Time for Change in U.S. Farm Policy: Fundamental Reform Emphasizing Institutions Based on Agriculture’s ‘Multifunctionality’?

Agricultural Policy, Farm Subsidy, Subsidies

Working Lands Agri-environmental Policy Options and Issues for the Next United States Farm Bill

U.S. farm legislation is due to be updated in 2007, to become effective with the 2008 crop year. Major questions surround the role of environmental or conservation provisions in the new Federal farm bill. In this paper, I first present some background on the evolution of U.S. ‘agri-environmental policies’—policies encompassing conservation of agriculture’s natural resources and agriculture’s impact on the environment. I follow that with a brief discussion of the concept of ‘multifunctionality’ in agriculture, a concept that increasingly is driving discussions of agri-environmental policy options in Europe and the U.S. The subsequent section of the paper contains discussion of four broad alternative approaches to agri-environmental policy in the next farm bill. Then, there are sections on each of three specific agri-environmental programs and sets of policies: the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Security Program, and policies to support organic agriculture. I conclude the paper with my observations on prospects for fundamental reforms related to agri-environmental policies in the next farm bill.farm legislation, agri-environmental policy, conservation, farm bill

TOWARD MORE EFFECTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAMS

Multidisciplinary research and extension involving agricultural economics and sister agricultural disciplines entail several tensions arising out of differences in perspective and methodology. Recognition of these differences is essential to the achievement of effective and productive working relationships in farming systems and other multidisciplinary research and extension endeavors. Problems and means of addressing differences are covered in this article.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Iron and silicate dust growth in the Galactic interstellar medium: clues from element depletions

The interstellar abundances of refractory elements indicate a substantial depletion from the gas phase, that increases with gas density. Our recent model of dust evolution, based on hydrodynamic simulations of the lifecycle of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) proves that the observed trend for [Si$_{gas}$/H] is driven by a combination of dust growth by accretion in the cold diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) and efficient destruction by supernova (SN) shocks (Zhukovska et al. 2016). With an analytic model of dust evolution, we demonstrate that even with optimistic assumptions for the dust input from stars and without destruction of grains by SNe it is impossible to match the observed [Si$_{gas}$/H]$-n_H$ relation without growth in the ISM. We extend the framework developed in our previous work for silicates to include the evolution of iron grains and address a long-standing conundrum: ``Where is the interstellar iron?'. Much higher depletion of Fe in the warm neutral medium compared to Si is reproduced by the models, in which a large fraction of interstellar iron (70%) is locked as inclusions in silicate grains, where it is protected from sputtering by SN shocks. The slope of the observed [Fe$_{gas}$/H]$-n_H$ relation is reproduced if the remaining depleted iron resides in a population of metallic iron nanoparticles with sizes in the range of 1-10nm. Enhanced collision rates due to the Coulomb focusing are important for both silicate and iron dust models to match the observed slopes of the relations between depletion and density and the magnitudes of depletion at high density.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ, 15 pages, 9 figure

'Organic' and 'Conventional' Grain and Soybean Prices in the Northern Great Plains and Upper Midwest: 1995 through 2003

As part of the sustainable agriculture research program in the Economics Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU), ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ crop prices have been compared for nearly a decade. This pamphlet serves as an update of price comparisons through 2003 and a final conclusion of the price series comparison, which we will no longer continue. The pamphlet also contains brief reference to another source of organic price data (see the appendix). The information in this pamphlet should be of use to farmers and others considering management changes and investments related to organic agriculture, as well as to policy makers.organic foods, food prices, soybean, grain

Mecidea longula Stål (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Mecideini) is established in south Florida

A Caribbean species of Mecidea Dallas, M. longula Stål, apparently established in south Florida, is reported from the United States for the first time. Specimens were first collected in February 2008 in a light trap operated in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Collections in that trap have continued through the present. Searches near the trap location resulted in several specimens being taken from smutgrass, Sporobolus indicus (L.), an exotic grass now established throughout much of the southeastern United States. The three North American species of Mecidea are keyed and illustrated. In addition to the Florida locality, M. longula is reported for the first time from the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, St. Martin, and the Turks and Caicos Islands

Agricultural, Resource and Ecological Economics with a ‘Multifunctionality’ Perspective

It would seem that agriculture in industrialized countries is experiencing \u27the best of times\u27 and \u27the worst of times\u27. Productivity per unit of land and, consequently, aggregate food and fiber output have climbed dramatically since World War II. Food is generally \u27cheap\u27 relative to average per capita incomes. However, the costs of this abundance are becoming increasingly apparent. Drinking water supplies are becoming contaminated, bird and fish populations have declined, plant and animal biodiversity has been lost, and soil organic matter has declined. Also, agriculture appears increasingly vulnerable to human and animal health scares. Witness the recent outbreaks in Europe of \u27mad cow disease\u27 (bovine spongifonn encephalopathy, or BSE) and \u27foot and mouth disease\u27. Moreover, hired farm laborers and animal slaughtering house workers often are poorly paid and work in unsafe conditions. In spite of the abundant and cheap food supplies, poverty and malnutrition persist among some groups within the larger, affluent societies of industrialized countries. Persistently \u27low\u27 crop prices have caused governments to continue-and even increase-large direct payments to farmers to support their incomes. Add to these concerns the increasing economic concentration and vertical integration within both the agricultural supply sector and the agricultural processing and marketing sector that are causing farmers to feel ever more vulnerable to \u27market forces\u27

Agricultural Processing Possibilities in South Dakota: The Alcohol Fuels Case

Fuel alcohol production experience and prospects are addressed in this paper as a case example of agricultural processing development in South Dakota. The remarks here are based largely on interdisciplinary research at South Dakota State University (SDSU) in which I have participated over the past four years. This research, coupled with development experiences in fuel alcohol over the past few years, provides insights to prospects and limitations for furthering agricultural processing in South Dakota