Recent News Stories Use ERS
Data and Analysis
Wheat Crop Prospects Better This Year
The Crescent-News (OH) – September 30, 2010
U.S. wheat export prospects improved in September because of higher than expected world demand wheat, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service. Some of the factors increasing prospects are declining production in Russia and the European Union (EU).
Report Says Farmers Are Optimistic
Omaha World Herald, from Bloomberg News – September 26, 2010
U.S. farmers are more optimistic about their current and future economic situation than they were in April, as prices and exports rise, according to a survey-based index produced by DTN/The Progressive Farmer…. U.S. net farm income will increase 24 percent this year to $77.1 billion as livestock sales expand and exports push crop prices higher, the Department of Agriculture said last month [ERS data].
Food Makers Ready to Raise Prices
Chicago Tribune – September 17, 2010
Ephraim Leibtag, an economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, noted that food costs as a percentage of annual expense has declined in the last few decades. On average, people are paying less for their food. Prices have been very stable since 2008, "so prices had nowhere to go but up," he said.
Soda Tax Fizzles Compared to Other Efforts
Capital Press – September 16, 2010
First there was Weight Watchers, then Nutri-System and Jenny Craig. Then there was the South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet and even the $3-a-day at Burger King Diet. In one very real way, all of them were far more effective than a new "diet" that the USDA's Economic Research Service has cooked up. Economists there have sharpened their pencils and determined that if only the federal government would levy a 20 percent tax on soda pop and other drinks sweetened with sugar or corn syrup we would all be skinnier.
Breakfast in Class: Fight Against Kids’ Hunger Starts at School
USA Today – September 15, 2010
The number of U.S. households that can't consistently put food on the table rose to 17 million, or 14.6%, in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture [ERS], the highest level in a decade.
Wal-Mart Target by Labor Union, Farmers on Antitrust Claims
Bloomberg News, Business Week – September 14, 2010
In 2009, the grocery stores’ share of each dollar consumers spent on beef was 49 cents, while ranchers and farmers got 42.5 cents and meat packers 8.5 cents, according to the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
Report: Ag Could Play Big Role in Climate-Change Efforts
Dairy Herd Management – September 13, 2010
Agriculture could play a prominent role in U.S. efforts to address climate change if farms and ranches undertake activities that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, according to a new report by USDA’s Economic Research Service.
Our Energy-Gulping Industrial Food System
Grist Magazine – September 9, 2010
Those points are addressed broadly by a recent article in Amber Waves, the publication of the USDA's Economic Research service. On page 13 of this lucidly written report, we find that in 2002, U.S. households used nearly 4 quadrillion BTUs of energy in the kitchen, more than any other sector of the food system.
Should We Really Pay $4 for a Peach?
The Atlantic – September 7, 2010
In a short and largely unrecognized study undertaken by the Economic Research Service of the USDA (PDF), researchers found that, between 1980 and 2006, the price trends for healthy food (apples, bananas, dry beans, carrots, celery, cucumbers, etc.) and junk food (cookies, ice cream, potato chips, etc.) were practically identical—they both dropped at the same rate.
Organic or Not?
National Public Radio – September 3, 2010
Almost 7,000 new food and beverage products were introduced to the U.S. retail market in 2008. Organic product introductions made up a growing number of these. (USDA ERS image.)
You Could Be Paying More Bucks for Bacon
Gaston (NC) Gazette – September 3, 2010
In June 2009, the United States exported 297,097 pounds of pork carcass to other countries, including Japan, Australia and Russia. In June of this year the country exported 365,162 pounds of pork out of the country, a 23 percent jump, according to the USDA Economic Research Service website.
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