Monday, July 6, 2020

Members in the News: Glauber, Janzen, Hendricks, Liang, Kumar, Lusk, Davis, Richards, Anderson, Batabyal, Swinnen, Sumner, Miao... et al.

Joseph Glauber, IFPRI
Trump Farm Bailouts Raise Risks of Reprisals From Trade Partners
By: Bloomberg - June 18, 2020
As a result, the WTO might count a total lower than the Environmental Working Group’s calculation -- probably between $30 billion and $34 billion for 2019, which still far exceeds the treaty limit, former U.S. Agriculture Department chief economist, Joe Glauber said.
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Read more on: Bloomberg
Joseph Glauber, IFPRI
Joseph Janzen, University of Kansas
Nathan Hendricks, University of Kansas
Farm Income, Stressed This Year, May Drop Sharply in 2021
By: Successful Farming - June 16, 2020
U.S. farm income, under pressure this year from the trade war and coronavirus pandemic, could fall off a cliff next year when record-setting federal payments are due to end. The plunge in income could be avoided by cost-cutting on the farm, a recovery in commodity demand, or a new multibillion-dollar round of federal aid, but those are far from assured, say analysts in early assessments.
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Read more on: Successful Farming
Kathleen Liang, North Carolina A&T State University
National Institute of Food and Ag Invests $90 Million in Nine Projects
By: Successful Farming - June 22, 2020
The awards support nine projects at eight institutions addressing issues that include animal, human, plant, and environmental health. This research investment is the second installment of a new program within NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Sustainable Agricultural Systems program. AFRI is the nation’s leading and largest competitive grants program for agricultural sciences.
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Read more on: Successful Farming
Anjani Kumar, IFPRI
More symbolic than punitive — start designing policies which support Atmanirbhar Bharat
By: Financial Express - June 26, 2020
In the wake of the recent Indo-China conflict in the Galwan Valley, a section of Indians are clamouring for a boycott of Chinese products and promotion of domestic manufacturing. This emotional outrage is justified. With Indo-China relations becoming acrimonious due to the worst conflict at the border in the last 60 years, Indian consumers are hoping to hit China economically. Indo-China economic and trade relations are unlikely to become normal in the coming months, especially if border tensions get aggravated. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision and the “vocal for local” call looks set to promote Indian manufacturers, and this can also affect India-China economic relations.
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Read more on: Financial Express
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Alison Davis, University of Kentucky
Timothy Richards, Arizona State University
John Anderson, University of Arkansas
Avocados to walnuts: industry's response to pandemic
By: Produce Market Guide - June 25, 2020
A panel of agricultural economists will present highlights of CAST’s “Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Food and Agricultural Markets.” The paper examines economic factors of the pandemic on the agricultural sector, according to a news release. Topics include supply chain, consumer behavior, foodservice and grocery sectors, ag labor and food waste.

