Members in the News: Bellemare, Offutt, Sonka, Coble, and Popp

Marc F. Bellemare, University of Minnesota Is Your Salad Habit Good for the Planet? By: The New York Times - September 29, 2018 Moreover, “most waste occurs at the consumer level,” said Marc Bellemare, who directs the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy at the University of Minnesota. “Restaurants and grocery stores don’t waste as much as consumers do.” He added, “most of what gets wasted is not frozen pizza, it’s not ice cream, it’s produce, it’s stuff that goes in salad. I suspect that the rise of those restaurants, my intuition is that those will mean the rise of food waste as well, because they sell this stuff to consumers, where the bulk of the losses tend to occur.” (Continued...) Read more on: The New York Times Sunsan Offutt, FAO Opinion: Fargo or Kansas City could “win” the USDA economic research agency but the country will lose Written by Susan Offutt: AgriPulse - October 7, 2018 Today, the USDA will receive the last expressions of interests from states hoping to become the new home for the Economic Research Service, currently located in Washington, DC. The process however should be halted pending an independent assessment of the rationale for and the potential consequences of realignment and relocation of ERS. Too much is at stake for the US agriculture, food, and rural economy to take the drastic actions the USDA proposes without such an assessment. The 330 employees of the Economic Research Service produce analyses and data relating to farming and the food supply, natural resources, rural economies, farm income, trade, and nutrition. Their work is of such quality that the Economic Research Service is ranked No. 3 in the world for agricultural economics. Economic Research Service reports are used by, and their experts consulted by, Congress, other parts of USDA, reporters, and public and private-sector policymakers throughout the food, agriculture and rural economies. Given their central importance to informing evidence-based policy making in our $1 trillion dollar food and agricultural sector, their $86 million dollar annual budget is taxpayer money well spent. (Continued...) Read more on: AgriPulse Steve Sonka, University of Maryland To Reduce Post-harvest Loss, Start with a Sustaining End in Mind Written by Steve Sonka, Rajshree Agarwal, and Sonali K. Shah: PYXERA Global - October 9, 2018 What does success look like? For farmers, a successful season should look like a bountiful harvest translated into a bountiful profit. Visiting with a rice farmer in Bihar state in India at the end of harvest, it was easy to see that it had been a good year for rice. Awaiting threshing, bundles of rice were organized into stacks twice as tall as the farmer with the length and width of a small building. The farmer was pleased that yields had been good. However, the farmer knew that success had yet to be achieved. (Continued...) Read more on: PYXERA Global Keith Coble, Mississippi State University Fed interest rate hike adds to production costs By: Delta Farm Press - October 8, 2018 “It’s hard to estimate the magnitude of the latest increase on farm budgets,” says Keith Coble, department head, Mississippi State University agricultural economics at Starkville. “The effect on individual farmers will depend on the amount they borrow, but most farmers will do some borrowing, making things that much tighter.” The interest rate increase also “is one more thing to make bankers more nervous,” Coble adds. And they have been nervous enough already, “especially with the trade situation and low prices. Those factors are weighing heavily on the agriculture economy.” (Continued...) Read more on: Delta Farm Press Jennie Popp, University of Arkansas U of A project to help farmers recycle water, recover nutrients for fertilizer By: The Pine Bluff Commercial - October 18, 2018 University of Arkansas chemical engineering faculty are leading efforts to develop systems to help farmers recycle water and recover nutrients that can be used as fertilizer. The research is being funded with a new $4.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, according to a news release. Agriculture accounts for more than three-fourths of all water consumption in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Continued...) Read more on: The Pine Bluff Commercial

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 salvarado@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.

*Articles in response to the AAEA Communicating Out Strategy Press Releases highlighting: Government Relations, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, Choices Magazine, General Media, and/or 2018 AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

Call for Papers Tenth Conference on "Industrial Organization and the Food Industry"

6–7 June 2019, TOULOUSE, France

Keynote Letures:

Roman Inderst, Goethe University Frankfurt
Eugenio J. Miravete, University of Texas at Austin

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE CONFERENCE is the discussion of recent contributions in theoretical and empirical economics with a focus on understanding the functioning of food markets. Special attention will be given to (i) the formal analysis of firms’ innovation strategies and their impact on businesses and consumers, (ii) the relationships between the agricultural sector, the food processing industry, and the distribution networks, and (iii) impact of food supply chain strategies (and public policies) on health and the environment.

