ERS economist Ruben
Lubowski recently delivered an address on Determinants
of Land-Use Change in the United States, 1982-1997 at
the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New
Haven, CT, as part of an interdisciplinary lecture series
sponsored by the Hixon Center for Urban Ecology. The series
provides different perspectives on policies aimed at environmentally
sustainable land development. Lubowski discussed the relative
importance of different land-use determinants for the U.S.
based on his econometric analysis of data from USDAs
National Resources Inventory (NRI).
Exemptions to
Methyl Bromide Ban
ERS researchers Craig
Osteen, Carmen Sandretto, and Margriet Caswell met with
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Methyl Bromide Critical
Use Exemption (CUE) Economics Review Team recently to discuss
improvements in the CUE application form and review process.
Exemptions can be made if there are no economically feasible
alternatives to the use of methyl bromide. In deciding which
applications to put forward to the parties of the Montreal
Protocol, the U.S. can consider whether the lack of methyl
bromide for a particular use would cause significant market
disruption (see article
in April 2003 Amber Waves). The ERS economists
helped EPA review the first application for an exemption to
the methyl bromide restriction last year. Applications from
the first round of petitions are currently under consideration
by the international Methyl Bromide Options Committee. The
next round is due in August.
Tracking the History
of Food Products
Traceability systems track the flow of food products through
the supply chain. Such systems could be used to manage issues
like bio-terrorism, country-of-origin labeling, Mad Cow disease,
and genetically engineered foods. Is mandatory traceability
a useful and appropriate policy choice? The answer partially
depends on whether firms will voluntarily supply traceability
data. ERS researchers are examining the rationale for and
extent of tracing in the U.S. food
chain and assessing where mandatory traceability may be desirable.
Barry Krissoff
Gauging Farmers’ Responses
to New Farm Programs
The 2002 Farm Act introduced counter-cyclical payments, a
new type of program that supports farm revenue for eight major
field crops when prices are low. Unlike traditional price
supports, payments are based on historical acreage and yields
and not current production. ERS researchers are looking to
see if counter-cyclical payments influence farmers' planting
and production decisions and, if so, how and to what extent?
Because counter-cyclical payments interact with other elements
of agricultural programs, like direct payments, marketing
loan benefits, and crop insurance, ERS is investigating these
interactions as well. Ed
Young