The agriculture economists participating in the seminar are:
  • Jayson Lusk, Purdue University;
  • Alison Davis, University of Kentucky;
  • Timothy Richards, Arizona State University; and
  • John Anderson, University of Arkansas.
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Read more on: Produce Market Guide
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
A selective retreat from trade with China makes sense for the United States
By: The Conversation - June 25, 2020
Trade tensions and mistrust are escalating between the U.S. and China. Soon after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that China recommitted to its January trade deal obligations after a face-to-face meeting with Beijing’s top diplomat on June 17, he upbraided the country for using disinformation to drive a wedge between Europe and the U.S. President Trump, meanwhile, is attempting to use his tough stance with Beijing as a foreign policy selling point.
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Read more on: The Conversation
Johan Swinnen, IFPRI
"I see parallels with the collapse of the Eastern Bloc"
By: Frankfurter Allgemeine - June 19, 2020
The consequences of the corona crisis are particularly evident in developing countries. Are they facing great famines? The head of the International Research Institute for Food Policy explains how big the danger is - and what helps.
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Read more on: Frankfurter Allgemeine
Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis
Ruiqing Miao, Auburn University
Tradeoff between Short-Term and Long-Term Risk Management Tools
By: Farms.com - June 25, 2020
A few studies show that the United States in the first two decades of the 21st century was much drier than normal (e.g., Hoerling et al. 2014; Williams et al. 2015), and part of the country perhaps is entering a ‘megadrought’ period that has not been seen since late 1500s (Williams et al. 2020). US farmers have various tools to manage production risks caused by droughts, such as crop insurance and drought-tolerant crop varieties. However, a recent study published in European Review of Agricultural Economics provides evidence that farmers’ long-run capacity to battle with droughts via drought-tolerant crop varieties may be hindered by the prevalence of crop insurance.
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Read more on: Farms.com
Johnathan Coppess, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University
Production Controls & Set Aside Acres, Part 1: Reviewing History
By: Farms.com - June 29, 2020
Low prices, trade conflict and a global pandemic are producing a potential perfect storm of problems for the farm economy that a flood of federal payments is unlikely to address (farmdoc daily, June 10, 2020).  Whispered comments and quietly tentative questions about production controls and set aside acres are getting louder, more insistent.  Whatever follows in the wake of this troubled year will likely require a substantial rethinking of federal farm policy.  With that in mind, this article initiates a series discussing policies that seek to control production, including setting acres aside (i.e., not planting those acres to cash crops), with a review of the history for these policies.
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Read more on: Farms.com
Stephen Koontz, Colorado State University
Meat shortages reopen costly path to smaller US plants
By: Global Rubber Markets, The Gulf Time Emirates Business, & Farms.com - June 27, 2020
Large plants can typically operate for $100 less per head than smaller operators, and those costs are taken out of farmer profits, said Stephen Koontz, a professor at Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences who’s studied the economics of packing plants. If farmers are paid less, they typically shrink the size of their herds which results in higher meat prices for consumers, he said.
Alan Ker, University of Guelph
Dissatisfaction with AgriStability is no surprise, Guelph prof says
By: National Newswatch - June 26, 2020
Farmer dissatisfaction with AgriStability during recent years should be no surprise, says Alan Ker, the Ontario Agricultural College Research Chair in Agricultural Risk and Policy.
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Read more on: National Newswatch
Keith Coble, Mississippi State University
David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley
Jeffrey Dorfman, University of Georgia
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
John Anderson, University of Arkansas
Alison Davis, University of Kentucky
Brenna Ellison, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Allen Featherstone, Kansas State University
Jason Grant, Virginia Tech
Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Todd Hubbs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Scott Irwin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sarah Low, University of Missouri
Josh Maples, Mississippi State University
Jill McCluskey, Washington State University
Brandon McFadden, University of Delaware
Rodolfo Nayga, University of Arkansas
Timothy Richards, Arizona State University
Bradley Rickard, Cornell University
Lee Schulz, Iowa State University
Ian Sheldon, The Ohio State University
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
Norbert Wilson, Tufts University
CAST Releases New Commentary on "Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Food and Agricultural Markets"
By: Decatur Daily Democrat, WRCB, Big Spring Herald, Mammoth Times, NewsOK, The Inyo Register, The Punxsutawney Spirit, The Antlers American, The Kane Republican, The Pilot News, The Saline Courier, WBOC, Wapakoneta Daily News, The Post & Mail, The Community Post, The Ridgway Record, The Evening Leader, Finanzen.at, Daily Herald, Winslow, Evans & Crocker, Inc., Starkville Daily News, The Observer News Enterprise, Sweetwater Reporter, Chronicle Journal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, myMotherLode, Markets Insider, BizWire Express, Spoke, & National Hog Farmer - June 29, 2020
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) and the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) have partnered together on a new paper, "Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Food and Agricultural Markets." This publication contains insights from 29 experts and is now available for download.
 