Specific Topics to be Covered:

• economics of food retailing,
• market power in food markets,
• contractual relationships in the agro-food chain,
• cooperatives and contracts,
• product quality, information, and food safety,
• innovation and intellectual property rights,
• food and sustainability (nutrition and health policies, environmental policies, etc.).

LOCATION: Toulouse School of Economics, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Manufacture des Tabacs, 21 Allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse cedex 6, France.
SUBMISSION of paper(s) should be received by February 24, 2019 (by email to iofood2019@lists.tse-fr.eu). A DECISION will be made by March 22, 2019.
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: April 8, 2019
COSTS: The registration fee for the conference is 200 €. This covers meals (two lunches and a conference dinner) and coffee breaks.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE: M.-L. Allain (CREST, CNRS), C. Bonnet (TSE, INRA), Z. Bouamra-Mechemache (TSE, INRA), C. Chambolle (ALISS, INRA), I. Durrmeyer (TSE), S. Hamilton (University of California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo), E. J. Miravete (University of Texas at Austin), S. Hamilton, V. Réquillart (TSE, INRA), P. Rey (TSE), T. Richards (Arizona State University), D. Rickert (TSE, INRA). T. Vergé (CREST)
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS: Z. Bouamra-Mechemache (TSE, INRA), I. Durrmeyer (TSE), D. Rickert (TSE, INRA)
FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Olivia Vongsavath, Toulouse School of Economics, Manufacture des Tabacs, Bat S, 21 Allée de Brienne, 31015 Toulouse, cedex 6, France. Phone: +33 (0)5 61 12 85 81 - Email: iofood2019@lists.tse-fr.eu, https://www.tse-fr.eu/groups/food-economics.

Members in the News: Countryman, Wilson, de Brauw, Minot, Langemeier, Mintert, Fan, Grant, Laborde, and Boyle

