Commodities that have an organized futures market have more price variability than those that do not. Price stabilization attained through stockholding activities creates gainers and losers from price stabilization policies. Technological/institutional developments and changed philosophy of farm policy add complexity to interrelations between futures and cash markets.

With trade tensions and economic fluctuations affecting agricultural trade, expanding market access has become important to the long-term prospect for U.S. agricultural exports. This article makes a case for expanding exports opportunities in ASEAN, a Southeast Asian regional bloc that is already an important partner for U.S. agricultural exports. Unlike many top trading partners, however, ASEAN has high growth potential, due to favorable demographic and macroeconomic conditions.

In 2007 and 2009, dairy farmers in the Southeast and Northeast filed lawsuits alleging that Dean Foods and Dairy Farmers of America had engaged in anticompetitive conduct that restricted competition in fluid milk markets in these regions. This article sheds light on competition issues revealed during the milk antitrust litigations.

Veterinary economics has long been focused on ensuring a safe food supply and examining the economic costs of controlling animal disease. However, recent work has highlighted the need for a broader scope of research. This article discusses how applied economists can engage with veterinary professionals to address these economic concerns.

Interest in opportunities for U.S. row crop producers to receive payments for sequestering carbon in their soils is increasing rapidly. While these programs address an important problem, challenges and questions remain that will need to be addressed to incentivize participation.

E-commerce has infused the food retailing and foodservice sectors with off-premises growth opportunities, and the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated this momentum. The “ghost” concept became popular among restaurants and grocery stores, allowing them to fulfil online orders without a brick-and-mortar store. Whether consumers will return to their pre-COVID behaviors remains uncertain.

Producing wine with grapes exposed to smoke from a wildfire can led to smoke taint—an ashy, burnt aftertaste in the wine. In recent years, wineries rejected delivery of contracted grapes due to smoke exposure, leading to strained relationships between growers and wineries, increased crop insurance claims, and lawsuits.

Emerging voluntary markets for carbon and ecosystem services rely on sustained adoption of regenerative agricultural practices. We evaluate regional patterns of disadoption of conservation practices over 2012–2017. National disadoption rates in cover crops and no-till averaged 15.60% and 39.38%, respectively. Large-scale disadoption poses a systemic risk to the emerging markets.

COVID-19 had a unique impact on the prices of various individual beef cuts. This impact was also through a different mechanism than in other market shocks. High-end cuts, like tenderloins, were disproportionately impacted as a result of restaurant closures. Relative pricing among beef cuts is underappreciated in current conversations about the meat market impacts of COVID-19.

We investigate how food banks were affected by the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Food bank interest in mid-2020 was better predicted by unemployment than by COVID-19 cases. We also find that food distribution at banks increased by an average of 44%; wait times also increased at most food banks.

Daily offering data for Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance for feeder cattle was used to measure the indemnity payments that could have been paid when prices rapidly declined during COVID-19. Findings show to policy makers and producers how LRP mitigated losses in recent years and during COVID-19.

This article describes how producers can use analog-based seasonal weather forecasts to make preharvest hedging decisions. Using past weather and strictly defined hedging criteria, results suggest producers would make additional net revenue per acre by using analogs-based seasonal forecasts while avoiding the financial cost of contract buyback in drought years.

Temporary closure and slowdown of meat processing plants due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in euthanasia or depopulation of livestock. We outline the methods of depopulation, federal programs to offset the associated costs and lost production value and estimate economic losses in 2020.

The rural Latinx population is growing but some small towns are fading. Can Latinx immigrants revitalize small town business? More supportive policies could help. Studies based on restricted Federal data show Latinx are under-represented in manufacturing ownership and could benefit from culturally appropriate business development programs geared toward business survival.

The Electronic Logging Device Mandate was signed into law in 2012 with the hope that it would improve transportation safety by electronically monitoring commercial drivers. Agricultural transportation, however, was exempt from the mandate until 2019. We find that compliance with the mandate will increase shipment costs and transportation times for fresh produce.

Public grazing fees are currently charged on a per head basis. We demonstrate how such a policy may contribute to the trend of increased average cow size. If public grazing fees were charged on an Animal Unit Equivalent, profit-driven producers might be better off with smaller cow sizes.
Link to published journal article: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/3575/

Hemp transitioned from a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States to a commercial crop with a growing market in just seven short years. Emerging U.S. hemp markets face challenges common in agriculture production, but the legal risk of exceeding a THC threshold compounds these risks.

