Thursday, June 4, 2020

A Message from the AAEA Executive Board

AAEA condemns the racially motivated acts of violence, police brutality, and overreach of military action against US civilians over the past week.

These heart-wrenching events leave us all reflecting on the role each of us might play in proactively confronting the systemic conditions that have allowed such injustices to persist. It is understandable to feel anger, mistrust in some of our public institutions, and incapable of having any meaningful impact. It makes it even more challenging that we are constrained in our ability to come together as colleagues and friends to support one another in the middle of a global pandemic, which has disproportionately affected African-Americans and other persons of color.

As an organization, our responsibility is to remain a platform for rigorous research on a breadth of societal issues, engaged public discourse across a diverse set of stakeholders and to inform discussions and policies that can help refine and strengthen the frayed social fabric.

Science is stronger when it can grow from a diverse set of experiences.  To be truly inclusive, we must move beyond steps taken in the past to improve the culture and climate of our association and escalate our efforts to create a different future for underrepresented minorities, women, and others historically marginalized in our profession and in society.

As an association, we ask you to reflect on and commit to our community principles:
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion across all the dimensions of our communities and science,
  • Systemic change begins with everyone feeling safe, actively heard, and respected, and
  • Hatred, discrimination, and injustice have no place within the AAEA, in our institutional homes, or in our communities.
Let us pledge ourselves to these principles and rededicate ourselves to the mission of striving toward a just society that needs engaged, empathetic and intelligent education, science-based and community-driven research, and engaged scholars more than ever.

The AAEA Board commits to taking concrete action by:
  1. Supporting efforts to increase the pipeline of African Americans, women, and other under-represented minority groups into the profession, including in leadership positions. 
  2. Increasing plenary lectures, scholarly awards, Fellow, and other prominent recognitions of top economists who are African American, women, and members of other underrepresented minority groups.
  3. We will pursue having a call in our journals to address issues of race and equity around agriculture, food, and the environment. 
  4. Continue our climate survey of the profession. The survey was created and fully implemented by the CWAE and COSBAE Sections and funded by the AAEA Trust.
  5. Recognize organizations, departments, and individuals who promote diversity, equity, and inclusion among their students and employees.
  6. Increase mentorship and outreach efforts. 
Sincerely,
AAEA Executive Board

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Monday, June 1, 2020

Members in the News: Lusk, Gundersen, Glauber, He, Hayes, Zhang, Kumar, Plastina, Swinnen, Vos, Crespi, Rosenbloom, Koontz, Batabyal, Hart… et al.


Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Food Banks Get The Love, But SNAP Does More To Fight Hunger
By: NPR - April 13, 2020
Food banks themselves, in fact, are among SNAP's biggest fans. "Those of us in the anti-hunger community, we truly believe that SNAP is far and away the most important component of our social safety net against hunger in our country," says Craig Gundersen, an economist at the University of Illinois who also works with Feeding America.
(Continued...)
Read more on: NPR
Joseph Glauber, IFPRI
Xi He, Iowa State University
Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University
Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
China Buys More; Will It Be Enough For Phase One?
By: Successful Farming - May 27, 2020
“We predict China will import $18.60 billion in agricultural products from the United States in 2020, far behind the Phase One target of $36.5 billion,” wrote economists Xi He, Dermot Hayes and Wendong Zhang in a policy brief from the CARD think tank at Iowa State University.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Successful Farming
Anjani Kumar, IFPRI
Centre's financial package through DBT attracts criticism
By: Dailyhunt & Down To Earth - May 12, 2020
There are, however, no current efforts to bring lists of different beneficiaries together. The government should not fear duplication or ineligible individuals getting relief, said Anjani Kumar, Research Fellow at research centre International Food Policy Research Institute.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Dailyhunt & Down To Earth
Alejandro Plastina, Iowa State University
Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
How to buy farmland amid uncertainty
By: Wallaces Farmer - May 27, 2020
Plastina: Selling something you do not have on hand can generate anxiety. However, a good strategy can be used to reduce if not completely eliminate such anxiety. It requires good yield records, realistic price expectations, a solid understanding of your cost of production and determination.
Zhang: The pandemic is likely to overshadow the U.S. and global economy over the next couple months, if not longer. My colleagues at ISU CARD recently released a report, projecting that significant damages for the hog and ethanol industries.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Wallaces Farmer
Johan Swinnen, IFPRI
Rob Vos, IFPRI
John Crespi, Iowa State University
Joshua Rosenbloom, Iowa State University
Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
New Iowa State web hub lets users track COVID-19’s economic impacts in the US
By: The Cattle Site - May 23, 2020
The webpage “COVID-19 Pandemic: Research and Resources” developed by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development and the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, examines the pandemic’s impacts on the economy, agriculture and business across local, regional and global economies.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Cattle Site
Stephen Koontz, Colorado State University
Will restricting AMAs really save the cash market?
By: Beef Magazine - May 28, 2020
Stephen Koontz, agricultural economics professor at Colorado State University, puts the bottom-line answers up front in a recent white paper that could be used as a foundation for industry policy decisions. Koontz’ white paper comes on the heels of his pre-publication document we reported on last week.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Beef Magazine
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions
By: WalletHub - May 19, 2020
The best way to open up is to use the available data and the knowledge of public health experts. Practically, this typically means:
  1. Having sufficient testing capacity.
  2. Being able to trace the contacts of infected people.
  3. Making sure that any spikes in new cases and/or hospitalizations can be dealt with without overwhelming current hospital capacity.
(Continued...)
Read more on: WalletHub
Chad Hart, Iowa State University
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
US meat exports surge as industry struggles to meet demand
By: Star Tribune - May 14, 2020
U.S. meat exports are surging even as the industry is struggling to meet domestic demand because of coronavirus outbreaks at processing plants that have sickened hundreds of workers and caused companies to scramble to improve conditions.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Star Tribune
Nicolas Quintana Ashwell, Mississippi State University
Survey of historic backwater flood documents individual losses
By: The Vicksburg Post - May 21, 2020
“We found a $42,160 self-assessed loss per household in costs associated with the flood not covered by insurance or any assistance programs,” Quintana-Ashwell said. “Additionally, 69 percent of workers reported a reduction in work productivity due to stress and fatigue associated with the flood.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Vicksburg Post
Anton Bekkerman, Montana State University
Coronavirus disruption creates opportunity for local ag
By: The Hour - May 24, 2020
“That created this bottleneck instead of the cylinder, and you have kind of an hour-glass shape,” Bekkerman said. “You still have the same number of producers at the very top and you still have the same number of consumers at the very bottom. But that middle part is not cylindrical and it is squeezed together.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Hour
Amy Hagerman, Oklahoma State University
Courtney Bir, Oklahoma State University
OSU survey targets best ways toward economic recovery for Oklahoma
By: The Claremore Daily Progress - May 27, 2020
By the end of May, more than 700 people had responded to the survey distributed by Extension county educators and cooperating partners around the state, said Amy Hagerman, OSU Extension agricultural and food policy specialist. The ongoing survey is short, with most people being able to complete it in about five minutes.
For more information about survey participation, contact OSU’s Courtney Bir by email at courtney.bir@okstate.edu or Scott Hall by email at irb@okstate.edu or by phone at 405-744-3377.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Claremore Daily Progress

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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, May 26, 2020

Members in the News: Bhuyan, Malone, Tonsor, Anderson, Hayes, Johansson, Bellemare, Schwabe, Lusk, Hart, Ker, Batabyal, Bovay... et al.