Amanda Countryman, Colorado State University How is ‘new NAFTA’ different? A trade expert explains Written by Amanda Countryman: The Conversation - October 2, 2018 On Sept. 30, the U.S., Canada and Mexico reached a deal to scrap NAFTA and replace it with a new trade accord, narrowly meeting a self-imposed deadline for consensus. Although U.S. President Donald Trump plans to sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 60 days, the new accord has a long road ahead as lawmakers in all three countries must still pass it before it goes into effect. Still it is an astounding feat, considering Mexico and the U.S. were all but ready to go ahead with their own deal without Canada only a month ago, after a year of three-party negotiations. And Trump repeatedly said he was ready to scrap the deal entirely, which in my opinion would have been the worst outcome. (Continued...) Read more on: The Conversation and Chicago Tribune William Wilson, North Dakota State University ND ag bankers riding the ‘black swan’ By: Capital Journal - October 7, 2018 “What’s happened as a result of the Trump trade war is the basis in Brazil went through the roof. On average, the basis from Brazil is about 40 cents, indicating weaker demand. Today, it’s $2.80 per bushel,” Wilson said. “Because of Trump, or the Trump tariffs … because of this China tariff thing, is that, as we speak, there are eight new export elevators being built in Brazil,” Wilson said. (Continued...) Read more on: Capital Journal Alan de Brauw, International Food Policy Research Institute Nicholas Minot, International Food Policy Research Institute Great expectations from Ethiopia’s Wheat Initiative Written by Gashaw Tadesse Abate, Tanguy Bernard, Alan de Brauw and Nicholas Minot: Thomson Reuters Foundation News - October 9, 2018 Small-holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa often experience lower yields, and efforts to increase them have sprouted throughout Africa. Many farmers fail to adopt modern inputs or farming techniques that would increase productivity due to several constraints, such as lack of available technology, limited liquidity, high perceived risk, constrained access to information, and poorly functioning output markets. Initiating reforms given this background is a slow process. Any new intervention to address these concerns, however, dramatically raises the expectation of national governments, and undervalues modest but significant gains from such interventions. Ethiopia provides a clear example of agricultural underperformance, as the country’s wheat production has consistently lagged other African nations. In 2012, Ethiopia’s wheat yields were 29 percent below neighboring Kenya, 13 percent below the African average, and 32 percent below the global average. (Continued...) Read more on: Thomson Reuters Foundation News and AllAfrica Michael Langemeier, Purdue University James Mintert, Purdue University US: Trade uncertainty, financial outlook drop ag industry expectations By: Feed Navigator - October 8, 2018 Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture and the CME Group released details they gathered about U.S. agricultural economy for their September Ag Economy Barometer last week. The report surveys a nationwide selection of 400 agricultural producers regarding their perspectives on the industry. The scores for the sentiment-based barometer have been "unusually volatile" for the past few months, said report authors Jim Mintert, director of the center for commercial agriculture and professor in the department of agricultural economics at Purdue University and Michael Langemeier, professor in the department of agricultural economics at Purdue University. (Continued...) Read more on: Feed Navigator Shenggen Fan, International Food Policy Research Institute Agriculture R&D spend: A reality check By: The Hindu BusinessLine - October 11, 2018 More importantly, the spending on agri R&D would lead to sustainable development with comparatively more equal distribution of resources. According to Shenggen Fan, Director-General of the Washington DC-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), agriculture is key to meeting half of the 17 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets set for 2030. These SDG targets include eliminating poverty and hunger and reducing inequalities. (Continued...) Read more on: The Hindu BusinessLine Jason Grant, Virginia Tech Tariffs on imports from China has impact close to home By: Virginia First - October 5, 2018 'We have an agreement with Canada and Mexico, and we're in talks with the EU, but China is still that sticking point and agriculture gets caught in the crossfire," says Jason Grant, director of The Center for Agricultural Trade at Virginia Tech. Many are optimistic that talks will continue, until negotiations can be reached. "The hope is that the two countries will come together and create bilateral negotiations, a compromise that works for both countries," says Grant. (Continued...) Read more on: Virginia First David Laborde, International Food Policy Research Institute New study tracks agricultural progress and how successful guidelines can be replicated By: Far Eastern Agriculture - October 11, 2018 David Laborde, senior fellow, IFPRI, explains, “Only 10 countries are still categorised by subsistence agriculture, compared with 30 in 1970. Except for countries at war, no country is worse off than they were decades ago.” “Our report is a clear indication that agricultural transformation fosters economic empowerment for countries and their communities,” Laborde added. (Continued...) Read more on: Far Eastern Agriculture Kevin Boyle, Virginia Tech Professor condemn EPA committee closure By: Yale Daily News - September 3, 2018 In June 2018, the EPA shut down three of its advisory committees. The Environmental Economics Advisory Committee, one of the committees shut down, counseled the organization on issues ranging from economics to engineering. The Aug. 24 article, which ran in the journal Science and was written by Yale economics professor Matthew Kotchen and Virginia Tech economics professor Kevin Boyle, questioned the EPA’s commitment to thorough economic analysis. Furthermore, the article cites examples in which differing valuation of environmental costs and benefits could impact the protection of the natural environment. “There’s likely to be less accountability and certainly less scientific credibility of the decision-making by closing down the economics advisory committee, and I would say that the same applies to the other two that were shut down,” said Boyle, who focuses on agricultural and applied economics. (Continued...) Read more on: Yale Daily News

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 salvarado@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.

*Articles in response to the AAEA Communicating Out Strategy Press Releases highlighting: Government Relations, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, Choices Magazine, General Media, and/or 2018 AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

Members in the News: Glauber, Gundersen, Li, Zhang, Martin, Laborde, Kling, Featherstone, Hueth, Katchova, Mold, Sumner, and Weber

