C-FARE Info

Research on the Joint Contributions of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program of the USDA Economic Research Service announces the availability of funds and a request for applications to conduct research on operational issues of USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program, or FSP) and its support for the working poor. In particular, ERS seeks research that addresses: (a) operational issues regarding SNAP participation decisions and the dynamics of program participation among low-income households with workers, and (b) the interactions between receipt of SNAP benefits and State Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, especially during the current recession. ERS believes the issues can best be addressed by careful analysis of linked program administrative data from the SNAP and UI programs. The deadline for proposal submission is February 17, 2010.

The Consumer Data and Information Program: Sowing the Seeds of Research

“In response to the growing need for improved data collection related to food consumption, the Economic Research Service began implementing the Consumer Data and Information Program (CDIP) in ERS Fiscal Year 2005.” They recently released this report, which states that the “CDIP investments provide data to help understand price changes, market demand, and consumer reactions to unforeseen events and disruptions. In addition, the data indicate how market developments and consumer knowledge shape diet quality and health outcomes, thus helping policy officials assess performance of the U.S. food and agriculture system." Visit the USDA ERS website to view the report entitled, "The Consumer Data and Information Program: Sowing the Seeds of Research."

USDA and HHS Food Safety Working Group Update on Import Food Safety Center

Recently Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius commended the Department of Homeland Security for opening a center devoted to ensuring the safety of foods imported to the United States. The Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC) for Import Safety is operating under the direction of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It was created on the recommendation of President Obama's Food Safety Working Group, which is charged with advising the President on how to upgrade the U.S. food safety system for the 21st century. For more information of the Food Safety Working Group, please visit their website. View the USDA Release.

Recent USDA ERS DatelinERS Newsletter

The DatelinERS newsletter offers concise summaries of ERS reports and events with links to areas within their website.

USDA Releases First Draft of Proposed Crop Insurance Agreement to Protect Farmers From Higher Costs, Rein in Costs, and Improve Access to Crop Insurance Throughout the Country

USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA), which administers the Federal crop insurance program, recently released the first draft of a proposed new Standard Reinsurance Agreement between the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and the crop insurance companies which deliver the program nationally. The 2008 Farm Bill authorized RMA to renegotiate the agreement which was last negotiated for 2005.

RMA expects to notify the companies at the end of 2009 that the current agreement will be canceled as of June 30, 2010, paving the way for this new agreement to be signed by all parties.

The proposed new Standard Reinsurance Agreement includes six primary objectives which RMA hopes to obtain in renegotiation of the agreement: (1) Maintains producer access to critical risk management tools; (2) Align Administrative and Operating (A&O) subsidy to insurance companies closer to actual delivery costs; (3) Provide a reasonable rate of return to insurance companies; (4) Protect producers from higher costs while equalizing reinsurance performance across States to more effectively reach under-served producers, commodities and areas; (5) Simplify provisions to make the SRA more understandable and transparent; and (6) Enhance program integrity.

In preparation for these negotiations, RMA contracted with an internationally known company, Milliman Inc., to review historical rates of return and determine what a reasonable rate of return is for the crop insurance industry.  See the full oneline report.  Also, view the USDA Press Release for more details.

New USDA Study Helps Identify Strategies to Improve Nutrition of School Meals

On December 2, USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) released a study Meeting Total Fat Requirements for School Lunches, which finds that many school policies and practices are associated with the fat content of meals they serve through the National School Lunch Program. An earlier USDA report had found that while most schools met requirements for vitamins, protein, calcium, and iron, only one in five schools serve lunches that met the USDA standard for total fat (constituting 30 percent or less of the calories). View the USDA press release.

Farm Household Economics Well-Being and Farm Income Data

USDA ERS recently released estimates of farm sector income with component accounts for the United States, 1910-2009; and for States, 1949-2008.

USDA ERS also recently released new information in the Farm Household Economics and Well-Being briefing room. The briefing room focuses on indicators of the economic well-being of the households of the principal operators of family farms. It includes USDA's latest forecast for 2009. Indicators of well-being include household income and wealth (from both farm and off-farm sources), and indicators of health insurance coverage. The briefing room compares the financial well-being of farm households relative to all U.S. households, identifies the contributions of off-farm employment, non-farm self-employment, transfer payments, and financial market investments in household income, and discusses how taxes influence both income and wealth. The briefing room also describes the demographic characteristics of the principal farm operator households and how members of these households allocate their time to farm and off-farm work.

Assuring Safety of Imported Foods: Public and Private Roles in a Risk-Based System

On February 1-2, 2010 The Food Safety Research Consortium (FSRC) will hold a two-day workshop that will bring together participants from the private sector, government, academia, and advocacy communities to discuss the challenges and opportunities of a risk-based approach to food import safety built on coordinated roles of government and industry. The goal of the workshop is to make concrete and actionable recommendations on how such a system might be implemented. The workshop will be held at the RFF Conference Center at 1616 P St, NW, Washington, DC. Visit their website for registration information.

NIFA Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative

The OREI seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning and ecosystem integration. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives. Refer to the USDA National Organic Program (http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop) for organic production standards. For details view the grant announcement. Application deadline is February 9, 2010.

Research on Integrity in Collaborative Research

The grant announcement encourages research grant applications from institutions/organizations that propose to study research integrity as it relates to collaborative interactions and/or activities. The R21 exploratory/developmental mechanism will be used to foster research where there are few published data and where problem areas that would benefit from further investigation could be identified. The proposed project must challenge existing paradigms, be developed around an innovative hypothesis or address critical barriers to progress in understanding the multiple factors that underlie deviation from integrity in collaborative research. Proposals must have clear relevance to biomedical, behavioral health sciences, or health services research. Applicants are encouraged to take into consideration problems or issues that have relevance to the specific interests of ORI or NIH Institutes and Centers.