EFFECTS ON THE USSR OF THE 1980 U.S. EMBARGO ON AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS

The 1980 U.S. embargo on agricultural exports to the USSR had little short-term effect on the Soviet feed/livestock sector because Soviet grain stocks and grain, oilseed, and animal products from other countries were available. In the longer term, other factors in addition to the embargo—decreased Soviet grain production, a shortage of hard currency, and deteriorating terms of trade for energy exports versus agricultural imports—caused the Soviets to rethink their policy of increased dependence on grain imports. The embargo did result in an immediate and substantial reduction in the U.S. shares of the Soviet grain and oilseed markets. Uncertainties about U.S. intentions with regard to extending or renegotiating the long-term grain agreement may have further discouraged the Soviets from increasing the U.S. market shares in the 2 years after the embargo. Since then, other factors, including increased sensitivity to grain prices and increased competition among grain-exporting countries, have held U.S. shares below pre-embargo levels

U.S.S. R. Agricultural Trade, August 1991

This report provides an overview of the factors affecting Soviet agricultural trade and the main patterns in Soviet agricultural trade, with special emphasis on grain and soybean trade. About 95 p(!rcent of U.s. agricultural exports and 70 percent of total U.S. exports to the USSR have been grains and oilseeds. This report's 54 tables provide a detailed statistical summary of USSR agricultural trade, with special emphasis on imports from and exports to the United States. Copies of the U.S.-USSR long-term grain agreements are included

Growing Energy: Land for Biomass Farms

Biomass crops grown for energy conversion require high-quality land to maximize energy gain and minimize environmental hazards. The shortage of such land may hinder development of energy farms. Most of the 760 million acres of classes I-IV rural land of sufficient quality to support biomass production would need considerable conservation measures to overcome inherent development problems. Furthermore, alternative sources of food and fiber production would need to be found if the land were diverted to energy farms

Dynamics of Land Use in Fast Growth Areas

Land use and land use changes between 1961 and 1970 were interpreted from Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) 1:20,000 scale photography for 53 rapid-growth counties. In these counties, which experienced about 20 percent of the total U.S. population increase between 1960 and 1970, urban land accounted for 16 percent of the area in 1970, up from 13 percent in 1961. Of land developed for urban use in the 53-county aggregate between 1961 and 1970, 35 percent had been cropland, 28 percent forest, and 33 percent open idle. Regionally, the amount of urban development on various types of rural land differed considerably. While total land in rural uses remained relatively the same over the period, shifts among rural uses were an important aspect of land use change. The average amount of land urbanized per person increase in population for the 53-county total was .173 acres. While this per capita ratio varied regionally, in all regions new urban development occurred at a higher density than had previous urban development

USING AREA POINT SAMPLES AND AIRPHOTOS TO ESTIMATE LAND USE CHANGE

A two-stage sample of airphoto prints and point sampling was used to examine changes in land use patterns in 53 selected counties that had grown rapidly and substantially in population between 1960 and 1970. Point sampling, 20 points per square mile, was used on a sample of airphoto prints approximating 15 percent of the land area to study 12 categories of rural and urban land use. This approach evolved from experience with different scales of photos, areal samples of photos, random traverses, and point sampling in varying combination. This technique, an inexpensive one, resulted in data that satisfactorily correlated with comparable data from other sources and provided detail on the dynamics of land use change