Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences: Economic Research Service

The mission of USDA's Economic Research Service is to anticipate trends and emerging issues in agriculture, food, the environment, and rural America and to conduct high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision making.

ERS research and analysis covers a broad range of economic and policy topics:

• Agricultural Economy – farm sector performance and farm households’ well-being; farm size and concentration; market analysis, data, and projections on commodity supply, demand, and prices; and Federal farm policies
• Food and Nutrition – food security, food and nutrition assistance programs, food choices and health outcomes, food access and store proximity, food retailing and marketing, and food prices
• Food Safety – societal benefits associated with reducing food safety risks, global trade implications and economic impacts of food hazards, and potential results of regulation versus industry decisions
• Global Markets and Trade – domestic and international markets, trade, and the U.S. food and agriculture sector’s performance in increasingly globalized markets
• Resources and Environment – economic impacts of alternative conservation programs, efficacy of policies designed to protect the environment, challenges of climate change and water scarcity, and enhancing agricultural competitiveness through technology
• Rural Economy – investments in rural communities and the capacity of rural economies to prosper in a changing global marketplace, demographic change and its impact on rural communities, and drivers of rural economic performance

Government Documents provides access to many ERS publications, including statistical releases such as Situation and Outlook Reports for various crops, Foreign Agricultural Economic Reports, and Aquaculture Outlook. Other series include:

Agricultural outlook (A 93.10/2:) Monthly analysis of developments in farming and product marketing.

ERS (series) (A 93.21:) Analyses of production costs, prices, etc.

Food assistance and nutrition research program (A 93.60:) Reports related to food and nutrition assistance programs

Amber Waves (A 93.62:) "The economics of food, farming, natural resources, and rural America"

Foreign Agricultural Trade Statistics - A 93.17:

Livestock and Poultry Updates - A 93.46:

Economic Research Reports - A 93.73:

We also have Congressional reports, documents, committee hearings, and prints related to rural America, food and nutrition assistance programs, and agricultural prices. Search for these using ProQuest Congressional.