ERS Data and Analysis Can Shed More
Light on Current Events
In the News |
Higher Food Prices
Could Continue (Chicago Tribune, June 29,
2007 ) |
From ERS |
Rising
Food Prices (Requires Windows
Media Player). Retail food price inflation
has accelerated in 2007 as higher commodity
and energy prices have begun to work their
way through the food price system. A USDA
news video focuses on ERS forecasts and analysis
on the main factors impacting retail food
price inflation, and provides insight into
what is likely to occur for the rest of 2007.
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In the News |
House Committee
Votes to Boost Long-Term Food Aid Funding
(Congressional Quarterly, Reuters, June
26, 2007) |
From ERS |
Fifty
Years of U.S. Food Aid and Its Role in Reducing
World Hunger. The global quantity of food
aid has fluctuated over the last two decades,
and its share has declined relative to both
total agricultural exports from food aid suppliers
and total food imports of low-income countries.
As major donor nations reduce market support
to agriculture due to budget constraints as
well as to comply with their commitments to
the World Trade Organization, decreases in
surplus food production could follow, increasing
the costs of food aid.
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In the News |
Aging Farm Population
Generates Concern in Ag-Dependent Communities
(Gannett News Service, June 22, 2007) |
From ERS |
Structure
and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm Report,
2007 Edition. One of the most striking
characteristics of U.S. agriculture is the
advanced age of principal farm operators compared
with other self-employed workers. About 27
percent of farm operators reported their age
as 65 or older in 2004, compared to 8 percent
of self-employed workers in nonagricultural
industries. Younger farmers enter the business
at a slow rate, which tends to increase the
average age for farmers as a whole.
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In the News |
Drought Affecting
Over a Third of U.S. (Chicago Tribune,
June 19, 2007) |
From ERS |
Drought
is a Recurring Risk Faced by Agricultural
Producers. Over the past 112 years, an
average of 7 percent of U.S. agricultural
land has experienced severe or extreme drought
each year. In 1988 and 2002, about 20 percent
of acreage was affected. In 2006, about 12
percent of the agricultural land experienced
severe, extreme, or exceptional drought.
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In the News |
China’s
Expanding Deserts Overtaking Farms on Marginal
Land (Associated Press, June 17, 2007) |
From ERS |
China's
Agricultural Water Policy Reforms: Increasing
Investment, Resolving Conflicts, and Revising
Incentives. Water shortages in important
grain-producing regions of China may significantly
affect its agricultural production potential
and international markets. Falling ground-water
tables and disruption of surface-water deliveries
to industrial and agricultural regions have
provoked concern that a more dramatic crisis
is looming unless effective water conservation
policies are put into place rapidly.
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In the News |
FDA Safety Initiative
Targets Tomatoes (Wires, June 14, 2007) |
From ERS |
Outbreak
Linked to Spinach Forces Reassessment of Food
Safety Practices. While the risk of contracting
a foodborne illness from eating spinach is
low, spinach and leafy greens have been associated
with numerous outbreaks due to contamination.
Many growers have adopted voluntary Food and
Drug Administration guidelines to reduce the
risk of microbial contamination. A recent
foodborne illness outbreak forced the California
spinach and the broader leafy green industry
to consider new approaches to food safety.
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In the News |
Editorial: Expand
and Broaden Food Stamp Program (Detroit
Free Press, June 13, 2007) |
From ERS |
Improving
Food Choices – Can Food Stamps Do More?
Over time, the program has changed from primarily
focusing on getting a sufficient quantity
of food, to an increased emphasis on also
choosing healthful foods with high nutritional
quality. Proposed strategies for improving
diets of program participants include restricting
the types of foods purchasable with food stamp
benefits, and bonuses or vouchers for buying
healthful foods.
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In the News |
Activists Assail
Slow Progress in Reducing Gulf “Dead
Zone” (Times-Picayune, New Orleans,
June 13, 2007) |
From ERS |
“Dead
Zone” in the Gulf: Addressing Agriculture’s
Contribution. Scientists believe that
the Northern Gulf of Mexico’s oxygen-deficient
condition is caused by nitrogen loads from
the Mississippi River. ERS compared the cost
effectiveness of both farm-based reductions
in nitrogen fertilizer use and wetland restoration,
and found that the relative strength of each
strategy depended on size of the targeted
nitrogen reduction for the Mississippi basin.
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In the News
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Wheat Futures
Reach 7-Year High (Wall Street Journal,
June 12, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Wheat
Outlook. U.S. wheat ending stocks for
2007/08 are projected down 26 million bushels
in June as lower production and higher projected
exports more than offset a small increase
in forecast carry-in. The 2007/08 marketing
year average farm price is projected up, reflecting
tighter world supplies. |
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In the News
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Soybean Prices
Rising With Reduced Acreage and Higher Demand
(Associated Press, June 11, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Oilseeds
Outlook. USDA raised its 2007/08 price
forecast by 15 cents in June to $6.65-$7.65
per bushel. Much of the increase derives from
a robust market for soybean oil. ERS provides
a monthly update of market developments for
soybeans, other oilseeds, and their products. |
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In the News
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House, Senate
Chairs Differ Over County-of-Origin Labeling
(Congress Daily, June 6, 2007) |
| From ERS |
Mandatory
Country-of-Origin Labeling—Will It Benefit
Consumers? The 2002 Farm Act specified
mandatory country-of-origin labeling for a
number of retail food commodities. If "Made
in USA" labels are beneficial to food
suppliers—and important to consumers—why
don't we see them more frequently? |
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See
previous economics behind the headlines
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