Using a nationwide survey, we characterize the ways in which U.S. households spent their economic impact payments (EIPs) and investigate changes in household food purchasing in response to COVID-19. Most consumers allocated a significant fraction of their EIPs to food, with an increase in spending on canned food, dry goods, and snacks.

To assist producers affected by retaliatory tariffs, the USDA provided direct payments to producers in 2018 and 2019 under the MFP. This paper examines MFP payment rates at the county level and finds an increase in the 2019 payment rate for some producers who grew corn in 2019, while some producers who grew soybeans, saw smaller increases or a decrease in the 2019 rate.

Increasing student debt and its impacts on labor markets, entrepreneurship, and homeownership may drag down rural economies. Using declared interest on federal tax returns, this analysis finds higher rates of student debt negatively affect a variety of community economic outcomes, particularly in rural communities.

This article discusses U.S. beef production and its export markets, the significance of the U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the potential effects of the U.S.- Japan Trade Agreement on the competitiveness of U.S. beef in Japan.

Many fertilizer plant expansion announcements have been made, but only about half have been realized. In the highly concentrated U.S. fertilizer market, capacity announcements may be a strategic attempt to deter market entry or competitors' expansion. Ultimately, this could affect fertilizer prices observed by agricultural producers.

The U.S. nitrogen fertilizer industry has undergone contraction and growth cycles over the past 50 years. Policy, new technologies, and market forces contributed to this evolution. Assessing these historical dynamics and the industry's current state is critical for understanding how the fertilizer supply chain will function in the future.

The US grocery market was worth more than $600 billion in 2019 but only about 5% of this value is contributed by online purchases. With the projected growth in online grocery markets, we revisit how groceries get to the doorstep in the digital-shopping “place order online” era.

The 2018 Chinese tariffs on U.S. soybean contributed to a significant restructuring of the global soybean trade. We show that the new tariffs are also likely lead to land use change abroad. The extent of natural land cover losses in Brazil will depend on the durability of Brazil’s policies for environmental protection and land clearing.

The way in which the USDA Census of Agriculture counts farmers has transformed over time, limiting comparisons between years. Changes to the 2017 Census could be wrongly interpreted to suggest a significant increase in the number of women farmers and principal women farmers. We explain these changes, the caveats needed, and suggestions for more accurate comparisons.

The Pasture, Rangeland and Forage insurance program is designed to protect ranchers from poor grazing conditions. This article identifies a potential policy problem with the PRF program in the Intermountain West—insurance payouts may be heavily influenced by the addition or retirement of weather stations at high elevations.

Online media analytics and net sentiment provide insight into public perceptions about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Net sentiment facilitated evaluation of weekly positivity/negativity of online media and averaged 24% overall, dropping to -7% about relocation. Percentage of total USDA mentions about relocation peaked at 32% in summer 2019.

The growing Latin American livestock industry supports widespread economic growth and contributes to poverty reduction and increased food security in the region. Tradeoffs abound in the attainment of economic growth versus environmental objectives.

South Dakota is currently revisiting its highest and best use (HBU) policy for determining agricultural land assessments. We explore the impact on statewide assessments if the HBU policy were switched to an actual use (AU) policy or a most probable use (MPU) policy.

The smallest and most often overlooked component of the USDA trade aid packages is the additional funds allocated to the USDA Export Market Development Programs. This article measures the effects of those small allocations and the potential effects of a larger allocation of the trade aid funding to export promotion.

Land licensed for growing hemp in key producing states has increased ten-fold from 2017 to 2019. With over 300,000 acres authorized for production, will hemp farmers see positive returns? This article analyzes the market dynamics that will help determine current year and longer-term outcomes for the U.S. hemp industry.

Relevant public and private agriculture data in the United States tend to be decentralized and disorganized. Section 12618 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 is an important first step toward promoting research that will enable changes in agriculture policies and practices.

Direct marketing of agricultural products is a billion-dollar industry, but Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance costs may reduce short-term profitability. We discuss the results of a survey of California direct marketers. Respondents generally had negative perceptions of FSMA, and almost 40% were unfamiliar with the legislation.

On March 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to develop a tobacco product standard limiting the amount of nicotine in combusted cigarettes. While a product standard could have significant public health implications, it is likely to result in losses for tobacco growers.