Sanjib Bhuyan, Rutgers University
Trey Malone, Michigan State University
Why are grocery prices rising? Here's what shoppers need to know
By: TODAY - May 15, 2020
“Food prices are rising not because we don’t have enough food, but mainly due to the fact that the agri-food supply chain is currently unable to deliver when and where food is needed due to the shortage of labor, particularly at farm level," Sanjib Bhuyan, an associate professor at Rutgers University's Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics, told TODAY.
Malone said data suggests many people are buying most of their items at one store (like Costco), which means smaller retailers, like local grocers and corner markets in urban areas, might actually have a wider variety of items available relative to some of the larger retailers.
(Continued...)
Read more on: TODAY
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
David Anderson, Texas A&M University
Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University
COVID-19 Meat Shortages Could Last for Months. Here's What to Know Before Your Next Grocery Shopping Trip
By: TIME - April 30, 2020
This was supposed to be a big year for America’s meat industry. As recently as late February, a USDA livestock analyst predicted record-setting red meat and poultry production as economic growth and low unemployment boosted demand for animal protein.
Then came COVID-19. By the end of April, the pandemic changed the economic and agricultural landscape so drastically that Tyson Foods, one of America’s biggest meat producers, warned in a full-page New York Times ad that the “food supply chain is breaking.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: TIME
Robert Johansson, USDA-Office of the Chief Economist
Farmers’ hopes for respite from Trump-era struggles fade amid pandemic
By: The Washington Post - May 11, 2020
Total farm debt is projected to top $425 billion this year, “near its peak in the early 1980s,” Robert Johansson, USDA’s chief economist, said in a February speech. The industry’s debt-to-asset ratio is at its highest level since 2003, he noted.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Washington Post
Marc Bellemare, University of Minnesota
Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
Dermot Hayes, Iowa State University
Coronavirus closes some meat plants, raising fears of shortages
By: Los Angeles Times - April 13, 2020
The reduced production so far has been offset by the significant amount of meat that was in cold storage, said Glynn Tonsor, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University. Producers are also working to shift meat that would have gone to now-closed restaurants over to grocery stores.
“It’s like people on an escalator. Stopping the pork chain at the top of an escalator is just going to cause all sorts of tragedy and disaster all the way back up the system,” said Dermot Hayes, professor of economics and finance at Iowa State University.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Los Angeles Times
Kurt Schwabe, University of California, Riverside
Rethinking (waste) water conservation
By: Water World - May 14, 2020
When it comes to water conservation in cities that depend on wastewater reuse, even the best intentions can have unintended consequences.
That’s the main message to be gleaned from new findings from a team of water economists and engineers led by Kurt Schwabe, a professor of environmental economics and policy and the associate dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Water World
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Purdue University and Microsoft team up to calculate COVID-19 impact on agriculture
By: The Pig Site - May 21, 2020
“One of the things we’ve learned over the past few weeks is how important it is to know where our food comes from and to be able to identify and pin point potential problem spots. This tool was designed to help us detect if and when a problem emerges,” said Jayson L Lusk, distinguished professor and department head of agricultural economics at Purdue and collaborator on the index.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Pig Site
Chad Hart, Iowa State University
With schools and coffee shops closed, Illinois dairy farmers face tough choices in an economy battered by coronavirus
By: Chicago Tribune - April 16, 2020
“The agricultural economy is faring better than other sectors, but that’s also because the agricultural economy was under pressures before COVID-19,” said Chad Hart, associate professor of economics and a crop markets specialist at Iowa State University.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Chicago Tribune
Alan Ker, University of Guelph
Economists say farmers will likely be OK during COVID
By: The Western Producer - May 21, 2020
“Governments have the option to deal with black swan (unpredictable) events as they arise,” write Alan Ker of the University of Guelph and Ryan Cardwell of the University of Manitoba in the special edition’s introduction.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Western Producer
Trey Malone, Michigan State University
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
Weathering a downturn: Some lessons learned
By: Rochester Business Journal - May 5, 2020
Keeping the small businesses solvent during a catastrophic downturn — such as the one caused by the coronavirus pandemic — is far more important than trying to prop them back up in the wake of the storm, according to Amit Batabyal, a professor of economics at Rochester Institute of Technology.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Rochester Business Journal
John Bovay, Virginia Tech
Virus report by Virginia Tech finds initial impact on farmers ominous
By: The Gazette-Virginian - May 17, 2020
“Another widely discussed example of a similar problem is how school closures have led to substantially reduced demand for milk,” said Dr. John Bovay, assistant professor in the CALS department. “Different distribution channels and different packaging requirements are an important consideration here.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Gazette-Virginian
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
Beef bottleneck pushes producers into critical decisions
By: Hays Post - May 15, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed Kansas’ beef supply chain to as much as 40 percent capacity, though the state has rebounded in recent days, according to K-State agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Hays Post
Bradley Lubben, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Extension Risk Management Education Center awards grants
By: Star Herald - May 15, 2020
“This funding will be used to develop and implement educational programming for agricultural producers addressing production, financial, legal, human, and marketing risk,” said Brad Lubben, NCERMEC program director. In addition to these ERME grants, four projects were each awarded up to $3,000 to explore needs and develop plans for future programming.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Star Herald
Andrew Stevens, University of Wisconsin
Scott Brown, University of Missouri
Farmers facing tough economic recovery as states reopen
By: KRCG - May 18, 2020
"The good news here is we’re beginning to see slaughter numbers over the last few days return closer to normal," Scott Brown, Mizzou agricultural economics professor said. "So, I’m hoping we’re starting to come out of the worst of the situation."
(Continued...)
Read more on: KRCG
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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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Monday, May 18, 2020

