ERS conducts studies and evaluations of the WIC Program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), the third largest USDA domestic food and nutrition assistance program.
Summary of USDA May 2018 forecasts for U.S. agricultural trade in FY 2018.
ERS research in this topic area focuses on the economic, social, spatial, temporal, and demographic factors that affect the poverty status of rural residents.
How much do fruits and vegetables cost? ERS estimated average prices for over 150 commonly consumed fresh and processed fruits and vegetables.
Interactive Visualization: Costs and Returns by Region and by Commodity
The data include historical U.S. and State-level farm income and wealth estimates as well as U.S.-level forecasts for the current calendar year.
Among produce growers, larger growers (measured by annual produce sales) had adopted food safety practices at higher rates than smaller growers in advance of the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Rule.
The nutritional quality of foods acquired for at-home consumption increases with the level of a household's use of nutrition information. This correlation does not hold for foods acquired for away-from-home consumption.
Consolidation has been widespread, persistent, and pronounced in crop production, and dramatic in some livestock sectors. Little consolidation has occurred in pasture/grazing land, and in the cow-calf sector.
During this webinar, economist Carrie Litkowski provides an updated farm sector income and wealth forecast for calendar year 2018.
Seasonal feature: Get background information and data on turkey – production, top producing States, consumption, exports, wholesale and retail prices.
Stay informed by subscribing to our e-mail notification service! You will receive announcements of our latest reports and other news as shown on the ERS calendar.
Between 1982 and 2012, larger crop farms were more productive than smaller crop farms in the Heartland region. This productivity gap has widened over time and may have driven the ongoing shift in production to larger farms. Aggregate produc...
Newly implemented Federal regulations require chain restaurants to post calorie contents on menus. ERS's analysis of 2007-14 data found that total daily calorie intakes were lower for consumers who saw and used nutrition or health informati...
As household incomes fell during the Great Recession, inflation-adjusted food spending by U.S. households declined by 7 percent between 2007 and 2010 and did not return to pre-recession levels until 2015. Eating out took a bigger hit than g...
Every summer, a hypoxic zone forms in the Gulf of Mexico, where dissolved oxygen is too low for many aquatic species to survive. This zone is fueled in part by nitrogen and phosphorus flowing from cropland in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya Riv...
Analysis of administrative records from Oregon finds that able-bodied, working-age SNAP participants are more likely to leave the program when labor market conditions at the county or commuting area levels improve.
The Economic Research Service (ERS) shapes its research program and products to assist those who routinely make or influence public policy and program decisions.
Receive announcements of our latest reports and other news as shown on the ERS calendar.
Highlights from our current and past research, Monday through Friday.
