Late summer reading: Catch up here on recent reports
August 29, 2013 | 09:51 PM
Many organizations and government agencies have issued important reports over the summer on issues ranging from farm income and the farm bill to nutrition and obesity. Here is a list of reports and links to them.
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a report Tuesday showing that farm income is forecast to increase 6 percent in 2013.
Meanwhile the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute released its baseline update for agricultural markets and FAPRI economist Pat Westhoff told Bloomberg that the real issue is what farm incomes will be in a year if commodity prices are as low as projected.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics has released an overview of farm bill conference issues complied by Gary Schnitkey of that department and Carl Zulauf
of the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at The Ohio State University
Economic consultant Stephanie Mercier, a former chief economist for the Senate Agriculture Committee, presented a chart on agriculture policy issues outside the farm bill to the American Association of Agricultural Economists.
The Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service and the Federal Reserve banks in Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas all released studies on farm land values.
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a report on farm size showing that the midpoint acreage in the U.S. nearly doubled between 1982 and 2007, from 589 acres to 1,105.
The midpoint acreage is the point at which half of all acres are on farms with more cropland than the midpoint, and half are on farms with less.
The Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources and Conservation Service has released two reports on the impact of NRCS activities.
One report assesses the effects of conservation practices on cultivated land in the Lower Mississippi River Basin. The other evaluates the value of farm bill programs to the lesser prairie-chicken.
The American Sugar Alliance has released a revised and updated study of “Brazil’s Hidden Sugar Subsidies” by Patrick Chatenay, founder of ProSunergy, Ltd., a sugar and bio-energy strategic analysis consulting firm.
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a report Tuesday showing that school children who are offered more fruits and vegetables eat more, but that some children are rejecting the unknown foods.
USDA ERS — Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by School Lunch Participants: Implications for the Success of New Nutrition Standards
— Report Summary
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that some schools are dropping out of the school meals program on the grounds that students don’t like the new healthier foods.
But the Agriculture Department responded with a blog post issued as a news release that the vast majority of schools are implementing the new rules and providing links to schools around the country.
The AP story reported that the School Nutrition Association said that 1 percent of schools planned to drop out and 3 percent were considering it, but did not provide any numbers beyond that.
Share Our Strength has published a survey that says most kindergarten and elementary school teachers regularly see hungry children and spend money out of their own pockets to get them food.
The organization backs an expansion of school breakfast, and its work in that area is sponsored by C&S Wholesale Grocers, Kellogg’s and Weight Watchers.
The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service Office of Policy Support released a “white paper” on The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) that says that the foods USDA provides for TEFAP are more nutritious and healthier than in the past.
The report, written by Mathematica, a consulting firm, also said there is limited research available on the diet quality of TEFAP participants and the role of TEFAP USDA foods in their diets.
The Centers for Disease Control released a report showing that 18 states and one U.S. territory experienced a decline in obesity rates among preschool children from low-income families, while the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a state-by-state report showing that adult obesity remains level but high.
The obesity rates vary from Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, where almost 35 percent of the population is obese, to Colorado, where only 20.5 percent are obese.
The Agriculture Department’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services released a report on how much it will cost to raise a child born in 2012 until the child is 18 years old.
Feeding America has published a statement on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program citing “facts, myths and realities.”
The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service Office of Policy Support released a study showing that the rate of trafficking in SNAP or food stamp benefits between 2009 and 2011 has remained low, but that trafficking has increased as the number of participants in the program and the number of convenience stores authorized to provide benefits have grown.
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a study on the decline in the real value of SNAP benefits due to inflation from 2009 to 2011:
FARM INCOME
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a report Tuesday showing that farm income is forecast to increase 6 percent in 2013.
Meanwhile the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute released its baseline update for agricultural markets and FAPRI economist Pat Westhoff told Bloomberg that the real issue is what farm incomes will be in a year if commodity prices are as low as projected.