We provide a quantitative assessment of possible impacts on U.S. agriculture from different trade policies: (i) implementation of the USMCA; (ii) the ongoing trade war between the United States and its key trading partners; (iii) the U.S. abandonment of the TPP; and (iv) the possible dissolution of NAFTA.

The farm labor supply from rural Mexico is decreasing, and household survey data from rural Mexico suggest that real U.S. farm wages would have to rise by more than 10% over 10 years to keep the U.S. farm labor supply constant. Labor-saving practices and mechanization will be required to keep U.S. agricultural production globally competitive.

We analyze the adoption of labor-saving technologies in the agricultural industry. Investment in new technologies should plan for a smaller, more educated workforce because the U.S. farm sector faces a long-term decline in labor supply and education is rising in regions that traditionally supplied workers to U.S. farms.

The most dramatic and controversial of the recent proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act involves the regulations surrounding listing and delisting species. Based on past economic analyses, we find that these proposed changes will likely increase the cost and decrease the benefit of species protection.

Cellular agriculture technologies create products that are either molecularly identical to or have proteins that are molecularly identical to animal products. This article discusses the current state of the cellular agriculture industry and explores key environmental, health, public perception issues as well as industry impacts.

Farmers may be interested in claiming remedies after farm data are misappropriated. Expert witnesses must valuate farm data within the farm gate and aggregated as a community for each player before estimating damages. Estimated actual damages, unjust enrichment, and reasonable royalty are presented from the farmer’s perspective and misappropriating defendant’s rebuttal.

This article provides a roadmap for assessing relative risks for agricultural production. Weather causes the lion’s share of crop loss in the United States. For Pacific region wine grapes, top drivers of crop loss were April frost, January/April/November freeze, summer heat, and cold, wet spring weather.

We examine whether crop insurance units are less risky if a part of a larger farm. Various farm bill proposals suggest capping the per farm subsidy. We provide a large-scale examination of large farms leaving crop insurance. We find large farms are less risky, but various factors mitigate the results.

Invasive species cause major damages to agriculture and the environment. We discuss the three phases of biological invasions and the strategies that policy makers have followed to address them. We argue that the magnitude of costs and chances of eradication are related to the time elapsed between invasion and policy response.

Responding to U.S. tariffs, China placed tariffs on U.S. exports of agricultural commodities. To compensate farmers for the impacts of the tariffs, the USDA is offering direct payments to producers. We estimate the farm-level impacts of these payments and find that they will over-compensate farmers for the effects of the Chinese tariffs.

The problem of poor profits in American agriculture is not well known to most Americans, nor policy makers. This article discusses how agricultural problems have changed over the past five decades, presents data showing that trends reported two decades ago have continued, and suggests alternative themes for future government policies.

Mexico’s extensive agricultural support program subsidizes production, postharvest management, marketing, and other activities throughout the supply chain. Government support, particularly for investments in protected agriculture and irrigation technologies, has been instrumental in the rapid growth of Mexico’s fruit and vegetable industry.

By examining China’s past strategies, we show that China’s trade retaliation responses follow three principles: responding proportionally with restraint, targeting products that are substitutable, and inflicting economic and political costs. We discuss China’s recent and ongoing trade retaliations in light of these principles.

Many rural areas of the United States are struggling economically but have abundant natural resources that could be used as feedstocks for producing aviation fuel. Recent research concludes that these alternatives are technically viable but are not cost-competitive with conventional fuels. This generally holds, even when the societal costs and benefits of different fuel types are taken into account.

Since the 1970s, the U.S. has had the privilege of not having to pay for all imports nor repay all foreign loans. From 2000–2016, $199 billion in imports annually were “free,” as were an equal number of annual federal expenditures. Rather than eliminate the trade and budget deficits, they should be reduced to their warranted levels. This article estimates the potential “warranted” deficits.

This study explores the exposure of rural communities to reductions in pension payments. We find that rural counties that attractively pursued retirement migration as an economic development policy are particularly at risk and a 50% reduction in payments can have substantial impacts on smaller rural communities.

This article uses financial information from Iowa farms to explore the relationship between ARC-CO payments and farm income, profitability, liquidity, solvency, and size. Rather than acting as a safety net for Iowa farmers, ARC-CO payments can be more accurately characterized as decoupled support.

This research examines how health insurance affects efforts to build a vibrant and resilient farm population. We find health insurance is a national farm policy issue tied to risk management, growing the next generation of farmers, farm succession and land transfer, rural jobs, and rural development.

