Members in the News: Glauber, Gustafson, Joshi, Durand-Morat, Shew, and Hillberry

Joseph Glauber, International Food Policy Research Institute Trump trade policy: Playing a game of chicken with American agriculture Written by Joseph Glauber: The Hill - January 19, 2019 President Trump recently reassured farmers that he had their backs on trade at the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farmers voted overwhelming for Trump in 2016 and judging from the warm reaction he received on Monday, he remains popular. But from comments I heard at the convention, there is much unease over his trade policies despite his reassurances to the contrary. Any thoughts that candidate Trump’s anti-trade campaign rhetoric would cool when he assumed the presidency were dashed in the first week after his inauguration. On day No. 3 of his presidency, Trump withdrew the United States from any engagement with the TransPacific Partnership, an agreement that he called “a potential disaster for our country” but one that the Farm Bureau had estimated would increase annual U.S. net farm income by $4.4 billion. Withdrawal from TPP will not just cause U.S. agriculture to lose out on the potential benefits of increased trade. In fact, at least to a modest extent U.S. exports are likely to fall as TPP competitors such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada gain favorable access to markets like Japan and Vietnam, markets in which up to now U.S. agricultural exporters have enjoyed substantial market shares. (Continued...) Read more on: The Hill European opposition to change on ag and food safety runs deep By: AgriPulse - January 23, 2019 The U.S. and the EU both want a new trade pact to bring together two of the largest economic forces in the world, but agriculture is standing firmly in the way. Joseph Glauber was included in the article discussing the contention around agriculture policy that is stymying a trade pact between the United States and European Union. (Continued...) Read more on: AgriPulse Christopher Gustafson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Pre-emptive decision on post-workout snack may fight indulgence By: Medical Press - January 22, 2019 Nebraska's Karsten Koehler, Christopher Gustafson and their colleagues conducted an experiment that asked two groups of participants to go about their normal workout routines while wearing motion-tracking accelerometers, supposedly to calibrate them. Before exercising, members of one group decided whether they wanted an apple, brownie or no snack following the exercise session – an offer framed as a reward for calibrating the accelerometers. Members of the other group were presented with the same choice after they had already exercised. (Continued...) Read more on: Medical Press PK Joshi, International Food Policy Research Institute Economic Agenda 2019: Sowing seeds for better farm growth By: The Economic Times - January 22, 2019 The role of farmer producer organizations is also important because small and marginal farmers constitute 88% of the farming community. PK Joshi, director for South Asia at International Food Policy Research Institute, said one of the main causes of farm distress was small landholdings in India — 88% of the farming community in India is small or marginal. There is a need to consolidate landholdings for farming and marketing together, and the role of farmer-producer organizations is important here to gain economies of scale, he said. Sustainable growth, however, will happen only by providing employment opportunities to small and marginal farmers outside agriculture, Joshi said. “In the long run, a large number of farmers need to move out from agriculture for better employment opportunities … This will help in expanding per-capita land holding to generate a decent income. This was exactly the way agriculture in developed countries evolved.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Economic Times A comprehensive scheme is a must for States that are lagging By: The Hindu Business Line - January 24, 2019 India should develop a comprehensive agricultural scheme for States that are lagging, similar to promoting aspirational districts, PK Joshi, South-Asia Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute, told BusinessLine in an interview. Excerpts: Do you think the agriculture sector deserves a special focus in this Budget? If so, what are the compelling reasons? Agriculture needs serious attention as majority of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Majority of farmers have tiny and fragmented land holdings; their size is declining over the years. Agriculture is facing three broad challenges: high price volatility, climate risk, and indebtedness. These require remunerative markets, risk mitigating strategies and off-farm employment opportunities. (Continued...) Read more on: The Hindu Business Line Alvaro Durand-Morat, University of Arkansas Aaron Shew, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture study examines global benefits of public plant breeding programs By: Newton County Times - January 21, 2019 A new study, co-authored by four University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture experts, looks at how such programs benefit consumers around the world, as well. “Estimating the Benefits of Public Plant Breeding Programs,” slated to be published in an upcoming volume of the Journal of Agricultural Economics, was co-authored, in part, by Lanier Nalley, professor of agriculture economics for the department of agricultural economics and agribusiness, and Karen Moldenhauer, professor of crop, soil, and environmental science. Alvaro Durand-Morat, a research assistant professor for the Division of Agriculture, and Aaron Shew, now an assistant professor and the Wilson Chair of Agricultural Business at Arkansas State University, were also co-authors. (Continued...) Read more on: Newton County Times Russell Hillberry, Purdue University Hillberry: U.S. fighting trade war on many fronts Written by Russell Hillberry: AgriNews - January 18, 2019 The U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting agricultural exports of $141.5 billion in fiscal year 2019, down from $143.4 billion in 2018. Much of the expected decline in total exports is attributable to soybeans and cotton. Declining sales to China are expected to affect soybeans, while the lower forecast for cotton exports is linked to slowing growth in global demand. Under normal circumstances, one might expect macroeconomic conditions to be the central focus of an annual agricultural trade outlook like this one. But in 2019, as in 2018, international trade policy will likely affect agricultural trade more than economic conditions alone. (Continued...) Read more on: AgriNews

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*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.