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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Wednesday, April 09, 2025
U.S. soybean acreage has increased 18 percent – from 74 to 87 million - in the last twenty years. Soybean acreage grew at a faster rate than corn during the same period.
A new report from USDA's Economic Research Service says most consumers mistakenly assign health and environmental stewardship attributes to food labeled “natural,” putting food producers who use organic or antibiotics-free labels at a competitive disadvantage.
USDA employees rate their work experience notably higher than they did a year ago, according to an annual survey published by the Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group.
USDA’s latest farm income forecast could provide some ammunition to farm groups and their allies in Congress who argue that soaring production costs are eating into farm earnings while producers have little chance of seeing payments from commodity programs.
The Agriculture Department is forecasting that net farm income will decline sharply this year on lower revenue from crops and livestock and higher production expenses.
USDA should have planned better for staff attrition when it moved the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2019, the Government Accountability Office says in a new report that notes the department “minimally involved employees, Congress, and other key stakeholders in relocating the agencies.”
Analysts say consumers are likely to see relatively high prices in grocery stores and restaurants for some time, due to strong commodity markets and high agricultural input costs that get passed through the food chain.
Over 50 million Americans rely on free distributions from food banks to help feed their families. But determining the economic value of those contributions has been challenging – until now, thanks to new research by USDA and Cornell University.
USDA economists are increasing their estimate of food price inflation this year and for 2023, saying that prices will rise more slowly next year but still above the historical average.