Demand for organic food products has grown rapidly in recent years, but domestic production of organic crops has not always kept pace. We discuss the management, cultural, political, and market barriers that have discouraged the adoption of organic agriculture in the United States.

Historically, the sweetener trade between the United States and Mexico has been mired in disputes. These disputes are the result of competing economic and political interests of each country’s sugar and corn refiners’ associations. This article highlights potential issues surrounding sweetener trade in the NAFTA renegotiation.

This article analyzes the development of Whole Farm Revenue Protection—WFRP—as well as outcomes in its first two years. WFRP addresses adverse selection by expanding the size and diversity of the insurance pool and serves as a complement for buy-up insurance and a substitute for disaster assistance and catastrophic risk protection.

Optimization modeling was used to create two hypothetical healthy diets, one that minimizes changes from the current American diet and another that minimizes energy use. Both healthy diets reduce energy use in the U.S. food system, include animal-based foods, and maintain or reduce household food expenses.

Area-wide pest management is effective in controlling citrus greening. However,
the strategic uncertainty involved in relying on neighbors may impose too high of a cost
to many citrus growers in Florida, resulting in non-coordinating sprays.

Recent research suggests that agricultural export market development programs effectively communicate the distinguishing features of U.S. products to overseas buyers. These programs increase agricultural exports and producer welfare and typically have positive net effects on the economy as measured by changes in GDP and employment.

A national survey of tenured and untenured economists reveals how requirements and performance indicators in teaching, research, service, and grant funding have adjusted over time. While perceptions of what it takes to attain tenure have changed, self-motivation and support from colleagues are now key to earning promotion and tenure in U.S. higher education.

The election of 2016 was a “system” election. Neither candidate was popular. Voters either affirmed or rejected the performance of the American version of a market economy. That economy has failed people in a large swath of the country. The Electoral College performed as our founders intended. All people matter.

Recent advances in biotechnology are generating new tools for pest and disease control in agriculture. One such technology, the gene drive, potentially allows humans to eliminate or alter entire pest populations using new genetic engineering tools. But with these potential benefits come risks and regulatory questions.

Growing African incomes and populations are expected to lead to increasing demand for food products and investment opportunities throughout African food value chains. Investment opportunities in African agriculture are best understood by considering the implementation of the mutual accountability processes which provide pivotal entry points for private sector engagement.

The 2016 election brought attention to issues facing rural communities and people. The election brought a renewed focus to finding solutions to persistent challenges, could encourage greater cooperation among policy stakeholders, and underscores the importance of identifying opportunities which give residents more of a voice in their businesses and communities.

New businesses in rural America have higher five-year survival rates than their urban counterparts. This is likely due to lower opportunity costs in rural communities along with different perceptions of risk. If rural communities are to have vibrant economies they must reenergize their efforts aimed at supporting entrepreneurship.

Rising atmospheric Greenhouse Gas levels have increased the possibility of environmental regulation across several industries. The dairy industry is a major contributor of emissions and an important economic sector of agriculture. The costs of any potential regulations are expected to have significant impacts on the structure of the dairy sector.

Despite the resumption of U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015, U.S. sales of agricultural products to Cuba continued the decline that started in 2009—until April of 2016. If the embargo is lifted, the United States could reacquire an important role as an economic and trading partner for Cuba.

Landowner surveys reveal four inconvenient truths about the potential economic supply of land for bioenergy crops. Land supply is highly price inelastic, corn stover is the most readily available cellulosic biomass, landowners prefer to supply cropland rather than non-crop marginal land, and existing farm enterprises—especially dairy—pose high opportunity costs.

The proposed mergers of biotech firms will likely affect the prices in agricultural seed markets. Because these mergers are likely to affect the competitiveness of the markets and no new seed firms are likely to enter the market, seed prices for corn, soybean, and especially cotton are expected to rise.

Most of the public attention in the making of a Farm Bill is focused on the farm safety net. U.S. farm producer groups are very active participants in the development of these programs. Multiple groups develop and communicate proposals and push their ideas in the farm bill debate.

Bromley’s (2015) paper “Correcting the Whimsies of U.S. Fisheries Policy” critiques economists’ role in U.S. fisheries policy, but the issues are not unique to the United States. There are alternate valid perspectives regarding the give-away of ITQs, lack of stewardship, resource rent and communities, and criticism of Gordon and Hardin.

