In January 2004, several ERS economists participated in
the annual Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) meetings
in San Diego, CA. The joint meetings of more than 50 related
social science disciplines, including agricultural economics
and economics, provide a unique opportunity for a diverse
group of professionals to interact on current developments
in economics and related disciplines. Jim
MacDonald, Mary
Ahearn, and David
Banker presented a paper on the relevance
of organizational economics concepts in addressing contemporary
policy issues, such as contracting. Agapi
Somwaru collaborated
on a paper with Shiva
Makki on trade, investment, and growth
in developing countries. Dean
Jolliffe presented a paper
on poverty differences and related measurement issues, between
metro and nonmetro areas. And Ashok
Mishra organized a session
and presented a paper on off-farm employment, government
policy, and the structure of agriculture from an international
perspective.
Population Change
in Rural America
Eyewire
In January 2004, ERS and Cornell University hosted a conference, "Population
Change and Rural Society," that highlighted research
findings from Census 2000 data on rural demographic change
and its implications for economic and social well-being,
land use patterns, and rural policy. The conference was organized
around four critical themes: changing demographic composition;
economic restructuring, globalization, and changing livelihoods;
land use contestation; and regions of chronic disadvantage
and emerging opportunity. Presentations by leading social
scientists consisted of overviews broadly surveying each
critical theme followed by case studies that grounded themes
in specific geographic regions.
William Kandel
New State-Level
Estimates From ARMS
In December 2003, ERS and the Farm Foundation hosted a workshop
in St. Louis, MO, to discuss opportunities to use new data
from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).
These data include statistically significant State-level
estimates for the 15 States with the largest value of agricultural
production, in addition to national and regional estimates.
About 100 participants from commodity groups, Federal and
State agencies, conservation groups, community groups, universities,
and the private sector shared information on how the new
data can be used to inform issues of importance to a wide
variety of stakeholders. Jim
Johnson
Food
Consumption Data Under Review
In December 2003, ERS hosted a meeting with representatives
of Federal statistical agencies to discuss a forthcoming review
of USDA’s food consumption data infrastructure by the
National Research Council’s Committee on National Statistics
(CNSTAT). Food consumption data are crucial to a wide range
of USDA activities, including assessing outcomes of food assistance
and nutrition programs, the effectiveness of dietary guidelines,
and the risk of foodborne illness, and conducting research
and providing market intelligence on U.S. food consumption
patterns. Surveys conducted by other Federal statistical agencies,
such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(Department of Health and Human Services) and the Consumer
Expenditure Surveys (Bureau of Labor Statistics) could be included
in the CNSTAT review. Nicole
Ballenger
Improving
Efficiency of Farmland Preservation Programs
Corbis
In November 2003, ERS, the Farm Foundation, and USDA’s
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Cooperative
State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
co-sponsored a workshop in Baltimore, MD, on how economic
research can be used to improve targeting of farmland preservation
program dollars. Participants included ERS and university
researchers, NRCS Farm and Ranchland Protection Program specialists,
CSREES land use specialists, State and local preservation
program administrators, and representatives from farmer and
nonprofit groups. Participants concluded that local variation
in program goals and diverse community preferences, among
other factors, make it difficult to incorporate economic
research results into a nationwide parcel-ranking tool, such
as the Environmental Benefit Index used for the Conservation
Reserve Program. But more can be done to use economic research
results to help inform the parcel selection process. Mary
Ahearn