Members in the News: Meyer, Glauber, Kauffman, Johansson, Ortega, Isengildina Massa, Hertel, Batabyal, Zhang, Barrett, Masters, Janzen, Hendricks, Liu… et al.

Seth Meyer, University of Missouri
Joseph Glauber, IFPRI
Nathan Kauffman, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Robert Johansson, USDA-Office of the Chief Economist
Farmers’ hopes for respite from Trump-era struggles fade amid pandemic
By: The Washington Post - May 11, 2020
President Trump promised this year to deliver a financial bonanza for American farmers, boosted by two historic trade deals that would free them from their dependence on government bailouts.

Instead, as the local Wendy’s runs out of hamburgers and some shelves at Costco lie bare, farmers are forced to euthanize millions of hogs and chickens, give away tons of unwanted potatoes, and pour out enough milk to fill a small lake. The closure of most U.S. restaurants amid the covid-19 pandemic has thrown the nearly $2 trillion food industry into chaos, convulsing specialized supply chains that are struggling to adjust.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Washington Post
David Ortega, Michigan State University
Olga Isengildina Massa, Virginia Tech
Where's the beef ... and the chicken: Should we worry about a meat shortage?
By: USA TODAY - May 2, 2020
“What the plant closures create is somewhat of an hourglass effect with plenty of supply in the bottom part and plenty of demand in the top part with the reduced processing capacity creating a bottleneck,” said Olga Isengildina-Massa, Associate Professor at the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
(Continued...)
Read more on: USA TODAY
Seth Meyer, University of Missouri
China’s record Brazil soyabean imports impede US trade target
By: Financial Times - May 2020
The US normally exports low volumes of soyabeans in the spring months. Nevertheless, lower prices will make the target harder for China to meet later this year, he said. “Commodity prices are lower and this is a value deal and not a volume deal. They’re going to have to buy a heck of a lot of beans [to meet the target].”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Financial Times
Thomas Hertel, Purdue University
Farm Hands on the Potomac: Nickerson named deputy chief economist at USDA
By: Agri-Pulse - May 13, 2020
Purdue University’s office of international programs in agriculture has created a new award named in honor of late Purdue professor Lowell Hardin. The award was created to honor Hardin’s legacy and his contributions to international agriculture. This year’s award recipients are as follows: Gebisa Ejeta, professor of agronomy and 2009 World Food Prize laureate; Thomas Hertel, professor of agricultural economics with a focus on issues related to international trade and environmental sustainability; Jules Janick, professor of horticulture and landscape architecture; Suzanne Nielsen, professor of food science who has been an advocate for international research, outreach and education; and John Sanders, professor of agricultural economics with a focus on the impacts of international agricultural activities and systems.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Agri-Pulse
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
Why Economists Who Have No Problem With Price Gouging Are Wrong
By: The Globe Post - May 5, 2020
Unfortunately, natural disasters affect humans with appealing regularity. The most recent case, the COVID-19 pandemic, has sickened and killed too many, stretched the resources of many governments, and resulted in significant damage to the world economy.