Systems to improve grower compliance with labor laws are developing in the produce industry. The evolution of food safety compliance systems offers lessons. A proliferation of programs and labels may lead to grower pressure to develop government industry-wide standards. Current systems are in need of evaluations.

Young and beginning farm households benefit from the continued trend of increasing off-farm income. The agricultural boom created opportunity to bring young people back to the farm. As record farm profits fade, the role of off-farm income as a risk management tool in these households will only grow.

The Morrill Act of 1862 provided the legislation to establish the Land Grant College System with a mission of educating the "common person." At this time of income inequality, the 1862 institutions should provide leadership and service to its sister institutions of Tribal Colleges, Historically Black Colleges, and Hispanic Serving Institutions.

Though beginning farmers were present on over 20% of U.S. farms in 2014, fewer than half reported any debt. While most farms with debt received credit entirely from commercial lenders, USDA’s Farm Service Agency was an important credit source. One-in-seven indebted farms with a beginning farmer had an FSA loan.

Deforestation is a factor in climate change and a driver of deforestation is the conversion of land to agricultural uses. Much of the world’s deforestation occurs in countries that heavily subsidize farmers’ use of fertilizer, water, or credit. By working together to reform policies, both developed and tropical countries can better support farmers, reduce pollution, and protect forests.

Transatlantic tensions over agricultural trade go back to 1963, when a “Chicken War” broke out over the tariffs imposed on United States exports of poultry. Now the tension revolves around health and safety regulations. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will highlight these disagreements, and point the way to convergence.

Recent federal lawsuits are using federal water pollution control laws to change manure application and farm field fertilizer applications. Financial, technological and project support should be used to protect water supplies through productive use of excess nitrates rather than restricting farm field use of nitrogen necessary for maximum crop production.

Conversations about food production are becoming more mainstream and the Food Democracy is partly to thank for that. However, in these conversations, the tradeoffs between various production methods and price are not discussed enough. Society would benefit greatly from an honest discussion about the tradeoffs of different production methods.

Those who demonize modern agricultural production methods are not always advocating for noble social goals as sometimes argued in the food democracy movement. Some are seeking to limit the use of productive technologies in the service of their own market interest. Incentives can be altered by demanding assertions be science-based.

Public support for government involvement in assisting farmers adapt to climate change is higher than for adaptation more generally. Furthermore, results of a Michigan survey found views varied over the course of a warm spell. Accurately interpreting public opinion is critical for effective policy formulation and decision making.

EPA recently released the final rule for RFS volume requirements, using general waiver authority to reduce the statutory mandate. EPA interprets the phrase ‘inadequate domestic supply’ in the waiver to permit including the blend wall in its determination. Legal precedent raises questions about EPA's interpretation.

Adding value to agricultural products through processing, product segregation, and other avenues is important to small farms, consumers, and rural economies. However, definitions of “value-added” can be conflicting and confusing. This paper adapts a comprehensive definition and conceptual framework to meet the needs of a variety of stakeholders.

Agricultural production restrictions implemented by organizations of dairy and potato producers in the United States, resulted in a number of antitrust lawsuits filed by direct and indirect purchasers. Organizations presumed that agricultural production restrictions were protected by the Capper-Volstead Act (1922), a limited antitrust exemption from the Sherman Act (1890).

Labor shortages and immigration issues have been major challenges for U.S. agriculture, particularly the labor intensive specialty crop industry. The Florida strawberry industry has been particularly challenged, while imports from Mexico have risen dramatically. But growers have been slow to embrace H-2A workers due to issues of the program.

Fishery policy is based on a false notion of property rights, belief that industry profits measure economic efficiency, and utopian visions of stewardship. These fictions arise from bogus economic models created by a small incestuous group of fishery economists. Public policy demands intellectual integrity.

The modern food system is beseted by criticism from numerous angles, though most of the food movements could be grouped under the term ‘Food Democracy’. However diverse as its members may be, there is a theme among Food Democracy activists, and that is an opposition to big corporations in food.

Private-public data partnerships have the potential to advance agricultural knowledge infrastructures while benefiting farmers, agribusinesses and the environment. These partnerships could collect information that improves on-farm management, food quality, and science-based environmental management. New communication technologies could lower the cost of better data while preserving privacy and confidentiality.

Under the 2014 farm bill producers had the option of choosing among programs and are then bound by these elections for the life of the farm bill. Average projected payments are expected to peak in 2015 and then decline. U.S. support is unlikely to exceed limits under current World Trade Organization rules, but other trade issues remain.

