ERS Data and Analysis Can Shed More
Light on Current Events
In the News
|
Consumers Facing
Steeper Increases in Food Prices (Minneapolis
Star-Tribune, June 2, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Food
Price Index, 2007. ERS examines changes
in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food,
and constructs monthly forecasts of changes
in the CPI for the year. |
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In the News
|
Resistance Predicted
for Food Aid Reform Plan (Chicago Tribune,
May 28, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Fifty
Years of U.S. Food Aid and Its Role in Reducing
World Hunger. Differing objectives in
food aid programs, lack of consistency among
donors' approaches to food aid, and types
of food donated are just a few factors that
limit the effectiveness of food aid. E.g.,
the share of higher priced, noncereal foods
is growing, but these are unlikely to reach
the poorest population segments. |
|
In the News
|
Administration
Presses China on Safety of Chinese Food Imports
(New York Times, May 23, 2007; Reuters,
May 22, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Food
Safety Improvements Underway in China.
Facing growing demand abroad and at home for
safer food, China is overhauling its food
system to meet international food safety standards.
Adverse publicity about contaminated food
exports and growing domestic concerns has
prompted China to improve overall food safety.
Only a small portion of Chinese production
for the domestic market meets the new government
standards for safer food.
International
Trade and Food Safety: Economic Theory and
Case Studies. ERS examines the conceptual
relationships between food safety and international
trade and analyzes examples from the meat
and poultry, produce, food and animal feed
crop, and seafood sectors. |
|
In the News
|
Lawmakers Split
on Specialty Crop Restrictions in Farm Programs
(Congressional Quarterly, May 22, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Relaxing
Fruit and Vegetable Planting Restrictions.
A recent WTO challenge to U.S. commodity programs
has created pressure to eliminate fruit and
vegetable planting restrictions on farms that
participate in commodity programs. ERS finds
that market effects of eliminating these restrictions
for commodity program participants would likely
be limited and confined to specific regions
and commodities. |
|
In the News
|
Global Warming
Threatens Wild Food Varieties (Reuters,
May 22, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Crop
Genetic Resources. All agricultural commodities,
even modern varieties, descend from an array
of wild and improved genetic resources from
around the world. Furthermore, agricultural
production depends on continuing infusions
of genetic resources for yield stability and
growth. Keeping ahead of pests and disease
depends on the quality of germplasm that is
available in the wild, in public gene banks,
or in private breeder collections. |
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In the News
|
Approaches to
Safe Eating (U.S. News and World Report,
May 20, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Consumer
Food Safety Behavior Briefing Room. ERS
research provides guidance for developing
and targeting food safety education. ERS also
conducts research on the effect of consumer
demand for food safety on incentives to produce
safer food, through liability lawsuits, avoidance
of foods perceived as unsafe, and purchase
of foods considered especially safe. |
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In the News
|
China Plans to
Purchases Millions in Cotton (Associated
Press, May 14, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Cotton
and Wool Outlook. U.S. cotton exports
are projected to rebound in 2007/08 to 17.5
million bales, nearly 4.3 million bales higher
than 2006/07. Supporting the increase next
season is the projected rise in foreign cotton
mill use coupled with drawdown of foreign
stocks this season. With the increase in exports,
the U.S. share of global trade is expected
to rise above 40 percent once again after
2006/07’s estimated share of 35 percent. |
|
In the News
|
Farmers Responding
to Surging Ethanol Demand (Associated Press,
May 13, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Feed
Outlook. Forecast feed grain area planted
in 2007, based on USDA’s Planting Intentions,
is up 14 percent from 2006 as farmers responded
to strong preseason prices. Acres to be planted
in corn are expected to be up 15 percent.
But record use of feed grains, boosted by
a 58-percent rise in corn used to make ethanol,
is expected to keep ending stocks relatively
low, up just 1 percent from 2006/07. |
|
In the News
|
Harkin See Biofuels
As Big Part of Farm Bill (Reuters, May
9, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Ethanol
Reshapes the Corn Market. The expanding
U.S. ethanol sector is stimulating demand
for corn. To meet demand, some U.S. corn is
likely to be diverted from exports. In the
future, corn may cease to be the main feedstock
for U.S. ethanol production if cellulosic
biomass is successfully developed as an alternative.
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In the News
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Corn/Ethanol Demand
Pushing Up Food Prices (Investors Business
Daily, May 8, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Food
Price Outlook, 2007. "In 2007, the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food is
projected to increase 2.5 to 3.5 percent,
as retailers pass on higher commodity and
energy costs to consumers in the form of slightly
higher retail prices." ERS provides monthly
analysis and forecasts of the CPI for food.
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In the News
|
Wisconsin Editorial
Calls for More Conservation Spending in Farm
Bill (Wisconsin State Journal, May 3, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Farm
Bill Issues: ERS Research and Analysis.
In the coming months, Congress 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. A “one-stop”
web page presents a selection of ERS research
and analysis on issues the farm bill debate
will address. Revisit this site as new research
and resources are added. |
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In the News
|
Congress Scrutinizing
Rural Internet Funding (Washington Post,
May 2, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Rural
Telecommunications. The Internet has quickly
become a standard tool in the rural workplace,
and farms have been in the vanguard in rural
America. The most recent data indicate that
56 percent of farm operators used the Internet,
and 31 percent of rural workers. Broadband
Internet service is catching on in rural areas,
but dial-up is still the most likely method
to access the Internet. The increase in Internet
use has occurred for all regions, income groups,
and ethnic groups. |
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In the News
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Exploring Animal
and Human Vaccines to Combat E.Coli (New
York Times, May 1, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Food
Safety Innovation in the United States: Evidence
from the Meat Industry. Recent industry
innovations improving the safety of the Nation's
meat supply include new pathogen tests, high-tech
equipment, supply chain management systems,
and surveillance networks. The industry has
also developed a number of mechanisms to stimulate
investment in food safety innovations despite
fairly weak market incentives. |
|
In the News
|
FDA Enforcing
Import Alert on Food Ingredients From China
(USA Today, May 1, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Food
Safety Improvements Underway in China.
Facing growing demand abroad and at home for
safer food, China is overhauling its food
system to meet international food safety standards.
Adverse publicity about contaminated food
exports and growing domestic concerns has
prompted China to improve overall food safety.
Producing safer food for export is challenging,
expensive, and reduces China’s cost
advantage. |
|
In the News
|
Nature Conservancy
Praises Farm Bills’ Conservation Achievements
(Nature Conservancy magazine, Spring 2007) |
| From ERS |
Conservation
Policy Overview. Agricultural conservation
programs are part of a larger Federal effort
to protect and preserve natural resources.
Land retirement programs generally remove
land from agricultural production for a long
time, while working-land programs provide
technical and financial assistance to farmers
who install or maintain conservation practices
on land in production. |
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previous economics behind the headlines
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