April 2004
ERS reports and studies can provide context to breaking
stories on food, agriculture, natural resources, and
rural development.
In the News
Consumer Group Objects To New USDA Directive
Weakening Organic Standards (Wires, 4/30/04)
From ERS
Organic Agriculture and Marketing
Briefing Room. Organic farming
became one of the fastest growing segments
of U.S. agriculture during the 1990's.
U.S. producers are turning to certified
organic farming systems as a potential
way to lower input costs, decrease reliance
on nonrenewable resources, capture high-value
markets and premium prices, and boost
farm income. Organic farming systems
rely on ecologically based practices,
such as cultural and biological pest
management, and virtually exclude the
use of synthetic chemicals in crop production
and prohibit the use of antibiotics and
hormones in livestock production. Many
producers, manufacturers, distributors,
and retailers specialize in growing,
processing, and marketing an ever widening
array of organic food and fiber products.
In the News
Food Bacteria Sickens Fewer People (USA
Today, 4/30/04)
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 range from new pathogen
tests, high-tech equipment, and supply chain
management systems, to new surveillance networks.
Despite these and other improvements, the market
incentives that motivate private firms to invest
in innovation seem to be fairly weak. Results
from an ERS survey of U.S. meat and poultry slaughter
and processing plants and two case studies of
innovation in the U.S. beef industry reveal that
the industry has developed a number of mechanisms
to overcome that weakness and to stimulate investment
in food safety innovation.
In the News
Verdict Overturned in Tyson Cattle Pricing
Case (AP, 4/24/04).
From ERS
Vertical
Coordination of Marketing Systems: Lessons
From the Poultry, Egg, and Pork Industries.
In addition to reducing transaction costs,
contracts and vertical integration also may
provide benefit effects in the form of more
efficient resource allocations. These arrangements
could facilitate important investments in
cost-reducing technology and value-added
production that may have been otherwise delayed.
In the News
USDA Says Spread of Soybean
Rust Could Cause Significant Loss (Reuters,
4/27/04).
from ERS
conomic
and Policy Implications of Wind-Borne Entry of Asian
Soybean Rust into the United States. American
soybean producers and the research, regulatory, and
extension institutions supporting them are preparing
for the potential wind-borne entry of Asian soybean
rust into the United States. This report examines how
economic impacts will depend on the timing, location,
spread, and severity of rust infestation and on how
soybean and other crop producers, livestock producers,
and consumers respond to this pathogen.
In the News
WTO Says No To U.S. Cotton Subsidies
(Wire Services, 4/26/04)
From ERS
Cotton
and Wool Outlook Report. Examines
supply, use, prices, and trade for cotton
and wool, including supply and demand prospects
in major importing and exporting countries
and recent updates of Brazil's cotton export
levels and the factors affecting them.
In the News
High-tech Cattle Tracking System Used
By Processors (USA Today, 4/28/04)
From ERS
Savvy
Buyers Spur Food Safety Innovations in Meat
Processing. Recent industry innovations
improving the safety of the Nation's meat
supply range from new pathogen tests, high-tech
equipment, and supply-chain management systems
to new surveillance networks. Innovation,
along with diffusion of innovation through
imitation, helps lower the cost of safe food
and increase consumer choice. With innovation,
consumers can better choose the level of
safety they desire.
In the News
Mississippi Receives Funds to Fight Obesity
(AP,
4/26/04)
From ERS
Evaluation
of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program:
Report to Congress. Almost all schools
participating in USDA's Fruit and Vegetable
Pilot Program (FVPP) consider the program
to be very successful and would like the
pilot to continue. The Nutrition Title of
the 2002 Farm Act provided $6 million to
the FVPP for the 2002-03 school year to improve
fruit and vegetable consumption among the
Nation's schoolchildren. The FVPP provided
fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables
free to children in 107 elementary and secondary
schools.
In the News
Supreme Court to Decide Future of Mexican Trucks on
U.S. Roads (Dallas Morning News, 4/22/04)
From ERS
Transportation
Bottlenecks Shape U.S.-Mexico Food & Agricultural
Trade. Rising agricultural and other
trade between the U.S. and Mexico has led
to congestion and, in some instances, to
costly delays at the border. A major source
of delay is a multi-step process for transferring
cargo. A broad spectrum of incremental measures-e.g.,
enhancement of physical facilities/infrastructure
at crossing-is advancing the efficiency of
the U.S.-Mexico transportation system. Freer
truck access and the upgrading of Mexico's
rail system are key factors in future growth
in U.S.-Mexico food and agricultural trade.
