ERS Data and Analysis Can Shed More
Light on Current Events
In the News |
Canada Confirms New BSE Case (Wires, February 26, 2008) |
From ERS |
Did BSE Announcements Reduce Beef Purchases? ERS examines retail purchases of beef and beef products for evidence of response to the 2003 government announcements of finding cows infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Deviations from established purchase patterns following the announcements varied across beef products, but were limited to no more than 2 weeks in all cases.
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In the News |
Farm Sector Heads For Another Strong Year (Reuters, February 21, 2008) |
From ERS |
USDA Agricultural Projections to 2017. The Interagency Agricultural Projections Committee produces the Long-Term Projections report annually. Projections cover agricultural commodities, agricultural trade, and aggregate indicators of the sector, such as farm income and food prices.
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In the News |
Biotech Crops Gain Acreage Worldwide (Associated Press, February 13; Dailies, February 14, 2008) |
From ERS |
The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States. ERS summarizes the impact of developments in agricultural biotechnology on seed suppliers and other biotech firms, farmers, and consumers, as well as environmental impacts.
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In the News |
U.S. Food Aid Costs Up in First Half of FY2008 (Reuters, February 13, 2008) |
From ERS |
Rising Food Prices Intensify Food Insecurity in Developing Countries. The use of food crops for biofuels, coupled with greater food demand, has reversed the path of declining price trends for several commodities. For highly import-dependent or highly food-insecure countries, any decline in import capacity stemming from rising food prices can have challenging food security implications.
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In the News |
Administration May Compromise on Farm Payment Income Caps (Reuters, February 11, 2008) |
From ERS |
Effects of Reducing the Income Cap on Eligibility for Farm Program Payments. The current $2.5-million income cap on eligibility for farm program payments affects only a small number of farm program payment recipients each year. ERS estimates the number of farm operators likely to be affected by reducing the income eligibility cap for receiving commodity payments, from $2.5 million to $200,000.
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In the News |
USDA To Grant Conditional License for E. Coli Vaccine (Wires, February 5, 2008) |
From ERS |
Food Safety Innovation in the United States: Evidence from the Meat Industry. Recent industry innovations improving the safety of the Nation's meat supply include new pathogen tests, high-tech equipment, supply chain management systems, and surveillance networks. The industry has also developed a number of mechanisms to stimulate investment in food safety innovations despite fairly weak market incentives.
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In the News |
Ben and Jerry’s in Hormone Labeling Dispute with Monsanto (Dow Jones, February 5, 2008) |
From ERS |
Economics of Food Labeling. ERS traces the economic theory behind food labeling and presents three case studies in which the government has intervened in labeling and two examples in which government intervention has been proposed.
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previous economics behind the headlines
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