The national agricultural land base is not at significant risk from urbanization. Prime farmland, however, is dwindling rapidly in certain states and metropolitan areas. USDA's National Resources Inventory allows us to identify particular states where preservation should be a priority.

The WTO Brazil cotton case uniquely influenced the 2014 farm bill, proving that the WTO is still relevant. Upland cotton was treated “specifically” and “ambitiously” in the farm bill, and such treatment would never have happened but for the legal and moral pressures brought within the WTO.

Economic and ecological processes act together to support pollinator health and productivity. Improved ecosystem functioning and land management can boost pollinator populations. Market, non-market, behavioral and institutional economic tools exist for effective and efficient pollinator conservation policies.

Established 20 years ago, the Uruguay Round Agriculture Agreement (URAA) has been successfully shifting the types of agricultural support away from policies that distort international trade. Unfortunately, the prospects for continued progress in reducing the trade-distorting effects of agricultural policies, through either multilateral or regional trade agreements are not promising.

While milk production has moved south and west for decades, recent years have witnessed revitalization and growth in traditional dairy states. Large dairy producers surveyed about location preferences reveal that feed and water are of paramount importance.

Cropland that is vulnerable to pollutant losses often contributes a disproportionate share of pollutants. Farmers operating on this land who are motivated most strongly by production-related metrics may not voluntarily adopt conservation practices. Policy approaches that raise the personal value of improving environmental quality may improve the likelihood of adoption.

The U.S. broiler industry is often considered as the typical model of industrialized agriculture. Recent evidence on mergers and acquisitions in the industry seems to be indicating that the competition in the markets for contract grower services is improving in the core producing regions of the country.

Since 2000, Russia has become increasingly important for world agriculture, as a big grain exporter and a large agricultural and food importer. However, the economic crisis that began in 2014 is disrupting the country’s agricultural production and distribution, as well as world agricultural markets, and is also hurting Russian consumers.

Many agricultural sectors increasingly rely on negotiated contracts, with related benefits and risks for producers and agribusinesses. Expanding current risk management policy and education efforts to include potential marketing and pricing risks could help producers capitalize on opportunities in agri-food supply chains increasingly linked through contractual agreements.

The United States has made significant investments to improve its existing rural broadband infrastructure with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This article summarizes progress on rural broadband adoption and how it can be boosted using experiential learning projects directed by land-grant university faculty.

Citrus greening is a plant disease that reduces the marketable yield of infected citrus trees and often makes them economically unprofitable. Since its observation in Florida in 2005, greening has spread throughout the state and caused significant economic losses for citrus producers.

Precision agriculture's maturation into "big data" requires reliable high-speed connectivity. Using the 2012 Census of Agriculture and the National Broadband Map to evaluate connectivity relative to crop production reveals that high-production counties are relatively well-connected. However, there are pockets of inadequate connectivity for adopting "big data" technologies.

The North American fair trade market is at a critical stage in development. Private standards and label claims promote goods based on ethical, social and environmental attributes. Frequently also claiming to be organic, these products are becoming harder to compare as competing standards make the market more complex.

Consumers' preferences and concerns for food- and meat-related issues have been tracked over the past 16 months. While current events have led to spikes in concern for and awareness of issues like E. coli and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), demands for meat products have remained steady despite high prices and adverse news events.

College education is increasingly important in this knowledge-driven economy. Yet rural areas face challenges with the supply of and demand for workers with a post-high school education. Despite these challenges, there are hopeful signs of a place for the college-educated in the rural economy, especially in the health and education sectors.

Since the Cooperative Extension System was first built by the Smith-Lever Act in 1914, it has yielded economic benefits in many ways. Extension's program portfolios varied through time and across regions to address evolving mission priorities and tightening budget constraints. There are also challenges awaiting Extension in its second century.

In recent years, food writers have mixed industry study, micro-history, and social commentary to present strong opinions about the modern food system’s impact on health and the environment and to advise consumers and policy makers what they should be doing about it. This article briefly summarizes the economic arguments of two prominent food books-Michael Pollan’s Cooked and Michael Moss’s Sugar, Salt, and Fat—along with Jayson Lusk’s book Food Police which critiques the food writing genre as a whole.