Joseph Glauber, International Food Policy Research Institute Commodities By: The Daily Shot - September 27, 2018 5. Finally, here is a comment on US wheat exports from Joseph Glauber, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. In today's Daily Shot you show US wheat exports relative to Russia exports and show the relative decline of wheat production in the US. I think what people often miss is that it isn't that the US has become uncompetitive in world wheat markets but rather that wheat has become less competitive in the United States relative to corn and soybeans. The attached chart shows US planted area for major field crops since 1990. Note that while wheat has declined by 30 million acres, corn and soybean area has increased by roughly 47 million acres over the same period. I think part of the story is the classic case of comparative advantage - the US is one of the world's low-cost producers of wheat, but it has an even better advantage by specializing in corn and soybeans. Note that acreage of minor feed grains - barley, oats and sorghum has also gone down. Much of the decline started in the early 1990s when the farm programs were deregulated to give farmers more flexibility in their planting decisions. (Continued...) Read more on: The Daily Shot by The Wall Street Journal Commodity program dispute stalls farm bill By: AgriPulse - September 26, 2018 Joe Glauber, a former chief economist for USDA who is now with the International Food Policy Research Institute, said he doubted that ending payments for unplanted base acres would make it any harder to defend U.S. commodity programs at the WTO. ARC and PLC are classified as “non-product specific” support because payments aren’t tied to a particular commodity. A producer with corn base doesn't have to plant corn to get a payment, and that wouldn’t change under the House provision, he said. But in the future, farmers may be less likely to “put land in conserving uses for a year (say, in reaction to low prices) because they would fear losing those base acres,” Glauber said in an email. (Continued...) Read more on: AgriPulse Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Fraud By: Oversight and Government Reform - September 26, 2018 Purpose: To discuss how to combat Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud from both a federal and state perspective. To explore how Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) can more effectively assist states in the program’s administration. Craig's testimony begins at 1:11:19. He begins by saying, "Thank you very much for this kind invitation to testify this morning, it is an honor. I'm Craig Gundersen, the Soybean Industry Endowed Professor in Agricultural Strategy in the department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois." (Continued...) Watch on: Oversight and Government Reform Man Li, International Food Policy Research Institute Rice Supply in Southeast Asia By: The Saigon Times - September 24, 2018 The impact of climate change on rice productivity is stronger than previously thought. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said that yield reductions could be as high as 10-15% in 2025, leading to a 30-37% increase in rice prices. This is evident in Thailand where it suffered a drought that lasted between mid-2016 and reduced to 16% of its total rice production. (Continued...) Read more on: The Saigon Times Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University Farmland Ownership Trends Written by Wendong Zhang: Agri Marketing Digital - September 2018 "Farmland Ownership and Tenure in Iowa 1982 - 2017: A 35-Year Perspective" carries out a mandate of the Iowa Legislature. This study focuses on forms of ownership, tenancy, and transfers of farmland in Iowa in 2017, as well as characteristics of landowners. (Continued...) Read more on: Agri Marketing Digital Will Martin, International Food Policy Research Institute David Laborde, International Food Policy Research Institute Finance | Internationally renowned investment bank: a new round of super economic crisis will occur in 2020 By: Sohu - September 26, 2018 In 2020, the world will encounter economic turmoil. This economic turmoil is called "super crisis" by JP Morgan Chase Investment Bank. Analysts predict large-scale riots and food supply disruptions. What is such a bleak prediction based on, and how likely is it to be fulfilled? The answer should be found in the article of the Russian Satellite News Agency. (Continued...) Read more on: Sohu Catherine L. Kling, Iowa State University Allen M. Featherstone, Kansas State University Joseph Glauber, International Food Policy Research Institute Brent Hueth, University of Wisconsin, Madison Ani L. Katchova, The Ohio State University Doris Mold, Sunrise Agricultural  Associates LLC Daniel A. Sumner, University of California, Davis Jeremy G. Weber, University of Pittsburgh NAS: USDA needs to update date to reflect complex farm business By: The Hagstrom Report - October 3, 2018 The Agriculture Department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service should create a Farm Register to provide an ongoing enumeration of all farm businesses, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said in a report released Tuesday. “This register would include information such as size indicators, geolocation indicators, and North American Industry Classification System codes for the farm establishment, and would be regularly updated as new information becomes available,” NAS recommended to NASS and the Economic Research Service. (Continued...) Read more on: The Hagstrom Report and The National Academies

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 salvarado@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.

