THE FREE

RIDER

THE USDA ECONOMISTS GROUP

WASHINGTON, DC

http://www.usdaeconomists.org

VOL. 21, NO. 2 MAY 2015

FROM THE PRESIDENT – STEVE NEFF

The summer is typically a slower season for the USDA Economists Group, with many members away on vacation. But those who remain may be more able to attend seminars, so if you have a topic you would like to speak about or a topic you think would be interesting to hear about, please contact a member of our Board - listed at the end of this newsletter – and let us know.

Since our last newsletter we had two excellent seminars: Jeffrey O”Hara from the Union of Concerned Scientists discussed how economic growth has influenced direct marketing of agricultural production, which had a call-in number to enable participation by teleconference, and Kim Rollins of the University of Nevada, Reno presented an overview of her research on invasive grasses and altered rangeland fire regimes.

If you have not paid your dues for 2015, please consider doing so. You can pay via Paypal at the “Join us!” button here: http://www.usdaeconomists.org/, or contact Treasurer Bill Janis (william.janis@fas.usda.gov).

Members and guests are always welcome at our monthly Board meetings in Room 4057-S, from 12-1. The next Board meeting is on May 12.

NEW MEMBERS

The USDA Economists Group welcomes the following new members:

Brian Healy

Bi Xiang

RECENT SEMINARS

On March 23, Kim Rollins, Professor of Economics at the University of Nevada, presented “Ecological Challenges and Economic Opportunities: Western Semi-Arid Rangelands,” an overview of her research portfolio that has dealt with invasive grasses and altered rangeland fire regimes that affect rangeland productivity. Her research covers the interaction between agricultural productivity and natural resources and the environment. She has collaborated with natural scientists addressing rangeland management issues.

On April 21, Jeffrey O”Hara, an Agricultural Economist in the Food & Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, presented a seminar entitled “The Influence of Economic Growth on Direct Marketing Agricultural Sales.” He discussed questions about how changes in the economic conditions in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) over time have influenced direct marketing agricultural production, the importance of the proximity of rural counties to MSAs, and the extent to which direct marketing sales have plateaued after two decades of growth. He has developed a gravity model to evaluate how the growth of direct marketing sales in the counties of 13 states was influenced by changing economic conditions in nearby urban areas. Preliminary results indicate that the proximity of a county to an MSA is less significant than the size of the MSA and that direct marketing sales may not have plateaued in the area considered.

MEMBER ACTIVITY

The Global Food Safety Forum (GFSF) announced the release of its 2015 White Paper, Food Safety Technologies: Key Tools for Compliance. Authors from the private and public sectors have written chapters dealing with technology development in food safety regulation over the last five years and the role of technology in enforcement and compliance. The White Paper covers the following topics”

• The link between strategic regulatory provisions and technology innovation.

• Quantifying risk of EMA (economically motivated adulterated product) and conducting content analysis using food safety technologies.

• Mitigating risk through food safety insurance.

• The advancement of food safety technologies in Asian countries with a spotlight on the cold chain, tracing and verification systems.

• Recent technology breakthroughs and their applications in food safety and prospective system technology innovation launches in the year ahead.

The ideas in the White Paper will be topics at the third Global Food Safety Forum to be held June 13-14 in Beijing. For additional details, please contact Eric Wu, Director of GFSF, at ericwu@gicgroup.com.

GFSF is a non-profit industry organization with a diverse membership base of leading multinational companies in the global food chain, Chinese companies, US state departments of agriculture, and trade associations. The GIC Group co-founded GFSF in 2010 to promote food safety in Asia. As a private-public platform, GFSF offers its members and government regulatory agencies opportunities for collaboration and information-sharing, technical assistance, new-e-course certified programs, and food safety liability and recall contamination insurance products.

RECENT RELEASES BY AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS

The Economics of Glyphosate Resistance Management in Corn and Soybean Production. Michael Livingston, Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo, Jesse Unger, Craig Osteen, David Schimmelpfennig, Tim Park, and Dayton Lambert (April 2015). Glyphosate, known by many trade names, including Roundup, is a highly effective herbicide. Widespread glyphosate use for corn and soybean has led to glyphosate resistance, which is now documented in 14 weed species affecting U.S. cropland, and recent surveys suggest that acreage with glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds is expanding. Data from USDA”s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), along with the Benchmark Study (conducted independently by plant scientists), are used to address several issues raised by the spread of GR weeds. Choices made by growers that could help manage glyphosate resistance include using glyphosate during fewer years, combining it with one or more alternative herbicides, and, most importantly, not applying glyphosate during consecutive growing seasons. As a result, managing glyphosate resistance is more cost effective than ignoring it, and after about 2 years, the cumulative impact of the returns received is higher when managing instead of ignoring resistance. Keywords: glyphosate, Roundup, corn, soybean, common property, resistance management practices, weeds, horseweed. Economic Research Report No. 184 (ERR-184) 52 pp.

economic conditions in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) over time have influenced direct marketing agricultural production, the importance of the proximity of rural counties to MSAs, and the extent to which direct marketing sales have plateaued after two decades of growth. He has developed a gravity model to evaluate how the growth of direct marketing sales in the counties of 13 states was influenced by changing economic conditions in nearby urban areas. Preliminary results indicate that the proximity of a county to an MSA is less significant than the size of the MSA and that direct marketing sales may not have plateaued in the area considered.

