update - February 2004

Progress and Partnerships in a Dynamic Rural America

Rural America faces many opportunities and challenges in the 21st century. Will partnerships between public and private institutions help to enhance the economic prospects for rural residents?

Leslie Whitener
Joseph Jen
Kathleen Kassel

Have Seed Industry Changes Affected Research Effort?

Crop variety research and development have contributed to the unprecedented crop yields experienced by U.S. farmers since the 1930s. As the seed sector becomes increasingly dominated by large private firms, will the intensity of research effort decrease?

Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo
David Schimmelpfennig

Poverty declined in the 1990s, particularly in rural and small-town nonmetro areas. Still, over 400 nonmetro areas had poverty rates of at least 20 percent in 2000. What socioeconomic factors characterize these high poverty areas, and what kinds of policies will help them?

Calvin L. Beale

The Elephant is Jogging:
New Pressures for Agricultural Reform in India

Endowed with rich land, water, and labor resources, India’s agricultural sector boomed in the last half of the 20th century. Now, however, the ag sector is facing new pressures to meet the demands of a growing middle class. Are producers and policymakers poised to respond to these pressures?

Maurice R. Landes

The United States has been a net exporter of agricultural products since 1959, an uninterrupted span of 44 years. This surplus may turn into a deficit in the next decade. What does this turnabout say about the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture?

Alberto Jerardo