*Articles in response to the AAEA Communicating Out Strategy Press Releases highlighting: Government Relations, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, Choices Magazine, General Media, and/or 2018 AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research: Special Issue: Institutional Entropy: Causes, Consequences, and Corrective Measures

Guest Editors: Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A; Jason Levy, University of Hawaii at West Oahu, U.S.A

Call for Papers

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the decline and fall of natural resources (e.g., water, energy, forestry, minerals, fisheries) institutions, in the US and globally, due to the corrosive impact of institutional entropy. The purpose of this special issue is to examine in detail the causes and consequences of institutional entropy and also suggest possible corrective measures.

Gopalakrishnan (2005) defines institutional entropy as “the progressive decrease in effectiveness and efficiency (of the institutions) in performing the goals and objectives as originally envisioned and set-forth.” He goes on to point out that the intrusion of entropy “causes disarray in the inner workings of the affected institutions and, thus, renders them diminished in their ability to perform at peak efficiency.”

Entropy, slowly but surely, penetrates, corrodes, and compromises the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions and renders them dysfunctional, over a period of time. Gopalakrishnan, in his research-in-progress (2018-), has identified the key elements of institutional efficiency and effectiveness. These include: 1) institutional resilience or adaptability, 2) institutional robustness or diminished vulnerability, 3) institutional autonomy, 4) institutional relevance, 5) institutional accountability, 6) institutional risk-taking, and 7) institutional innovation.

Institutions, that fail to keep up with social, economic, technological, environmental, political, and cultural changes that inevitably accompany the passage of time, render themselves severely vulnerable to entropy. Depending on the intensity of entropy, several of the key attributes of institutional efficiency and effectiveness, noted above, are compromised and institutional sustainability is imperiled with the passage of time.

The objective of this special issue is to shed light on the process and progression of institutional entropy. We are seeking original contributions that will clarify and illuminate all aspects of institutional entropy, using historical surveys, institutional analysis, econometric investigations, empirical reviews, and more. Policy-rich, cross-disciplinary, and transnational papers, including case studies, are welcome.

Submit your paper online

Please prepare your paper in accordance with the guidelines posted at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jnrpr under “Instructions for Authors.” Inquiries may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at: jnrpr@press.psu.edu.

Deadline: 15th January, 2019

Call for AAEA Mentoring/Coaching Initiatives

The AAEA Mentoring Committee is now accepting proposals for mentoring and coaching initiatives.
A mentoring activity is defined as one where a senior member of the profession serves as an advisor on career decisions and challenges to a young or mid-career member of the profession. A coaching activity involves the development or improvement of specific skills, for example grant writing, new teaching methods, or engaging with industry in outreach activities.

The call is open to all AAEA members. The AAEA Mentoring Committee encourages collaboration across members, AAEA Sections, and also USDA regional groups to maximize participation and optimize the allocation of resources. AAEA expects to fund between 2 and 6 proposals in levels of $5,000-$10,000. The activities proposed and all expenses will need to be completed by the end of October 2019.

Selection criteria:

1. Clear description of the activity and justification of how it will benefit participants.
2. Number of beneficiaries
3. Structure of the programmed activity and quality of the speakers/mentors
4. Value for money

Proposal submissions should include:

1. A cover sheet with name of applicant; applicant’s mailing address, e-mail, and phone number; title of the project; abstract of the project; timing, duration, and location of the project; and amount of funding requested.
2. A project description, not to exceed five double-spaced pages, including the purpose, scope, implementation procedures, the individuals responsible for management of the project, date/timing of the project, and location of the project.
3. An itemized budget, indicating costs to be borne by the grant and funding provided by other sources, if any.

Proposals should be submitted as a single PDF file to Sinais Alvarado at salvarado@aaea.org by Friday, November 30, 2018, to ensure consideration for funding for the next year. Proposals will be reviewed by the AAEA Mentoring Committee, which will make recommendations to the Executive Board for action at the January 2019 Board Meeting.

