Agricultural and Rural Economic Research, Cooperative Agreements and Collaborations

To provide economic and other social science information and analysis for public and private decisions on agriculture, food, natural resources, and rural America. ERS produces information for use by the general public and to help the executive and legislative branches develop, administer, and evaluate agricultural and rural policies and programs. Specific recent areas of research focus are measures of the impact on Food Assistance Programs on food security and dietary nutritional values, measures on the impact of incentive programs on the use of cover crops and rotational grazing with an emphasis on sustainability and the reduction of greenhouse gases. ERS is also conducting research specifically focused on equity in farm programs, including research on farm income and the profitability of beginning farmers and ranchers.