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Know another AAEA Member who has made statewide, national, or international news? Send a link of the article to Jessica Weister at jweister@aaea.org.
What research and topics are you working on? Want to be an expert source for journalists working on a story? Contact Allison Scheetz at ascheetz@aaea.org.
*Disclaimer - This email is to acknowledge citations of current AAEA members and/or their research in any public media channel. AAEA does not agree nor disagree with the views or attitudes of cited outside publications.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Free Commentary: Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Food and Agricultural Markets


 This paper examines the many economic factors and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the agriculture sector. In efforts to slow down the spread of COVID-19, many states and countries shut down several economic areas such as tourism and entertainment venues, restaurants, personal services, and some manufacturing facilities. This has led many areas into a recession. The authors of this paper examine the effects this recession has on these topics: macroeconomics; trade; supply chain; consumer behavior; food service/grocery; meat processing; forestry and wood products; local food systems; food waste; food insecurity; major commodity crops; agricultural finance; agricultural labor; rural health care; and research and outreach priorities.

Co-chairs: Jayson Lusk, Purdue University and John D. Anderson, University of Arkansas

QTA2020-3, 44 pp., June 2020, Available free online.
https://www.cast-science.org/publication/economic-impacts-of-covid-19-on-food-and-agricultural-markets/
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Monday, June 29, 2020

Members in the News: Malone, Michelson, Hart, Zhang, Lusk, Cochran, Bellemare, Wang, Ortega, Gerlt, Sumner, Gomez... et al.

Trey Malone, Michigan State University
Grocery items getting more expensive and alternatives to buy instead
By: MSN & U.S. News & World Report - June 25, 2020
"I actually think we're on the downward slope of price increases," says Trey Malone, a Michigan State University assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics. Now that the supply chain has adjusted to some of the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, prices should begin to normalize.
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Read more on: MSN & U.S. News & World Report
Hope Michelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A 'resilient' food system built on systemic vulnerabilities
By: Agri-Pulse - June 24, 2020
Images of COVID-related shocks to the American food system have stunned many of us: long lines of cars waiting at foodbanks; farmers dumping milk and burying onions and cabbages to compost back into the soil; empty shelves at grocery stores. The ironies are blunt: too much supply in some places, but too little on the shelves in others. 
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Read more on: Agri-Pulse
Chad Hart, Iowa State University
Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Mark Cochran, University of Arkansas
Fryar foundation gives $10 million to University of Arkansas System
By: Talk Business & Politics - June 25, 2020
“The generosity of Ed, Michelle and the Fryar family will transform the capacity of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness into national leadership in the scholarship of price risk management in the areas of research, teaching and extension,” said Mark Cochran, vice president of agriculture for the UA System.
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Read more on: Talk Business & Politics
Marc Bellemare, University of Minnesota
Holly Wang, Purdue University
David Ortega, Michigan State University
White Lily Flour Has Long Held a Near-Mythological Status in the South. Now It’s Everywhere.
By: Eater - June 18, 2020
White Lily declined to comment on the expanded distribution to Eater, but David Ortega, an associate professor in the department of agriculture, food and resource economics at Michigan State University, points out that some of the recent flour distribution quirks can be tied to the significant loss of major wholesale customers like food service and bakeries, combined with high demand at the retail level. “One of the major obstacles to this switch was packaging,” he says over email — which means that any flour company that had recently stocked up on retail-size bags found itself best prepared to meet demand.
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Read more on: Eater
Scott Gerlt, University of Missouri
ASA hires first on-staff economist
By: World-Grain, Baking Business, & News Dakota - June 19, 2020
The American Soybean Association hired Scott Gerlt (GER-ult), who is the first person to take on the role of staff economist with the organization. Gerlt lives in Missouri and will work out of the St. Louis office. He’s highly regarded within agricultural economic circles, thanks to his policy work with the Food and Agricultural Research Institute, where he has more than 10 years of experience.
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Read more on: World-Grain, Baking Business, & News Dakota
Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis
Miguel Gomez, Cornell University
How COVID is Affecting U.S. Food Supply Chain
By: USA News Hub, Medscape, & Vision Monday, - June 18, 2020
All those bare shelves? “They were dramatic, but not emblematic,” says Daniel Sumner, PhD, a distinguished professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis. Early on, panicked consumers raced to stockpile canned goods, rice, dried beans, and other staples, creating eerie impressions of scarcity in stores. But the food supply chain has remained surprisingly strong, according to Sumner. “It’s much more resilient and solid now than I would have thought 2 months ago.”
“The food service supply chain is completely disconnected from the supermarket supply chain,” he says. When farmers and suppliers lost business in the food service sector as clients shut down, it was difficult for them to pivot to the supermarket sector. “That’s why we saw vegetables not being harvested and milk being dumped,” Gomez says. “At the same time, we saw empty shelves in the stores. That shows that all the milk and foods that were heading to the restaurants didn’t make their way to the supermarkets and they were wasted.”
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Read more on: USA News Hub, Medscape, & Vision Monday
Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Nick Paulson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University
Expected Harvest Prices for Soybeans in 2020
By: Farms.com - June 24, 2020
We developed a statistical model that projects the 2020 harvest price for soybeans, given a national soybean yield and average of May futures prices. This projection represents the harvest price used in crop insurance.  The current U.S. yield estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 49.8 bushels per acre. Given this yield estimate and average of actual May futures prices, the harvest price is projected to be $8.36 per bushel. An $8.36 harvest price would be 91% of the $9.17 projected price for soybeans in Midwest states. Crop insurance payments would not be triggered without yield declines even on Revenue Protection (RP) polices at an 85% coverage level. Lower yields, lower prices, or a combination of both would be needed to trigger payments. However, higher national yields would be expected to be associated with lower harvest prices, and vice versa.
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Read more on: Farms.com
Kimberly Morgan, Virginia Tech
New UF/IFAS Economist Comes ‘Home,’ Looks to Help Harness Resources
By: Vegetable and Specialty Crop News - June 23, 2020
“People drive my research and Extension programs,” Morgan said. “Specialty crops are my primary commodity of interest, and I want to look into how changing consumer preferences along with government regulations and policies may influence grower decisions to adopt new production practices.”
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Read more on: Vegetable and Specialty Crop News
Laura Paul, University of Delaware
Kent Messer, University of Delaware
Despite Coronavirus challenges, Delawareans still want to invest in cleaner water
By: Delaware Online - June 17, 2020
Just six months ago, Gov. John Carney announced his intent to invest $50 million into a new trust fund named the Clean Water for Delaware Act. These funds were to be combined with federal monies to create a pool of $100 million to help improve water quality throughout our state. 
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Read more on: Delaware Online
 
