakeholder groups. The agriculture committees in Congress have begun to debate these ideas and develop their own proposals. In the upcoming months, they will be crafting legislation that will eventually become the next farm law.
ERS analysts examine the economic effects of current farm
legislation on producers, consumers, taxpayers, and rural
communities, and evaluate potential effects of alternative
policies and programs. Included here is a selection of
ERS research and analysis on issues that the farm
bill debate will address. Revisit this site as the farm
bill takes shape and as new research and resources are
added.
| Current and Previous Farm Bills |
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Commodity Programs
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- Government Payments and the Farm Sector: Who Benefits and How Much, ERS Farm and Commodity Policy Briefing Room, updated periodically
- Growing Farm Size and the Distribution of Farm Payments, Economic Brief, March 2006
- Economic Analysis of Base Acre and Payment Yield Designations Under the 2002 U.S. Farm Act, Economic Research Report, September 2005
- Counter-Cyclical Payments Under the 2002 Farm Act: Production Effects Likely to be Limited, Choices, 3rd Quarter 2005
- How Do Decoupled Payments Affect Resource Allocations Within the Farm Sector?, Amber Waves, November 2004
- Farm Payments: Decoupled Payments Increase Households' Well-Being, Not Production, Amber Waves, February 2003
- Marketing Loan Rates and Acreage Responses, Choices, 4th Quarter 2003
- Analysis of the U.S. Commodity Loan Program with Marketing Loan Provisions, Agricultural Economic Report, April 2001
- The 2002 Farm Act: Provisions and Implications for Commodity Markets, Agriculture Information Bulletin, November 2002
- Report of the Commission on the Application of Payment Limitations for Agriculture, August 2003
- U.S. Farm Benefits: Links to Planting Decisions and Agricultural Markets,
 Agricultural Outlook, October 2000
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Conservation
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- Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators (AREI), Economic Information Bulletin, July 2006
- Agricultural Policy Affects Land Use and the Environment, Amber Waves, September 2006
- Greening Income Support and Supporting Green, Economic Bulletin, March 2006
- Environmental Compliance in U.S. Agricultural Policy: Past Performance and Future Potential, Agricultural Economic Report, June 2004
- Environmental Effects of Agricultural Land-Use Change: The Role of Economics and Policy, Economic Research Report, August 2006
- Balancing the Multiple Objectives of Conservation Programs, Economic Research Report, May 2006
- Conservation-Compatible Practices and Programs: Who Participates?, Economic Research Report, February 2006
- Flexible Conservation Measures on Working Land, Economic Research Report, June 2005
- The Conservation Reserve Program: Economic Implications for Rural America, Agricultural Economic Report, September 2004
- Farmland Protection: The Role of Public Preferences for Rural Amenities, Agricultural Economic Report, November 2002
- Managing Manure to Improve Air and Water Quality, Economic Research Report, September 2005
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Trade
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- Recent Agricultural Policy Reforms in North America, International Agriculture and Trade Report, April 2005
- U.S.-EU Food and Agriculture Comparisons, International Agriculture and Trade Report, January 2004
- Commodity Policies of the U.S., EU, and Japan, Agricultural Outlook, December 2002
- Agricultural Policy Reform in the WTO—The Road Ahead, Agricultural Economic Report, June 2001
- Multilateralism and Regionalism: Dual Strategies for Trade Reform, Amber Waves, September 2003
- U.S. Agriculture and the Free Trade Area of the Americas, Agricultural Economic Report, March 2004
- North American Agricultural Market Integration and Its Impact on the Food and Fiber System, Agriculture Information Bulletin, September 2003
- Food Safety and International Trade—Research Briefs, Agriculture Information Bulletin, February 2004
- Regulatory Barriers in International Horticultural Markets, International Agriculture and Trade Report, January 2004
- An Economic Analysis of a Food Security Reserve: Commodity vs. Cash, American Agricultural Economics Association Selected Paper, August 1999
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Nutrition Programs
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- Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs and Obesity: 1976-2002, Economic Research Report, September 2007
- Food Assistance: How Strong Is the Safety Net?, Special Issue of Amber Waves, May 2007
- Effects of Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs on Nutrition and Health: Volume 4, Executive Summary of the Literature Review, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report, December 2004
- Food Stamp Program Access Study: Final Report, E-FAN, November 2004
