Adoption of Agricultural Production Practices: Lessons Learned from the U.S.Department of Agriculture Area Studies Project.
By Margriet Caswell, Keith Fuglie,Cassandra Ingram, Sharon Jans, and Catherine Kascak. Resource Economics Division,Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Economic Report No. 792.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Area Studies Project was designed to characterize the extent of adoption of nutrient, pest, soil, and water management practices and to assess the factors that affect adoption for a wide range of management strategies across different natural resource regions. The project entailed the administration of a detailed field-level survey to farmers in 12 watersheds in the Nation to gather data on agricultural practices, input use, and natural resource characteristics associated with farming activities. The data were analyzed by the Economic Research Service using a consistent methodological approach with the full set of data to study the constraints associated with the adoption of micronutrients, N-testing, split nitrogen applications, green manure,biological pest controls, pest-resistant varieties, crop rotations, pheromones, scouting, conservation tillage, contour farming, strip cropping, grassed waterways, and irrigation.In addition to the combined-areas analyses, selected areas were chosen for analysis to illustrate the difference in results between aggregate and area-specific models.
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Anticipated Opportunities for U.S. Food Exports
Taiwan officially entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Jan. 1, 2002, where it will be designated as Chinese Taipei. Taiwan’s entry into the WTO’s rules-based global trading system follows 12 years of intense negotiations with Australia, the European Union, New Zealand and the
United States.
About 15-20 percent of the products sold in Taiwan’s supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as about 15 percent of the products sold in convenience stores, are imported. Imports are expected to increase because Taiwan agreed to reduce tariffs and open its markets to gain WTO
membership. Under the U.S.-Taiwan bilateral market access agreement, Taiwan agreed
to open its rice market for the first time and to increase access for pork, beef and
poultry variety meats and chicken meat.
Traditionally, buyers for Taiwan’s super-markets, hypermarkets and convenience stores purchase from local retail chains usually maintain teams of buyers specializing in product categories.
However, it is recommended that you initially contact the team leaders and food directors
or managers to introduce your company and products. After further contacts, these retail
Market Entry importers, wholesalers and manufacturers.
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TRADE NOTES
U.S. Fishery Exports Projected To Grow This Year
Fiscal 2002 exports of U.S. fishery products are expected to continue on an upward trend. Sales to Japan and Canada, our two largest markets, are projected to grow slightly. Exports to Japan may benefit from concerns over bovine spongiform encephalopathy, as those to the European Union (EU) have.
Exports to South Korea and the EU have been growing steadily for the past two years, and are expected to continue to increase again in fiscal 2002 as growing demand in these markets exceeds domestic seafood supply.
FAS Weekly Export Sales Report Adds Beef
FAS began reporting on U.S. export sales of fresh, chilled and frozen muscle cuts of beef in its weekly U.S. Export Sales report on Dec. 13, 2001. The U.S. Export Sales report also includes certain grains, soybeans and soybean products, wheat and wheat products, rice, flaxseed, linseed oil, cotton and cotton-seed products, and cattle hides and skins. The weekly aggregated beef data will provide livestock producers, ranchers and others with up-to-date information to analyze foreign market conditions and consumer demand. Producers will be able to use the data to make economic forecast decisions on the flow of beef into both domestic and export markets. Export sales reporting is mandated by Section 602 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978.
U.S. Horticultural and Tropical Product Exports Set Record
U.S. exports of horticultural products reached a record $11.1 billion in fiscal 2001, up 5 percent from 2000. U.S. exports of sugar and tropical products hit a record $2.6 billion in fiscal 2001, up 14 percent from 2000. Some of the fastest-growing product sales in fiscal 2001 were almonds, up 48 percent; pistachios, up 39 percent; apples, up 24 percent; grapes, up 20 percent; carrots, also up 20 percent; and prunes, up 14 percent.
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