In the News
USDA Wants New Family Farm Definition
(Associated Press, 4/17/04)
From ERS
America's
Diverse Family Farms: Assorted Sizes, Types,
and Situations. This report describes
a farm typology developed by the Economic
Research Service, which categorizes farms
into more homogeneous groups than classifications
based on sales volume alone, producing a
more effective policy development tool. The
typology is used to describe U.S. farm structure.
In the News
EU's Farm Policies May Hurt World Trade (Washington
Times, 4/21/04)
From ERS
U.S.-EU
Food and Agriculture Comparisons.
This report provides information and analysis
on a wide range of topics relating to agriculture
in the United States and European Union (EU),
including comparisons of farm structure,
production, agricultural productivity, risk
management, environmental, commodity policy,
trade, and food consumption, as well as implications
of EU enlargement for bilateral relations.
in the news
Veneman Says Farmers and Ranchers Benefit
From Tax Relief (Rome News-Tribune, Ga.
4/16/04)
from ERS
New
Tax Law Includes Savings for Farmers.
The 2001 law reduces income and estate taxes
for most taxpayers, including farmers. While
savings begin in 2001, many reductions are
implemented gradually. Over the next decade,
farmers are expected to save about $19 billion
in Federal income taxes and $3 billion in
Federal estate taxes. The largest cut is
an across-the-board reduction in marginal
income tax rates. Federal estate taxes will
be reduced and eventually repealed. However,
all changes expire in 2011 without future
action.
in the news
Europe Starts to Label GM Foods (New
York Times, 4/21/04)
from ERS
The
Effects of Information on Consumer Demand
for Biotech Foods. Consumers' willingness
to pay for food products decreases when the
food label indicates they are produced with
the aid of modern biotechnology. This bulletin
presents empirical evidence on consumers'
willingness to pay for biotech foods based
on the presence or absence of labels advising
that the food was prepared with the aid of
biotechnology.
in the news
China Having Trouble With Farmland Development (Washington
Post, 4/13/04)
from ERS
The
Ongoing Reform of Land Tenure Policies in China.
Economic transition, rapid economic growth, and increased
integration into the world economy are propelling substantial
changes in rural China. These changes depend critically
on choices about use of land and other resources. Control
over land in China reflects a complex and changing
distribution of authority among the national government,
local governments and households, with potential implications
for efficiency, equity, and environmental quality.
in the news
Rising Milk Prices Beneficial for Struggling Farmers
(Associated Press, 4/13/04)
from ERS
Characteristics
and Production Costs of U.S. Dairy Operations.
Milk producers in the West had a significant cost advantage
over producers in other regions in 2000 because their
operations were much larger. Total costs of producing
milk in 2000 ranged from an average of $11.58 per hundredweight
(cwt) of milk sold in the Fruitful Rim-West region
to $18.23 per cwt in the Eastern Uplands. About 72
percent of surveyed farms covered their operating costs
at the average farm price of milk ($12.19 per cwt)
in 2000. Fewer were able to cover the full range of
costs associated with production (including ownership
costs and the opportunity cost of farmers’ labor).
in the news
U.S. Still Top Soy Exporter Over Brazil
(Reuters, 4/8/04)
from ERS
How
Does Structural Change in the Global
Soybean Market Affect the U.S. Price? South
American soybean production, combined
with the U.S. soybean stocks-to-use ratio,
provides a strong basis for forecasting
U.S. soybean prices. South American soybean
production accounts for much of the global
structural change that has altered the
relationships among U.S. soybean production,
use, stocks, and price. The article estimates
that a 1-percent increase in South American
soybean production decreases U.S. soybean
prices by about one-quarter percent.
in the news
Major marketer to use country-of-origin
labels on produce (Los Angeles Times,
4/7/04)
from ERS
Country-of-Origin Labeling:
Theory and Observation. How would the costs
of mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) provisions
compare with the benefits? ERS examines the U.S.
food sector's voluntary use of country-of-origin
labels and the mandatory country-of-origin requirements
in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of
2002 (although Congress has delayed COOL implementation).
in the news
Kansas towns offer free land to attract rural homesteaders
(Washington Post, 4/5/04)
from ERS
Understanding
Rural Population Loss. Over a quarter
of nonmetro counties lost population between 1990 and
2000, many in farming areas of the Midwest. ERS examines
several characteristics of these counties, including
a low level of natural amenities, and explores rural
development options that have helped stem population
loss in similar areas.
in the news
Millions of U.S. children at risk of hunger
(Parade Magazine, 4/4/04)
from ERS
Household
Food Security in the United States, 2002.
In 2002, 34.9 million people lived in food-insecure
households, up from 33.6 million in 2001. They
constituted 12.5 percent of the U.S. population
and included 21.8 million adults and 13.1 million
children. ERS provides statistics on household
food security, food expenditures, and participation
in Federal and community food assistance programs.
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