MEMBER ACTIVITY

The Global Food Safety Forum (GFSF) announced the release of its 2015 White Paper, Food Safety Technologies: Key Tools for Compliance. Authors from the private and public sectors have written chapters dealing with technology development in food safety regulation over the last five years and the role of technology in enforcement and compliance. The White Paper covers the following topics”

• The link between strategic regulatory provisions and technology innovation.

• Quantifying risk of EMA (economically motivated adulterated product) and conducting content analysis using food safety technologies.

• Mitigating risk through food safety insurance.

• The advancement of food safety technologies in Asian countries with a spotlight on the cold chain, tracing and verification systems.

• Recent technology breakthroughs and their applications in food safety and prospective system technology innovation launches in the year ahead.

The ideas in the White Paper will be topics at the third Global Food Safety Forum to be held June 13-14 in Beijing. For additional details, please contact Eric Wu, Director of GFSF, at ericwu@gicgroup.com.

GFSF is a non-profit industry organization with a diverse membership base of leading multinational companies in the global food chain, Chinese companies, US state departments of agriculture, and trade associations. The GIC Group co-founded GFSF in 2010 to promote food safety in Asia. As a private-public platform, GFSF offers its members and government regulatory agencies opportunities for collaboration and information-sharing, technical assistance, new-e-course certified programs, and food safety liability and recall contamination insurance products.

RECENT RELEASES BY AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS

The Economics of Glyphosate Resistance Management in Corn and Soybean Production. Michael Livingston, Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo, Jesse Unger, Craig Osteen, David Schimmelpfennig, Tim Park, and Dayton Lambert (April 2015). Glyphosate, known by many trade names, including Roundup, is a highly effective herbicide. Widespread glyphosate use for corn and soybean has led to glyphosate resistance, which is now documented in 14 weed species affecting U.S. cropland, and recent surveys suggest that acreage with glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds is expanding. Data from USDA”s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), along with the Benchmark Study (conducted independently by plant scientists), are used to address several issues raised by the spread of GR weeds. Choices made by growers that could help manage glyphosate resistance include using glyphosate during fewer years, combining it with one or more alternative herbicides, and, most importantly, not applying glyphosate during consecutive growing seasons. As a result, managing glyphosate resistance is more cost effective than ignoring it, and after about 2 years, the cumulative impact of the returns received is higher when managing instead of ignoring resistance. Keywords: glyphosate, Roundup, corn, soybean, common property, resistance management practices, weeds, horseweed. Economic Research Report No. 184 (ERR-184) 52 pp.

Using Crop Genetic Resources to Help Agriculture Adapt to Climate Change: Economics and Policy. Paul Heisey and Kelly Day-Rubenstein (April 2015). Climate change poses significant risks to future crop productivity as temperatures rise, rainfall patterns become more variable and pest and disease pressures increase. The use of crop genetic resources to develop varieties more tolerant to rapidly changing environmental conditions will be an important part of agricultural adaptation to climate change. Finding new genetic traits that can facilitate adaptation—and incorporating them into commercially successful varieties—is time-consuming, expensive, and technically difficult. The public-goods characteristics of genetic resources can create obstacles to rewards for private research and development. Because of insufficient private incentives, public-sector investment in the use of genetic resources will help determine the agricultural sector”s ability to maintain crop productivity, and for society as a whole, the potential benefits of public investment are large. The study authors find, however, that factors such as intellectual property rules for genetic resources and for research tools, or international agreements governing genetic resource exchange, have the potential both to promote and to hamper greater use of genetic resources for climate change adaptation. Keywords: Crop genetic resources, crop germplasm, climate change, plant breeding, agricultural resources. Economic Information Bulletin No. 139 (EIB-139) 29 pp.

JOBS FOR AGRICULTURAL ECONOMISTS AND RELATED PROFESSIONALS

The Jordan College Agricultural Sciences and Technology at California State University, Fresno is currently searching for a Dean. To access the position description and application details, please use the following link:

http://storbeckpimentel.com/resources/uploads/institution/Fresno_State_-_Dean_JCAST_-_PD.pdf

2015 USDA ECONOMISTS GROUP MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND RENEWAL

The USDA Economists Group is a responsible independent advocate for economics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Washington, DC community, the agricultural and resource economics profession, and society at large. The USDA Economists Group is not an official affiliate of the USDA.

USDA ECONOMISTS GROUP MEMBERSHIP IS OPEN, AND IS NOT RESTRICTED TO USDA EMPLOYEES.

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•Comments & Feedback Blog Forum (http://myblog.usdaeconomists.org)

•Professional recognition and annual awards

•Institutional link to AgEcon Search (http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/43092)

•Linkages to Society of Government Economists, National Association of Business Economics, National Economists Club

•Monthly USDA Economists Group meetings

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Bill Chambers (FSA)

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Other Past Presidents:

Henry Bahn (NIFA-retired),

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Felix Spinelli (NRCS-retired)

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Jim Jacobs (RD)

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THE USDA ECONOMISTS GROUP IS A RESPONSIBLE INDEPENDENT ADVOCATE FOR ECONOMISTS IN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, THE WASHINGTON, DC COMMUNITY, THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS PROFESSION, AND SOCIETY AT LARGE. THE USDA ECONOMISTS GROUP IS NOT AN OFFICIAL AFFILIATE OF THE USDA.

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              USDA Economists Group: Professionals using economics in daily activities May 2015