Even though nothing about this pandemic is usual, one event that usually accompanies or follows natural disasters has been felt this time as well: the phenomenon of price gouging. The prices of hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, and particularly masks, have seen excessive increases.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Globe Post
Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
Christopher Barrett, Cornell University
Actions now can curb food systems fallout from COVID-19
By: Nature Food - May 7, 2020
Major food supply chain disruptions have been a catalytic feature of many historical conflicts — such as the French Revolution and the Arab Spring — leading to social unrest and violence. When global food prices jumped in 2008 and again in 2011–2012, consumers took to the streets and food riots broke out in roughly 50 countries1,2. Some of these riots turned violent, contributing to the overthrow of governments in Haiti and Madagascar, for example. If demand outstrips supply and carryover stocks run too low, it can ignite speculative activity that the food supply chain cannot satisfy; then food prices spike3.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Nature Food
William Masters, Tufts University
William Masters On Food and COVID Video
By: Newsy - May 2020
"The world has relied on long-distance food trade for as long as there have been people. For the simple reason that each of us wants to eat a diversity of foods year-round and any given location can only produce certain kinds of things at certain times of year. So trade has been essential for a human food system since the very beginning of time. That’s not going to change. Governments do try to benefit certain groups at the expense of other using trade restrictions but those tend to the reduce the overall variety and raise costs for people when governments shut down borders," said William Masters.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Newsy
Joseph Janzen, Kansas State University
Nathan Hendricks, Kansas State University
Trump administration overpaid some farmers with trade aid, researchers say
By: UPI - May 14, 2020
"What we tried to do is compare what the price effect of trade war was with the payments that farmers got," said Joseph Janzen, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, who co-authored the study along with fellow agricultural economics professor Nathan Hendricks.
(Continued...)
Read more on: UPI
Yangxuan Liu, University of Georgia
Jane Kolodinsky, University of Vermont
Distance Learning and Local Food
By: WDEV - May 7, 2020
"My team that has been looking at local food and the possibility of more direct to consumer has the hypothesis that yes indeed we believe that shorter supply chains for food are going to be really popular now and into the future as consumers realize that the food is available, it’s trustworthy, and it's affordable," said Jane Kolodinsky.
(Continued...)
Read more on: WDEV
Chad Hart, Iowa State University
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
US meat exports surge as industry struggles to meet demand
By: WSET - May 13, 2020
U.S. meat exports are surging even as the industry is struggling to meet domestic demand because of coronavirus outbreaks at processing plants that have sickened hundreds of workers and caused companies to scramble to improve conditions.
(Continued...)
Read more on: WSET
 
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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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Monday, May 11, 2020

Members in the News: Isengildina Massa, Coffey, Fortenbery, Schroeder, Tonsor, Lusk, Stevens, Zhang, Liu, Batabyal, Ortega, Glauber, Grant... et al.

Olga Isengildina Massa, Virginia Tech
Brian Coffey, Kansas State University
T. Randall Fortenbery, Washington State University
Why is there a meat shortage if farmers have plenty of animals?
By: TODAY - May 6, 2020
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has touched nearly every aspect of society, upending how students learn, how employees get work done and, in many ways, how people eat.

