Economic Research Service
The bidding war begins for ERS and NIFA
Kansas City should be the new home of two agencies that USDA plans to move out of Washington, say three Missouri lawmakers, joining the expected bidding war for the 620 high-paying jobs that constitute the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. While the boost to a local economy is alluring, some researchers wonder if the relocation is part of a plan to slash the size and funding of the research agencies.
Perdue takes control of USDA’s economics agency
The Economic Research Service, the USDA’s self-described “honest broker of economic information,” is being placed under the control of the agency’s top political appointee, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The move, announced on Thursday, would make the ERS part of the office of Perdue’s chief economist.
Farm income stabilizes after steep decline that began in 2013
U.S. farm income will tick upward this year, a sign of stability three years after the collapse of the commodity boom pushed income into a nosedive. Still, even with this year’s upturns, income will be a fraction of 2013’s peak, said the USDA.
USDA sees winter wheat crop falling by one-quarter; soybeans also down
Record-low planting of winter wheat and recent reports on harvests and yields “indicate a sharp decline in winter wheat production” in 2017/18, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. The May Wheat Report projected a 25 percent fall in yields of U.S. winter wheat.
If lunch is at noon and dinner at 6, what happened to breakfast?
Forget about leisurely meals — Americans are devoting less of their time and attention to eating and drinking. For the average American, dining is the main activity for 64 minutes of each day, three minutes, or 5 percent, less than in 2006-08, with breakfast seemingly an optional meal, says a USDA report.
Prices most important factor in grocery shopping, trade group says
Shoppers consistently say price is their most important consideration in grocery shopping. And with the small profit margin for grocers, "we focus so intensely on food prices because our consumers demand that we do," says Andrew Harig of the Food Marketing Institute.
Decline in rural population easing
The first-ever overall decline in the number of people living in rural America may be ending, says USDA, drawing on Census Bureau estimates of population by county.
Future of U.S.-Cuba ag and food trade is filled with “ifs”
Larger U.S. food and ag exports to Cuba are not assured despite President Obama's decision to normalize diplomatic relations and take steps to facilitate the sales, which must be made on the basis of cash in advance, say USDA economists.
Wetlands benefits vary for greenhouse gases, nitrate runoff
Wetlands in the upper Mississippi and Ohio River watersheds can remove up to 1,800 pounds of nitrogen per acre from field runoff, says a USDA study of the economic benefits of wetland conservation.
Rural employment remains below pre-recession level
Some 779 rural counties lost jobs since mid-2013, says USDA's Economic Research Service, compared to 1,206 that held steady or notched gains.
US ag exports to TPP bloc up 5 percent if trade barriers fall
U.S. agricultural exports to the 12 nations involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks would rise by 5 percent over a decade if all agricultural tariffs and tariff-rate qoutas were eliminated, says USDA's Economic Research Service.
Global warming could condense U.S. milk production
Milk production at the average U.S. dairy farm could fall by as much as 1.4 percent due to the addition heat stress on dairy cows from global warming in 2030 when temperatures could be 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher, says an Agriculture Department study.
Lots of small US farms, some with very large sales
Some 14 pct of U.S. farms are 10 acres of smaller and most do produce little, says a USDA report adding, "Small acreage does not necessarily mean small sales." About 50,000 of the farms had sales above $10,000 a year; 6,000 grossed over $250,000 and 3,600 had sales of at least $500,000.
Wild West days at the Big Data ranch
The big questions for the emerging Big Data era in agriculture will be resolved in the next couple of years, a panel of experts said on Tuesday, although none suggested the likely results.
Rural America loses population, again
Nearly 15 percent of Americans live in nonmetropolitan counties, also known as rural areas, a total of 46.2 mln people in 2013.
GM crops grown on 55 percent of U.S. cropland, says USDA
Farmer adoption of genetically modified crop varieties is spreading beyond the well-known dominance of the major field crops of corn, soybeans, and cotton, said a USDA report. When lesser-known GM crops such as canola, potatoes, and apples are counted, about 55 percent of U.S. cropland is planted to GM varieties, said the Economic Research Service report.