C-FARE Info

The Nature of the Cooperative

The Nature of the Cooperative. This publication is a reprint of five articles that examine the nature of cooperatives and their place the free-market economy (originally published in the Rural Cooperatives magazine).

Food Price Outlook, 2011 and 2012

USDA ERS recently released, "The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food is probably the most widely used indicator of changes in retail food prices. ERS regularly updates food price forecasts for the short-term period. In 2011, the CPI for all food is projected to increase 3.25 to 3.75 percent. ERS’s food price outlook is available for November 2011." For more details click here.

AGree Provides U.S. Farm Policy Programs Primer

AGree, an initiative designed to transform long-term agricultural, food and rural policy issues, has released a new report, “Review of U.S. Farm Programs,” that provides a comprehensive overview of federal farm programs (farm support, disaster assistance, insurance, specialty crop and conservation programs), including historical background and information about the distribution of benefits. It is the first in a series of backgrounders the initiative is publishing to lay the groundwork for common understanding in discussions across diverse stakeholders on the future of food and agriculture policy. The report was authored by Stephanie Mercier, former chief economist for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and does not necessarily represent the views of AGree, the initiative said. AGree commissioned the report in an effort to provide context for discussions on the complex issue of U.S. farm support policy, a hot topic of the current debate on the federal agriculture budget and the Farm Bill. Beginning at the onset of farm support in America, the report covers how the U.S. arrived at its current policy nearly 80 years later, noting, “Policy makers have not moved very far from their original rationale, even though the structure and composition of U.S. agriculture has changed considerably.” AGree has also posted webcasts of Mercier presenting a PowerPoint slide summary of the report and a PowerPoint slide overview of federal agriculture spending. The report and webcasts can be found on AGree’s website at: http://www.foodandagpolicy.org/policy/introduction.

IFPRI Launches Unique New Tool That Provides Early Warning of Extreme Price Variability

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) launched the Excessive Food Price Variability Early Warning System on July 6, 2011. This new tool measures excessive food price variability and is the only mechanism currently available to identify time spans of increased price variability. It is updated daily and forewarns policymakers and humanitarian agencies of periods of time with excessive food price variability. According to their press release, “By providing an early warning system to alert the world of price abnormalities for key commodities in the global agricultural markets, policymakers and other stakeholders can make better informed plans and decisions, including whether or when to release stocks from emergency grain reserves. Timely, accurate, and transparent market information is important for addressing food price volatility and achieving the ultimate goal of improving food security, especially among poor people in developing countries.”

Food Price Outlook, 2011

USDA ERS’s food price outlook is available for May 2011. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food is probably the most widely used indicator of changes in retail food prices. ERS regularly updates food price forecasts for the short-term period. In 2011, the CPI for all food is projected to increase 3 to 4 percent.

Foodborne Illness Cost Calculator

This interactive USDA ERS web-based tool allows users to estimate the cost of illness due to specific foodborne pathogens. The updated ERS cost estimate for Shiga-toxin producing E. coli O157 (STEC O157) was added to the Calculator in 2008. Calculator users can now review and change the assumptions behind the ERS cost estimates for either STEC O157 or Salmonella. The assumptions that can be modified include the annual number of cases, the distribution of cases by severity, the use or costs of medical care, the amount or value of time lost from work, the costs of premature death, and the disutility costs for nonfatal cases. Users can also update the cost estimate for inflation for any year from 1997 to 2010.

ERS Report: Impacts of Regional Approaches To Rural Development: Initial Evidence On The Delta Regional Authority

USDA ERS recently released this publication: “The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) began funding rural development projects in economically distressed counties in the Mississippi River Delta region in 2002. To assess the initial economic outcomes of DRA funding, we compared nonmetropolitan DRA counties with similar counties elsewhere in the same region as well as in the Southeast. Per capita income, net earnings, and transfer payments grew more rapidly in DRA counties than in similar non-DRA counties, and those impacts were stronger in counties in which DRA spending was higher. Each additional dollar of DRA spending was associated with an increase of $15 in the growth of annual personal income from 2002 to 2007, including an increase of $8 in annual earnings (primarily in the health care and social services sector) and an additional $5 in annual transfer (Government) payments (mainly due to increased medical transfer payments such as Medicare and Medicaid). Our findings suggest that investments supported by the DRA in improved medical facilities and DRA efforts to increase the supply of health professionals may be promoting additional health sector earnings and medical transfer payments.”

A New Era in Real Agricultural Prices?

Today farmdoc Daily posted an interesting piece on "A New Era in Real Agricultural Prices? ." Read below.

"In posts on March 29, April 5, and April 12 we examined crop and livestock price behavior in the new era that began to emerge in Fall 2006. Each of these posts was based on the behavior of nominal prices, so that the effects of changes in the general price level over time were not considered. Focusing on nominal prices made sense in the previous posts because farmers make marketing decisions using nominal prices. From a broader economic perspective, it is actually real, or inflation-adjusted, prices that matter. A simple example will help to explain why. If someone has $100 of income and purchases a basket of goods for an average price of $10, they can purchase 10 ‘baskets’ of the goods. Now let the person’s income and all prices double, so they have $200 of income and the average price of the basket of goods is $20. Is the person better off? Of course not— since they can still only purchase 10 baskets of the goods."

International Evidence on Food Consumption Patterns: An Update Using 2005 International Comparison Program Data

ERS Recently released this information. “In a 2003 report, International Evidence on Food Consumption Patterns, ERS economists estimated income and price elasticities of demand for broad consumption categories and food categories across 114 countries using 1996 International Comparison Program (ICP) data. This report updates that analysis with an estimated two-stage demand system across 144 countries using 2005 ICP data. Advances in ICP data collection since 1996 led to better results and more accurate income and price elasticity estimates. Low-income countries spend a greater portion of their budget on necessities, such as food, while richer countries spend a greater proportion of their income on luxuries, such as recreation. Low-value staples, such as cereals, account for a larger share of the food budget in poorer countries, while high-value food items are a larger share of the food budget in richer countries. Overall, low-income countries are more responsive to changes in income and food prices and, therefore, make larger adjustments to their food consumption pattern when incomes and prices change. However, adjustments to price and income changes are not uniform across all food categories. Staple food consumption changes the least, while consumption of higher-value food items changes the most."

The Food Assistance Landscape, FY 2010

ERS recently released information on the FY2010 Food Assistance Landscape. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers 15 domestic food and nutrition programs that provide a nutritional safety net for millions of children and low-income adults. The programs, which serve one in four Americans at some point during the year, are especially important during economic downturns. Accounting for over two-thirds of USDA’s budget, the programs represent a significant Federal investment. USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) conducts studies and evaluations of these programs. This report is based on preliminary data from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the agency responsible for managing the programs. Trends in the food and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal 2010 (October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010) are examined. ERS research reports released in 2010 also are summarized.”