Put more climate change into the farm bill, suggests think tank
The next farm bill, "an unwieldy pile of programs," could be the vehicle to improve the Farm Belt's response to climate change while exercising restraint in commodity subsidies, said an American Enterprise Institute publication on Monday. In essays modeled on Christmas wish lists, seven agricultural economists expressed hopes ranging from more money for agricultural research to splitting the farm bill in two.
Think Tank: Minority farmers less likely than whites to benefit from crop insurance
Federally subsidized crop insurance is the dominant farm support, but socially disadvantaged farmers are far less likely than white farmers to participate in those programs, said a free-market think tank on Tuesday. Agriculture is an overwhelmingly white occupation in the United States, and the portion of mid-size and large farms—the major beneficiaries of crop insurance — operated by whites is even larger.
Dwindling funds imperil the ‘slow magic’ of agri-food research
In the early days of USDA, half of the department's budget was directed to agricultural research and development. Nowadays, its share is 1.8 percent and the nation trails competitors that include China, said economist Philip Pardey of the University of Minnesota in calling for a hefty increase in funding.
Farm safety net cushions big operators the most — analysts
Due to consolidation, federal farm supports increasingly are paid to the wealthiest producers, who have household incomes far above the rest of the country, said analysts at a think tank seminar on Monday. The stream of money to large operators was a stark contrast to frequent depictions of the farm program as the safeguard of small family farmers, they said.
Food inflation to decline in 2022, if coronavirus cooperates
Food prices surged by 6.3 percent during 2021, nearly three times the usual rate of annual increase, but food inflation is expected to decrease this year, said the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday. Retail prices for beef and pork "show signs of weakening," and many commodity prices are forecast to decline late this year following large global harvests, said an AEI paper.