Farm Foundation

Project Highlights

Local Food Systems: A one-day workshop on Friday, June 26, 2009, will examine issues related to local foods. Registration for the workshop exceeds the capacity of the meeting room--Waugh Auditorium of USDA's Economic Research Service. To expand conference participation, a live, online broadcast of the workshop is planned for the day of the event. Learn how to register for the broadcast.

The Role of Extension in Energy is the final conference in the Transition to a Bioeconomy series. The Extension conference will be June 30-July 1 in Little Rock, Ark. Four earlier conferences in the series examined:
Integration of Agriculture and Energy Systems
Risk, Infrastructure and Industry Evolution
Environmental and Rural Development Impacts
Global Trade and Policy Issues
A related conference examined the Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Biofuels.

Confronting Food Price Inflation is the topic of a symposium organized by Farm Foundation and the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium. The June 22-23 event in Seattle, Wash., will focus on agricultural trade and policy issues.

Agricultural Research & Productivity for the Future: This April 28 workshop examined the role of research in supporting and maintaining the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture in a global economy. Presentation are posted for review.

PFSO- Climate Change and the Food System: Developing economies of the Asia-Pacific region will experience the greatest impacts from climate change.

Foundation News

What's Driving Food Prices? March 2009 Update
While much has changed in the nine months since FarmFoundation released its report, What's Driving Food Prices? Yet the key drivers of food prices remain unchanged. Read the March 2009 Update.

A Conversation with the Secretaries
Seven former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture particpate in the historic 90-minute discussion, A Conversation with the Secretaries. It was organized by Farm Foundation and Farm Journal Media as part of the Food and Agriculture Policy Summit.

Farm Foundation Forums
Forums are an opportunity for stakeholders with an interest in agriculture, food and rural issues and policies to gain information and exchange ideas.

U.S. Livestock Industry - A new report from USDA's Economic Research Service assesses the driving forces behind structural change in fed-cattle, dairy, hog and broiler production. The Transformation of U.S Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency and Risks also describes the effects of productivity, prices and pollution/health risks.

Rural-Urban Relations - Agricultural journalists worldwide are challenged by the increasing number and diversity of rural-urban issues evolving today. An article in a recent issue of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists IFAJ eNews, co-authored by Jim Evansof the University of Illinois and Owen Roberts of the University of Guelph,cites more than 100 rural-urban issues.

Current capacity of the U.S.'s 167 ethanol biorefineries is 9.9 billion gallons per year. Completion of 35 new plants and expansion of 7 others will increase that capacity by 3.6 billion gallons. In May 2008, RFA estimated ethanol demand/use at 616,000 barrels per day or 801.8 million gallons.
Source: Renewable Fuels Association

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