ERS’ mission is to anticipate trends and emerging issues in agriculture, food, the environment and rural America. Economists and professional staff work daily to produce timely research that informs not only the public but also leadership within USDA and its agencies. ERS research informs decisions made at every level of USDA, from those made by the secretary to programmatic staff. As a trusted partner within USDA for policymakers, ERS economists work hand in hand with other USDA agencies to anticipate their most pressing questions and provide expert analysis. As one of 13 principal Federal statistical agencies, every ERS employee takes the role of providing objective, unbiased information seriously. This helps ERS remain a trusted source of information for government officials, agricultural decision makers in the private sector, and for the public.
True to its mission, ERS economists regularly work with stakeholders to identify and anticipate emerging issues and produce timely research that informs some of the biggest questions facing our nation related to agriculture, food, and rural communities.
ERS’s recent body of work has anticipated needs related to current issues—including the needs of rural America, improving food and nutrition research, the impacts of market concentration, and studying agricultural technology. In addition to many reports released by ERS throughout the year on these topics, here are just a few examples of work ERS carried out in FY 2023 to support these timely and emerging issues.
Rural America
In September 2023, ERS launched the Area and Road Ruggedness Scales data product. The product measures topographic variation, or “ruggedness” for census tracts throughout the United States, and serves as a resource for researchers, Federal agencies, policy makers and practitioners to better understand and address issues of rural development, demographic change and individual community well-being. This product provides the first-ever ruggedness measures with full nationwide coverage for the United States and the first to provide a roads-only version to help study the impact of rugged terrain on travel by car. The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy proposed using the Road Ruggedness Scale data product to expand how it defines rural communities since access to healthcare may be reduced when roads are difficult to traverse. To learn more about the Area and Road Ruggedness Scales, view the data training webinar.
Improving Food and Nutrition Research
ERS has long set the gold standard for food security research, and ERS is leading the rigorous process of developing measures of nutrition security by creating a conceptual framework and seeking input from the research community. The ability to measure nutrition security will enhance research and understanding of the topic and help inform policymakers seeking to improve it.
ERS also expanded the ability to measure and track food security in specific populations, including older adults and people with disabilities. ERS expanded this ability by providing new data that may give insight into the drivers of food insecurity in key populations and how to best target interventions.
Finally, ERS partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and announced $1.4 million in new research aimed at improving equitable access to healthy food. Collectively, this funding (provided by RWJF) gives 14 research institutions the opportunity to leverage restricted data from USDA’s Consumer Food Data System. The goal is to expand research on food policy, food retail markets, consumer behaviors related to food purchases and diet and USDA’s nutrition assistance programs. The research will be completed and presented at a conference in Washington D.C. on February 7, 2025.
In FY 2022, infant formula supply chain disruptions began to emerge. ERS has long produced research on infant formula and the WIC program. ERS continued to monitor this issue in FY 2023. ERS produced a Chart of Note on WIC participation showing that 2022 had the first rise in more than a decade and in an Amber Waves article, U.S. Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs Continued To Respond to Economic and Public Health Conditions in Fiscal Year 2022.
Market Concentration
Throughout FY 2023, inflation and prices were a constant headline and concern for both policymakers and consumers. ERS expertise provides insight on how market concentration is affecting agriculture. Through two reports released in FY 23 (A Disaggregated View of Market Concentration in the Food Retail Industry and Concentration and Competition in U.S. Agribusiness), ERS provided an overview and deeper understanding of concentration in these specific industries. The research showed that market concentration rose significantly in the food retail, seed, and livestock markets and explored implications of that concentration. An ERS webinar with the authors of Concentration and Competition in U.S. Agribusiness also provided an opportunity for the public to ask the authors questions about the report.
Investing in the Future of Agricultural Economics
ERS continued its investment in the development of the agricultural economics profession of the future. In early FY 2023, ERS announced a partnership with the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) to increase diversity in the field of agricultural economics. ERS also supported 15 Ag Scholars through its partnership with the Farm Foundation by providing mentoring and networking opportunities to students pursuing advanced degrees in agricultural economics and related fields. These scholars are already making an impact in the field. Six scholars participated in the flagship agricultural economics conference, the 2023 Applied and Agriculture Economics Association meetings, where three presented research and three additional scholars won awards.
Technology and Emerging Research
ERS emerging research included a journal article in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, “The relative financial performance of African American farms in the United States since the great recession.” ERS also appointed a team lead and hired USDA Climate Fellows for an Interagency Conservation Practices Data Team in which USDA’s NASS, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Agricultural Resource Service will also participate.
ERS also published reports looking at the potential for using animal manure for supplying nutrients to crops and the adoption of precision agriculture technologies by farmers.
Learn more about these reports and all the research ERS produced in FY 2023 in each section of our Year in Review.