An Illustrated Guide to Research Findings from USDA's Economic Research Service

This book contains a sampling of recent ERS research illustrating the breadth of the Agency’s research on current policy issues: from biofuels to food consumption to land conservation to patterns of trade for agricultural products. What you won’t find in this collection is any mention of economists’ favorite analytic tools (regression analyses, for example, and coefficients of variation). We wanted this guide to highlight results, not process. Even so, the findings on display here are all based on rigorous and robust application of such tools as well as use of the latest econometric techniques.Farm Policy, Risk Management, Food Consumption, Food Nutrition Assistance, Conservation Policy, Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs, Food Security, Agricultural Productivity in the U.S., Farm Structure, Rural Population, Environmental Interactions, Invasive Species Management, Bioenergy, Global Food Markets, NAFTA, Organic Agriculture, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

Endangered Species and Irrigated Agriculture, Water Resource Competition in Western River Systems

This report characterizes several aspects of water allocation tradeoffs between fish species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act and agriculture in the American West. The geographic intersection between endangered/threatened (E/T) fish and agricultural production reliant on surface water for irrigation is identified. Three findings are: (1) 235 counties, representing 22 percent of the West\u27s counties, contain irrigated production that relies on water from rivers with E/T fish, (2) areas generating the highest revenues per acre from crop production are those most dependent on surface water irrigation, and (3) these same areas are also most likely to be drawing water from rivers that contain at least one E/T species

Sevier River Basin Floods 1852-1967

This chronology of Sevier River Basin floods extends from 1852 to 1967. Most common and destructive are dry mantle floods, which flow as a muddy mortar-like substance containing 40 to 55 percent water. Hundreds of tons of protective topsoil are removed from watershed lands, debris and boulders are picked up as the flow travels down steep stream channel gradients, and then the flood is debouched into communities and on to productive cropland

Estimating Forage Values for Grazing National Forest Lands

Every 5 years, the Forest Service is required to update its estimates of the value of Forest Service grazing. This report provides estimates of the maximum ability of ranchers to pay for Forest Service grazing. Abilities to pay vary greatly depending on the region of the country and assumptions about costs. Based on current cash costs, the value of Forest Service grazing is greater than the grazing fee. Based on longrun economic costs, the value of grazing is less than the grazing fee. In some regions of the United States, the longrun value of grazing is zero. These low longrun values reflect the low returns to cow/calf producers in the period on which this study was based

Federal Commodity Programs and Returns to Irrigation in the West

This report examines the impact of Federal commodity programs on returns to irrigation in the western United States. Returns to irrigation are defined as average returns to land, management, fixed capital, and water (above variable water cost), net of returns to dryland crop alternatives. Commodity market returns and program revenues per unit of applied irrigation water are estimated by field crop and subregion. Two representative study years - 1984 and 1987 - highlight the effect of differing commodity prices and program support levels under extreme market conditions. Aggregate returns to irrigation in western field-crop production were fairly constant over the two study years, averaging $33 per acre-foot of water. Program revenue contributions per unit-water were highest in the Southern and Northern Plains, and lowest in the Northern Mountain and Northern Pacific regions. Commodity programs had the greatest impact on returns to irrigation in rice and cotton production. Program contributions had the greatest impact on returns to irrigation in rice and cotton production. Program contributions per unit-water were relatively low for the major food and feed grains in 1984; contributions increased significantly with expanded deficiency payments and program enrollment in 1987. Under less favorable market conditions, positive returns to irrigation were largely dependent on commodity program supports. Commodity policy reform increases opportunities for water conservation in western irrigated agriculture

U.S. Grazing Lands: 1950-8

U.S. livestock owners grazed their herds on 817 million acres in 1982, down about 20 percent from 1950. This drop resulted primarily from improved productivity of grazing lands, as animal units of cattle and sheep increased more than 30 percent during 1950-82. Only the Southern Plains, of all farm production regions, showed an increase in land grazed during 1950-82. Non-Federal grazing land consisted of rangeland (67 percent), pastureland (21 percent), and grazed forest (12 percent). More than 30 percent of the non-Federal range and pasture was rated in good to excellent condition, and 12 percent of the grazed forest had very high or high forage value. This report examines grazing trends, demands, resources, and conditions of resources through 1982

Economic Research Service Climate Change Research

This document addresses how farmer, domestic and international markets respond to the new climate regime

Food Insecurity Is Associated with Increased Risk of Obesity in US College Students

Background Food insecurity affects millions of Americans and college students are especially vulnerable. Little is known about the relation of food insecurity with weight status and dietary intake during this critical phase of emerging adulthood. Objectives We aimed to examine the sex-specific associations of food insecurity with obesity and dietary intake among college students. The study also explored these associations by meal plan (MP) enrollment. Methods This cross-sectional study included 683 second-year students at 8 universities in the United States. Food security status and dietary intake were assessed using the USDA Adult Food Security Survey and the Dietary Screener Questionnaire, respectively. On-site anthropometrics were measured by researchers. Results The prevalence of food insecurity at the universities ranged from 19.0% to 34.1% with a mean of 25.4% for the entire sample. Compared with high food security, marginal food security and food insecurity were associated with 3.16 (95% CI: 1.55, 6.46) and 5.13 (95% CI: 2.63, 10.00) times increased odds of obesity, respectively, exhibiting a dose–response relation. Food insecurity remained a significant predictor of obesity among both sexes after adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Food-insecure (FI) students had a significantly lower intake of fruits and vegetables and higher intake of added sugars than food-secure (FS) students. Obesity rate and added sugars consumption were higher among FI students with MPs than among FI students lacking MPs and FS students regardless of MP status. Among students with MPs, FS students had a higher intake of fruits and vegetables than FI students. Conclusions Food insecurity was associated with obesity and poor dietary intake among both sexes. Although MP subsidies may be a reasoned approach to combat food insecurity, it should be coupled with efforts to assist students in making healthy food choices. Registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02941497

Water Conservation Through Irrigation Technology

Improved irrigation technology and advanced farm management practices offer an opportunity for agriculture to use water more efficiently. Farmers may install new equipment, such as drip irrigation systems, or adopt advanced water management practices to conserve water without sacrificing crop yields. While farmers\u27 decision to adopt water-saving irrigation technology responds to the cost of water, physical properties of the land such as topography or soil properties of the land such as topography or soil texture dominate the choice of irrigation technology