AGRICULTURE - FOOD USA

Source: http://france.usembassy.gov
Million-Dollar Farms in the New Century
Robert A. Hoppe et al. U.S. Department of Agriculture - Web posted January 1, 2009 – 47 pages http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib42/eib42.pdf
Million-dollar farms, those with annual sales of at least $1 million, accounted for about half of U.S. farm sales in 2002, up from a fourth in 1982, with sales measured in constant 2002 dollars. By 2006, million-dollar farms, accounting for 2 percent of all U.S. farms, dominated U.S. production of high-value crops, milk, hogs, poultry, and beef. The shift to million-dollar farms is likely to continue because they tend to be more profitable than smaller farms, giving them a competitive advantage. Most million-dollar farms, 84 percent, are family farms, that is, the farm operator and relatives of the operator own the business.

Organic Agriculture in the United States: Program and Policy Issues
Renée Johnson Congressional Research Service (CRS) - November 25, 2008 - 13 pages http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/113547.pdf
Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 as part of a larger law governing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs from 1990 through 1996 (P.L. 101-624, the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990). The act authorized the creation of a National Organic Program (NOP) within USDA to establish standards for producers and processors of organic foods, and permit such operations to label their products with a “USDA Organic” seal after being officially certified by USDA-accredited agents. The new omnibus law that will govern USDA programs and policies through FY2012 (P.L. 110-246; the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) contains several provisions affecting organic agriculture and the NOP.

Fisheries Economics of the United States 2006
Rita Curtis et al. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine Fisheries Service – Report - January 6, 2009 – 166 pages
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st5/publication/econ/EconomicsReport_ALL.pdf
The United States commercial and recreational fishing generated more than $185 billion in sales and supported more than two million jobs in 2006, according to the study.

Report to Congress Pursuant to Section 403(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - January 2009 – 146 pages
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007/docs/biennial_report011309.pdf
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has produced the first ever report to Congress identifying six nations, France, Italy, Libya, Panama, People's Republic of China, Tunisia , whose fishing vessels were engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2007 or 2008. Annual global economic losses due to IUU fishing are estimated to be about $9 billion, according to an international task force on IUU fishing.

A Comparison of Household Food Security in Canada and the United States
Mark Nord and Heather Hopwood Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Web posted January 9, 2009 – 50 pages
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR67/ERR67.pdf
Food security, consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, is essential for health and good nutrition. The extent to which a nation’s population achieves food security is an indication of its material and social well-being. Differences in the prevalence of household-level food insecurity between Canada and the United States are described at the national level and for selected economic and demographic subpopulations.

Agricultural Markets and Food Price Inflation — A conference summary FRB Chicago - Chicago Fed Letter - January 2009 – 4 pages
http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/cfljanuary2009_258a.pdf
On October 2, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held a conference that focused on the economic impacts of volatile agricultural prices and food policy, especially their intersection with the macroeconomy through food price inflation.