- Could Behavioral Economics Help Improve Diet Quality for Nutrition Assistance Program Participants?, Economic Research Report, June 2007
- Understanding Economic and Behavioral Influences on Fruit and Vegetable Choices, Amber Waves, April 2005
- Household Food Security in the United States, 2006, Economic Research Report, November 2007
- What Factors Account for State-to-State Differences in Food Insecurity?, Economic Information Bulletin, November 2006
- Income Volatility Complicates Food Assistance, Amber Waves, September 2006
- Food Stamp Program Costs and Error Rates, 1989-2001, Contractor and Cooperator Report, January 2006
- Evaluation of the USDA Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations: Volume I, Evaluation Findings, Contractor and Cooperator Report, July 2005
- The MID-SIPP Model: A Simulation Approach for Projecting Impacts of Changes in the Food Stamp Program, Contractor and Cooperator Report, October 2006
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Rural Development
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- USDA 2007 Farm Bill Rural Development Theme Paper, July 2006
- Population Dynamics Are Changing the Profile of Rural Areas, Amber Waves, April 2007
- Rural Areas Benefit from Recreation and Tourism Development, Amber Waves, September 2005
- The Creative Class: A Key to Rural Growth, Amber Waves, April 2007
- Education as a Rural Development Strategy, Amber Waves, November 2005
- Progress and Partnerships in a Dynamic Rural America, Amber Waves, February 2004
- Nonmetro Poverty: Assessing the Effect of the 1990s, Amber Waves, September 2003
- Transportation in Rural America: Issues for the 21st Century,
 Rural America, March 2002
- Small Communities' Quest for Safe Drinking Water, Rural America, Fall 2002
- How Important Are Farm Payments to the Rural Economy?, Agricultural Outlook, October 2000
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Agricultural Research
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- Program of Research on the Economics of Invasive Species Management, Fiscal 2003-06 Activities, Administrative Publication, July 2007
- The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, Economic Information Bulletin, April 2006
- The Value of Plant Disease Early-Warning Systems: A Case Study of USDA's Soybean Rust Coordinated Framework, Economic Research Report, April 2006
- Crop Genetic Resources: An Economic Appraisal, Economic Information Bulletin, May 2005
- Have Seed Industry Changes Affected Research Effort?, Amber Waves, February 2004
- Methyl Bromide Phaseout Proceeds: Users Request Exemptions, Amber Waves, April 2003
- Farmers Balance Off-Farm Work and Technology Adoption, Amber Waves, February 2007
- Government Patenting and Technology Transfer, Economic Research Report, March 2006
- Consumers and the Future of Biotech Foods in the United States, Amber Waves, November 2003
- Size and Distribution of Market Benefits from Adopting Biotech Crops, Technical Bulletin, November 2003
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Miscellaneous Provisions
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For more related research +expand/-collapse
- Whole-Farm Approaches to a Safety Net, Economic Information Bulletin, June 2006
- Why Hasn't Crop Insurance Eliminated Disaster Assistance?, Amber Waves, June 2005
- Risk, Government Programs, and the Environment, Technical Bulletin, March 2004
- Contracts, Markets, and Prices: Organizing the Production and Use of Agricultural Commodities, Agricultural Economic Report, November 2004
- EU and U.S. Organic Markets Face Strong Demand Under Different Policies, Amber Waves, February 2006
- Organic Poultry and Eggs Capture High Price Premiums and Growing Share of Specialty Markets, Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook special article, December 2006
- Price Premiums Hold on as U.S. Organic Produce Market Expands, Vegetables and Melons Outlook special article, May 2005
- Organic Produce, Price Premiums, and Eco-Labeling in U.S. Farmers' Markets, Vegetables and Melons Outlook special article, April 2004
- U.S. Organic Farming in 2000-2001: Adoption of Certified Systems, Agriculture Information Bulletin, April 2003
- Recent Growth Patterns in the U.S. Organic Foods Market, Agriculture Information Bulletin, September 2002
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| General Information |
- Basics of U.S.
Agricultural Policy, ERS Farm and Commodity
Policy Briefing Room, March 2007
- The 2002 Farm Bill: Glossary, web feature, May 2002
- Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report, 2007 Edition, Economic Information Bulletin, June 2007
- The 20th Century Transformation of U.S. Agriculture and Farm Policy, Economic Information Bulletin, June 2005
- Food
and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock for the New Century, September 2001
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For more information, see these policy-related briefing rooms |
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