- USDA ERS 2013 Farm Sector Income Forecast
- FAPRI August 2013 Baseline Update for U.S. Agricultural Markets
FARM BILL AND OTHER POLICIES
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics has released an overview of farm bill conference issues complied by Gary Schnitkey of that department and Carl Zulauf
of the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at The Ohio State University
- Carl Zulauf/Gary Schnitkey — Farm Bill Conference Issues
- Carl Zulauf/Gary Schnitkey — 2013 Farm Bill Update: July 2013
Economic consultant Stephanie Mercier, a former chief economist for the Senate Agriculture Committee, presented a chart on agriculture policy issues outside the farm bill to the American Association of Agricultural Economists.
FARMLAND VALUES AND SIZE
The Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service and the Federal Reserve banks in Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas all released studies on farm land values.
- USDA NASS — Land Values: 2013 Summary
- Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago — Farmland Values and Credit Conditions
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — Ag Survey Shows Farmland Values Continued to Rise During Second Quarter 2013
- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — Quarterly Survey of Agricultural Credit Conditions in the 11th Federal Reserve District
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a report on farm size showing that the midpoint acreage in the U.S. nearly doubled between 1982 and 2007, from 589 acres to 1,105.
The midpoint acreage is the point at which half of all acres are on farms with more cropland than the midpoint, and half are on farms with less.
CONSERVATION IMPACTS
The Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources and Conservation Service has released two reports on the impact of NRCS activities.
One report assesses the effects of conservation practices on cultivated land in the Lower Mississippi River Basin. The other evaluates the value of farm bill programs to the lesser prairie-chicken.
- USDA NRCS — Assessment of the Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Lower Mississippi River Basin
- — Summary of Findings
- — Key Findings
- Evaluation of Farm Bill Programs to Benefit Lesser Prairie Chicken
SUGAR AND BRAZILIAN SUBSIDIES
The American Sugar Alliance has released a revised and updated study of “Brazil’s Hidden Sugar Subsidies” by Patrick Chatenay, founder of ProSunergy, Ltd., a sugar and bio-energy strategic analysis consulting firm.
SCHOOL MEALS
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a report Tuesday showing that school children who are offered more fruits and vegetables eat more, but that some children are rejecting the unknown foods.
USDA ERS — Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by School Lunch Participants: Implications for the Success of New Nutrition Standards
— Report Summary
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that some schools are dropping out of the school meals program on the grounds that students don’t like the new healthier foods.
But the Agriculture Department responded with a blog post issued as a news release that the vast majority of schools are implementing the new rules and providing links to schools around the country.
The AP story reported that the School Nutrition Association said that 1 percent of schools planned to drop out and 3 percent were considering it, but did not provide any numbers beyond that.
- AP: Some school districts quit healthier lunch program
- USDA: Schools Around the Country Successfully Implementing New Meal Standards
Share Our Strength has published a survey that says most kindergarten and elementary school teachers regularly see hungry children and spend money out of their own pockets to get them food.
The organization backs an expansion of school breakfast, and its work in that area is sponsored by C&S Wholesale Grocers, Kellogg’s and Weight Watchers.
NUTRITION AND OBESITY
The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service Office of Policy Support released a “white paper” on The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) that says that the foods USDA provides for TEFAP are more nutritious and healthier than in the past.
The report, written by Mathematica, a consulting firm, also said there is limited research available on the diet quality of TEFAP participants and the role of TEFAP USDA foods in their diets.
The Centers for Disease Control released a report showing that 18 states and one U.S. territory experienced a decline in obesity rates among preschool children from low-income families, while the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a state-by-state report showing that adult obesity remains level but high.
The obesity rates vary from Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, where almost 35 percent of the population is obese, to Colorado, where only 20.5 percent are obese.
- Centers for Disease Control — Progress on Childhood Obesity
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future
The Agriculture Department’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services released a report on how much it will cost to raise a child born in 2012 until the child is 18 years old.
- USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotions – Expenditures on Children by Families, 2012
- — Cost of Raising a Child Calculator
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Feeding America has published a statement on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program citing “facts, myths and realities.”
The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service Office of Policy Support released a study showing that the rate of trafficking in SNAP or food stamp benefits between 2009 and 2011 has remained low, but that trafficking has increased as the number of participants in the program and the number of convenience stores authorized to provide benefits have grown.
The Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service released a study on the decline in the real value of SNAP benefits due to inflation from 2009 to 2011:
