Food security—access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life—is one requirement for a healthy, well-nourished population. ERS plays a leading role in Federal research on food security in U.S.
Summary of USDA May 2018 forecasts for U.S. agricultural trade in FY 2018.
Research on farm structure examines the shift of agricultural production to larger firms, and the ownership and organization of farm businesses.
The ERS Food Expenditure Series is a comprehensive data set that measures the U.S. food system, quantifying the value of food acquired in the United States by type of product, outlet, and purchaser.
Interactive Visualization: Costs and Returns by Region and by Commodity
The data include historical U.S. and State-level farm income and wealth estimates as well as U.S.-level forecasts for the current calendar year.
Ninety-eight percent of U.S. farms are family farms, and they account for 87% of production.
An analysis of how--and why--food costs for school meals provided by Federal programs vary by region.
Among produce growers, larger growers (measured by annual produce sales) had adopted food safety practices at higher rates than smaller growers in advance of the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Rule.
During this webinar, economist Carrie Litkowski provides an updated farm sector income and wealth forecast for calendar year 2018.
Seasonal feature: Get background information and data on turkey – production, top producing States, consumption, exports, wholesale and retail prices.
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Database contains current and historical data on pork, beef, veal, and poultry, including production, supply, utilization, and farm prices.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food is probably the most widely used indicator of changes in retail food prices. ERS regularly updates food price forecasts for the short-term period.
Updated data visualization showing the most and least expensive fruits and vegetables on a per-pound basis (or per-pint basis for juices) and per edible cup equivalent (the unit of measurement for Federal fruit and vegetable consumption rec...
Between 1982 and 2012, larger crop farms were more productive than smaller crop farms in the Heartland region. This productivity gap has widened over time and may have driven the ongoing shift in production to larger farms. Aggregate produc...
Newly implemented Federal regulations require chain restaurants to post calorie contents on menus. ERS's analysis of 2007-14 data found that total daily calorie intakes were lower for consumers who saw and used nutrition or health informati...
As household incomes fell during the Great Recession, inflation-adjusted food spending by U.S. households declined by 7 percent between 2007 and 2010 and did not return to pre-recession levels until 2015. Eating out took a bigger hit than g...
Every summer, a hypoxic zone forms in the Gulf of Mexico, where dissolved oxygen is too low for many aquatic species to survive. This zone is fueled in part by nitrogen and phosphorus flowing from cropland in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya Riv...
Analysis of administrative records from Oregon finds that able-bodied, working-age SNAP participants are more likely to leave the program when labor market conditions at the county or commuting area levels improve.
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