Amber Waves

Amber Waves is a monthly publication available on the ERS website. This digital magazine highlights the complete spectrum of ERS research and insights concerning economic and policy matters connected to agriculture, food, the environment, and rural communities in America.

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Articles

What happened to land rejected from the Conservation Reserve Program? An analysis of the 2016 General Signup

2 weeks ago | ers.usda.gov | Andrew Rosenberg |Bryan Pratt

As USDA’s largest land retirement program, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) pays landowners a yearly rental fee to convert highly erodible or otherwise environmentally sensitive land to vegetative cover such as native grasses. The program aims to achieve environmental benefits such as improving air and water quality, providing wildlife habitat, and sequestering carbon through land-use change. Contracts typically range from 10 to 15 years.
Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook: March 2025

4 weeks ago | ers.usda.gov | Catharine Weber |Helen Wakefield |Seth J. Wechsler

This report covers basic supply, demand, price, and trade analysis for fruit and tree nuts. Commodities discussed include oranges, berries, apples, avocados, melons, pistachios, and pecans.
Agricultural Income and Finance Situation and Outlook: 2024 Edition

1 month ago | ers.usda.gov | Carrie Litkowski |Anil Giri |Dipak Subedi |Tia M. McDonald

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated economic effects had implications for U.S. farms, the households that operate them, and the value of the land being farmed. Farm operations received record-level direct Government payments in 2020 largely due to financial assistance from COVID-19-related programs. Farm households, many of which rely on off-farm employment to supplement their total household income, were susceptible to higher nonfarm unemployment rates in 2020.
Rural households accounted for nearly one-sixth of U.S. food-insecure households in 2023 | Economic Research Service

1 month ago | ers.usda.gov

People in some areas of the United States are more likely than others to be food insecure, meaning they struggled to provide enough food for their household members within the past year. In 2023, 15.9 percent of food-insecure U.S. households were outside of metropolitan areas (rural households). The food insecurity rate for rural households was 15.4 percent, compared with 13.5 percent for all U.S. households. These data show groups that are at increased risk of food insecurity as well as the frequency of a group’s occurrence in the food-insecure population. For example, while the prevalence of food insecurity for suburban and exurban households near principal cities was 11.7 percent in 2023, this group accounted for 38.8 percent of food-insecure households. In contrast, the prevalence of food insecurity in 2023 was relatively high among households in principal cities (15.9 percent), but this group accounted for 33.2 percent of food insecure households. Data associated with this chart appear in the USDA, Economic Research Service report Household Food Security in the United States in 2023, published in September 2024.
Farm Sector Income & Finances - Assets, Debt, and Wealth | Economic Research Service

2 months ago | ers.usda.gov
Amber Waves: 2024 Year in Review

2 months ago | ers.usda.gov | Winfrey Norton |Sara Scott |Cole Ehmke |Caitlin Hendel

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In 2023, 17.9 percent of households with children were affected by food insecurity | Economic Research Service

Jan 9, 2025 | ers.usda.gov

Parents often shield children from experiencing food insecurity, particularly very low food security, even when the parents themselves are food insecure. In 2023, 17.9 percent of households with children were food insecure. In about half of those food-insecure households with children, only the adults experienced food insecurity. But in 8.9 percent of households with children, both children and adults were food insecure sometime during the year. In 1.0 percent of U.S. households with children (374,000 households), both children and adults experienced instances of very low food security.
The prevalence of food insecurity increased in 2023 compared with 2022 | Economic Research Service

Jan 9, 2025 | ers.usda.gov

In 2023, 13.5 percent of U.S. households were food insecure at least some time during the year, meaning the households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members because of a lack of resources. The 13.5 percent of food-insecure households (18.0 million households) includes 5.1 percent (6.8 million) that experienced very low food security, a more severe form of food insecurity in which the food intake of some household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted. The 2023 prevalence rate of food insecurity was statistically significantly higher than the rate recorded in 2022 (12.8 percent).
Food insecurity rates are highest for households with incomes below the poverty line and single-mother households | Economic Research Service

Jan 9, 2025 | ers.usda.gov

In 2023, 38.7 percent of households with incomes below the Federal poverty line were food insecure. Food-insecure households include those with low food security and very low food security. Rates of food insecurity were also significantly higher than the national average of 13.5 percent for single-parent households, women living alone, Black and Hispanic households, and households in principal cities and rural areas.
Food Security in the U.S. - Media Resources | Economic Research Service

Jan 8, 2025 | ers.usda.gov