Like much of the agriculture, food service and culinary industries, the meat industry has been far from immune to the impacts of the deadly virus.
(Continued...)
Read more on: TODAY
Ted Schroeder, Kansas State University
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
Ag Economists Warn Against Overreaction To Meat Industry Structure
By: Successful Farming - May 6, 2020
“We’re in a situation I don’t think our industry or our society has ever really faced or realized the challenges associated with an event like this,” said university distinguished professor of agricultural economics, Ted Schroeder.
“I’m hopeful that we’re in the worst of it, in terms of lost capacity,” said K-State professor and livestock marketing specialist Glynn Tonsor, adding that as of May 4, U.S. processing capacity was about 40% lower than it was in the same week last year. “Let’s hope that’s the lowest it will go, but no guarantee.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Successful Farming
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University
Andrew Stevens, University of Wisconsin
No shortage expected, but meat supply could see new constraints
By: PolitiFact - May 5, 2020
Jayson Lusk, head of Department of Agricultural Economics of Purdue University, told USA TODAY, "The meat sector is in a real serious, critical condition." Lusk said there will just be limited availability of certain products, depending on where you live.
Andrew Stevens, professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said shortages could happen because the meat supply chain is complex and relies on refrigeration in transport and production facilities.
(Continued...)
Read more on: PolitiFact
Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
Yangxuan Liu, University of Georgia
Downward Market Pressure Continues
By: AgFax - May 6, 2020
The rapid spread of COVID-19 severely impacted the global cotton supply chain, leading to an unexpected reduction in cotton mill use across all the major cotton spinning countries. That includes China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey and Vietnam.
(Continued...)
Read more on: AgFax
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
David Ortega, Michigan State University
Joseph Glauber, IFPRI
Jason Grant, Virginia Tech
China Not Yet Honoring Purchase Commitments, New Trade Data Shows
By: The Epoch Times - May 6, 2020
The first-quarter trade data suggest U.S. agricultural exports to China continue to run behind 2017 values, according to Jason Grant, director of the Center for Agricultural Trade at Virginia Tech.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Epoch Times
Chad Lawley, University of Manitoba
Food and agricultural markets during a pandemic: Insights from economists
By: Manitoba Co-operator - May 1, 2020
The Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics has published a special issue with several articles about how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect food and agricultural markets in Canada. The articles are written by economists from universities across Canada (including Derek Brewin, Ryan Cardwell, and Chad Lawley from the University of Manitoba) and the United States who have expertise in issues ranging from livestock markets to international trade agreements to agricultural land values.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Manitoba Co-operator
Johan Swinnen, IFPRI
Johan Swinnen, IFPRI
Rob Vos, IFPRI
Building inclusive food systems could help fight COVID-19
By: Food Processing - April 28, 2020
“Food systems provide opportunities to improve food and nutrition security, generate income and drive inclusive economic growth, but even in prosperous times too many people are excluded from fully participating in them and securing these benefits. In times of crisis like today, inclusion is an even greater imperative for protecting the most vulnerable,” said Johan Swinnen, Director General of IFPRI.
“Initiating and sustaining a process of inclusive transformation requires supporting smallholders’ market access by investing in basic infrastructure, creating market incentives and promoting inclusive agribusiness models. But it is as important to invest in the ‘hidden middle’ of supply chains where millions of small- and medium-scale enterprises already operate in food processing, storage, logistics and distribution. Getting this right will be essential to lift smallholders from poverty and food insecurity,” said Rob Vos, Director of IFPRI’s Markets, Trade and Institutions Division.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Food Processing
Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University
Ashok Mishra, Arizona State University
Chandra Nuthalapati, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi
Marc F. Bellemar, University of Minnesota
David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley
COVID-19’s Disruption of India’s Transformed Food Supply Chains
By: Economic & Political Weekly  - May 2, 2020
COVID-19 is spreading through the developing world and has not spared India. In response, the Indian government has imposed ­rigorous lockdown regulations, which have an impact on all aspects of the economy. How will the COVID-19 affect food supply chains (FSCs) in India?
(Continued...)
Read more on: Economic & Political Weekly
Joseph Glauber, IFPRI
William Martin, IFPRI
COVID-19 and Trade Policy: Why Turning Inward Won't Work
By: Vox - April 29, 2020
There is a moral case against unilateral actions of this kind. Few nations in the world have substantial domestic capacity to manufacture medical supplies, to say nothing of high-tech products like genetic tests and vaccines. Export restrictions induce scarcity on world markets, raising prices and causing disproportionate harm to developing nations that cannot afford to compete in bidding wars. This is what happened when food export restrictions led to a spike in world food prices in 2007, as the chapter by Will Martin and Joseph Glauber points out.
(Continued...)
Read more on: Vox
William Martin, IFPRI
Rob Vos, IFPRI
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University
K-State keeping rural, urban Kansans on the forefront of COVID-19 knowledge
By: The Fence Post - May 6, 2020
Glynn Tonsor, professor of agricultural economics, said the Kansas economy is directly and substantially impacted by anything that alters the agricultural economy and this is even more true when the livestock sector and the effects of COVID-19 are considered more narrowly.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Fence Post
Andrew Stevens, University of Wisconsin
Why U.S. meatpacking workers are vulnerable to coronavirus, and why the industry won't easily change
By: Green Bay Press-Gazette - May 6, 2020
"It's exponentially more expensive to cool a super, super large building," Stevens said. "So these buildings are as small as they can be under good circumstances, which means it's difficult to adjust the production process inside the building right now. You can't push the walls out and just snap your fingers and sort of change the distance between people."
(Continued...)
Read more on: Green Bay Press-Gazette
Gopinath Munisamy, University of Georgia
Octavio Ramirez, University of Georgia
UGA ag economics instructor named Distinguished Professor
By: The McDuffie Progress - May 4, 2020
Gopinath “Gopi” Munisamy, a University of Georgia professor of agricultural and applied economics, was recently named Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Marketing in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Spanning more than 35 years in academia and government, his work includes topics in agricultural policy, markets, trade and economic development.
Octavio Ramirez, head of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, applauded Munisamy’s accomplishments and appointment to the professorship, which received an initial endowment contribution from the Milton M. Ratner Foundation.
(Continued...)
Read more on: The McDuffie Progress
Seth Meyer, University of Missouri
Coronavirus Effects On Missouri Agriculture Are Severe But Inconsistent
By: St. Louis Public Radio - May 4, 2020
“If your normal place to drop your corn is an ethanol plant, and that ethanol plant is shut down, absolutely it’s having an effect,” said Seth Meyer, an agricultural economist at the University of Missouri.
(Continued...)
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Friday, May 8, 2020