See other Member in the News items
Know another AAEA Member who has made statewide, national, or international news? Send a link of the article to Jessica Weister at jweister@aaea.org.
What research and topics are you working on? Want to be an expert source for journalists working on a story? Contact Allison Scheetz at ascheetz@aaea.org.
*Disclaimer - This email is to acknowledge citations of current AAEA members and/or their research in any public media channel. AAEA does not agree nor disagree with the views or attitudes of cited outside publications.
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Introducing Q Open


Developed in collaboration between Oxford University Press, the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, and the European Association for Agricultural Economics, Q Open is an innovative new open-access journal, publishing applied research across agricultural, climate, environmental, food, resource, and rural development economics. The title is inspired by the Q category of the Journal of Economic Literature’s subject classification system.

Q Open’s editors are Iain Fraser, Erwin Bulte, Vincenzina Caputo, Phoebe Koundouri, and David Lewis, and they are dedicated to rigorous and fast peer-review, aiming to provide a first decision within 4-6 weeks. To help achieve this, authors have the option to share reports from a previous submission.

Q Open’s peer-review model is based on a sound-science approach, with scientific rigour the primary consideration, and the editors’ subjective evaluation of relevance, importance, and novelty minimized.

Please consider Q Open as an outlet for your future papers.  Find out more at: https://academic.oup.com/qopen; submit at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/qopen

Martin Green, Oxford University Press
Krijn Poppe, European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation
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