Newsroom

Previous Newsroom Items: March 2011


Spotlight

	Japan: Current Issues (Mar. 23, 2011) Find information about agriculture in Japan’s prefectures most seriously affected by the recent natural disasters, as well as estimates of Japan’s stocks, and the importance of U.S. agricultural trade with Japan.

New From ERS

	NAFTA at 17 (Mar. 31, 2011) In the last of a congressionally mandated series, ERS reports on the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on U.S. agriculture and the rural economy following full implementation of the agricultural provisions.

	Comparing Measures of Ag Support by Countries (Mar. 31, 2011) Measures of countries’ support to their farm sectors can be highly contested in trade negotiations. ERS presents a framework for analyzing differences between the two key systems (WTO and OECD) used to measure support levels. Get Report Summary

	Will Events in Japan Affect Rice Markets? (Mar. 28, 2011) Despite the severe costs in human lives and property, the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan will likely have little impact on the global rice market and trading prices.

	Diverse Structure of Beef Cow-Calf Farms (Mar. 28, 2011) The beef cow-calf industry is characterized by large numbers of small farms, although large farms account for most of the production. Operators of beef cow-calf farms have varying goals for their cattle enterprises. Get Report Summary

	Food Assistance Landscape (Mar. 23, 2011) ERS reports trends in USDA’s food and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal 2010. Federal expenditures for these programs totaled $94.8 billion in fiscal 2010, 20 percent above fiscal 2009.