Announcing the Online Agricultural and Resource Economics Seminar

The seminar will be held on Wednesdays at 11 am Central US time. 

Our second seminar will be held on May 13, 2020. Frances Moore, from the University of California, Davis, will be presenting her paper titled: 
"The Adaptive Benefits of Agricultural Water Markets" 

Abstract:
"Climate change is expected to increase the scarcity and variability of fresh water supplies in some regions with important implications for irrigated agriculture. By allowing for increased flexibility in response to scarcity and by incentivizing the allocation of water to higher value use, markets can play an important role in limiting the economic losses associated with droughts. Using data on water demand, the seniority of water rights, county agricultural reports, high-resolution data on cropping patterns, and agronomic estimates of crop water requirements, we estimate the benefits of market-based allocations of surface water for California’s Central Valley. Specifically, we estimate the value of irrigation water and compare the agricultural costs of water shortages under the existing legal framework and under an alternate system that allows for trading of water. We find that a more efficient allocation of curtailments could reduce the costs of water shortages by 390 million dollars per year or 4.6% of the net agricultural revenue in California in expectation, implying that institutional and market reform may offer important opportunities for adaptation."

If you would like to register, join the OARES listserv here, and make sure to sign up with your institutional address. The OARES website includes a schedule of forthcoming talks as well.



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