Evidence suggests that the shrinking effect on farm labor supply of stricter immigration laws has been more apparent in the more labor-intensive vegetable sector of counties adopting the 287(g) program. State-level evidence might become more evident as stronger policies are adopted that can bring about more drastic changes in the farm sector.

A key 2014 farm bill issue is whether commodity program payments should be made on current planted acres or historical base acres? This issue encompasses the broad issues of acreage shifts, Title I program design, and shift to insurance-type programs. Each is discussed, along with trade-offs and strategic considerations.

USDA's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a cost effective approach to providing nutrition education in some of the nation’s households with limited resources. Programs are implemented differently across the states and an analysis of these differences provides some lessons about how states might improve their EFNEP program effectiveness.

Farm program payment distributions are examined for four regions of the country. This analysis reveals some fresh insights into the distribution of farm program payments and how it could change with a new farm bill that should inform the debate about the economic effects of farm programs.

Policies supporting the biofuels industry largely rely on mandates for Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS). In light of the lack of progress in developing cellulosic technology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its proposed 2014 RFS which significantly differ from the current RFS. The issues that led to the new proposed 2014 standards and a possible way forward are considered.

The federal statistical system is a collection of data and administrative information on population, economics, health, and natural resources and is the ultimate public good, critically important for the analysis done by applied economists. Federal statistical agencies are considering how to rank priorities in anticipation of difficult budget decisions in the near future.

The USDA elected to eliminate a key set of estimates for the dairy sector under sequestration. If this is an indication of the vulnerability of certain reports to future tight budgets, what are the implications? The 2013 cuts are described, including from the point of view of Thomas Wegner, director of economics and dairy policy, Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Over 25 states are considering proposals to label foods with GE ingredients. Two states have conditionally passed such legislation and voters in Washington State will decide on the issue in the November election. This paper explores arguments for and against mandatory labeling.

High-quality state and local data have helped American businesses to be more productive and create jobs, helped governments to be more effective and accountable, and helped educators train the next generation of economic development experts. Existing and threatened federal budget cuts to data collection threaten to undermine these advantages.

Nearly $1.6 billion was missing from more than 27,000 customer accounts when MF Global, one of the world’s leading futures brokerage firms, failed in October 2011. This article reviews the events leading to MF Global's collapse and highlights the need for better protections against the misuse of customer funds.

The differing tax treatment of farm income for American Indian/Alaska Native producers causes serious issues. This includes the complexities associated with agricultural tax issues on tribal lands and tax implications when dealing with USDA programs. Possible solutions and policy options are discussed.

Food security and decreased production concerns have likely prompted multinational agribusinesses to vertically integrate procurement, transportation, and export of Northern Great Plains wheat. Resulting grain demand increases may have already changed land conservation behaviors. Potential longer run implications include decreased competition for grain and structural changes to wheat production areas and marketing.

While the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act improves food safety incentives, only 0.05% of U.S. foodborne illnesses are linked to the causative food now. New pathogen tests, coupled with policies to improve information in the marketplace, have the potential to reduce the risk of foodborne illness and their Long Term Health Outcomes.

Improving conservation program efficiency requires collecting, analyzing, and using natural resource data. USDA has a long history of collecting natural resource information, but data collection is not enough. Policy makers must support data collection, analysis, and validation over time and data must be useful for policy decision-making and adaptive management.

Research suggests the Critical Access Hospital program maintained rural access through increased revenue, profitability, and quality of hospitals with relatively minor decreases in cost efficiency. Improved performance through increased revenue brought about by the program may provide insight into new health policies such as the Affordable Care Act.

The 2013 Farm Bill is being written as Congress searches for ways to reduce federal spending on discretionary programs. Some farm subsidies are likely to be reduced and others discontinued. In the context of the current policy environment, we examine which programs may survive unscathed and which may not.

The new USDA microloan program addresses organic farms’ concern that their loan requests have been usually dismissed by lenders as too small. However, this article lays out issues raised by organic farmers that lenders need to take into consideration for better lender-borrower relationships and successful implementation of micro lending operations.

One important agricultural productivity measure—total factor productivity—is showing rapid growth at the global level led by improved performance in developing countries. Growth is uneven, however, across and within countries. Policies driving productivity growth include investments in research and rural education, economic and institutional reforms, and improved infrastructure.

Despite recent policy changes, mandated use of ethanol in the United States continues under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The RFS, in combination with limited domestic demand, has distorted trade patterns through an ethanol shuffle. Lower world sugar prices mean that this could be replaced by ethanol tourism.