View on the AAEA website: https://www.aaea.org/membership/mentorship-programs/call-for-mentoringcoaching-initiatives

Members in the News: Hayes, Muhammad, Smith, Guan, Hurt, Hart, Beintema, Fan, Swinton, and Joshi

Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University Farmers Say Aid Won’t Cover Tariff Damage By: The Wall Street Journal - September 27, 2018 The Trump administration has started compensating U.S. farmers for damage tariffs are doing to their business. Trade-related losses to the U.S. pork industry are expected to total more than $2 billion this year, said Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes. (Continued...) Read more on: The Wall Street Journal Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee Trump's Relationship With American Farmers Is Soiled Because Of Biofuels Stance And Trade War By: Forbes - September 10, 2018 “We talk about trade in the context of countries. But it is really firm-to-firm and business-to-business relationships. There needs to be a degree of certainty,” says Andrew Muhammad, a farm and trade economist with the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture, in an interview. “If they can’t rely on the U.S. as a primary source, then buyers will look elsewhere.” (Continued...) Read more on: Forbes Martin D. Smith, Duke University The seafood trade deficit is a diversionary tactic Written by Martin Smith: The Hill - September 20, 2018 Lately, politicians, bureaucrats and journalists have begun lamenting the fact that the United States runs a seafood trade deficit. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has called the deficit “silly” given the ample U.S. coastline. In June, Timothy Gallaudet, Acting Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suggested reducing the seafood trade deficit by allowing commercial fishing in marine protected areas. Now the agency has launched a series of public listening sessions on the topic that began Aug. 31 and continue through November. (Continued...) Read more on: The Hill Zhengfei Guan, University of Florida Surprising And Successful Business Models By: Naples Daily News - September 24, 2018 Guan, who works at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm (near Tampa), is the go-to economist for Florida agricultural leaders tracking the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. These leaders have repeatedly turned to Guan to produce data on the food fight on Florida grocery store shelves. As recently as this month, the leaders were texting Guan for more as they visited federal offices to educate policy-makers on the effects of Mexican government subsidies. (Continued...) Read more on: Naples Daily News, Observer, and Choices Chris Hurt, Purdue University Chad Hart, Iowa State University Trade war means much of America's soybean harvest will go unsold By: UPI - September 24, 2018 "The inventory that farmers can't sell is going to have to stay in storage," said Chris Hurt, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. "We're going to have a record amount of soybeans in storage this year." This year's record-breaking harvest was caused partly by good weather, Hurt said. And partly because farmers purposefully planted more soy. Recognizing the hardship farmers are facing because of the tariffs, the Trump administration announced it will provide farmers with relief money for this year's harvest. Soy growers will get $1.65 per bushel on 50 percent of their total harvest. By some estimates, that will cover nearly half of farmer's expected tariff losses, said Chad Hart, an economist at Iowa State University. (Continued...) Listen to the full interview on: UPI Nienke Beintema, International Food Policy Research Institute State's hiring freeze hurting research - experts By: The Star - September 14, 2018 Nienke Beintema, program head of the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators, said capacity of researchers from Kalro is slowly declining. “This will continue to do so based on the departure and retirement of senior researchers and the hiring freeze,” she said. (Continued...) Read more on: The Star Shenggen Fan, International Food Policy Research Institute ‘To Double Farm Incomes, India Must Get People Off Farms’ By: India Spend - September 28, 2018 With hotter, drier weather becoming increasingly common, Indian farmers must diversify their income sources beyond agriculture, according to Shenggen Fan, director general, IFPRI. India has an ideological problem with farmers moving out of agriculture, he said. “I think some of them must go out [of the sector], including some of the well-to-do farmers. [This is what] we have learnt from China, Vietnam and other countries in east Asia.” (Continued...) Read more on: India Spend Scott Swinton, Michigan State University Take Action: Stop the Gutting and Politicizing of USDA Research By: Beyond Pesticides - September 24, 2018 Scott Swinton, PhD, an agricultural economist at Michigan State and the former president of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, said, “The administration is now doing by fiat what it could not persuade Congress to do. Its plan to relocate ERS employees away from Washington is likely to trigger widespread staff resignations.” (Continued...) Read more on: Beyond Pesticides P.K. Joshi, International Food Policy Research Institute In spite of abundant agri products why are farmers unhappy? By: Rediff - September 19, 2018 “I don’t think prices of pulses and oilseeds would move in the open market from November because production this kharif is again expected to be bumper on the back of a good, well-distributed monsoon,” says P K Joshi, South-Asia Director of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). (Continued...) Read more on: Rediff

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 salvarado@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.

*Articles in response to the AAEA Communicating Out Strategy Press Releases highlighting: Government Relations, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, Choices Magazine, General Media, and/or 2018 AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.