New paper on agricultural data
Technological advances are driving rapid growth in the collection and use of farm and ranch production data. First introduced in 1863, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm and ranch production […]
The 2020 President’s Budget Shortchanges Agriculture
It’s not so much what it says but what it doesn’t say—and the 2020 President’s Budget, released on March 10, 2019, has little to say about natural resources conservation. The […]
The 2019 President’s Budget Misreads the Data and Misses the Point
Last week the White House released its 2019 budget proposal, essentially the Administration’s policy priorities for the coming year. The “belt-tightening” for public services in this budget proposal is even […]
Crop Insurance and Conservation: A Risk Management Partnership?
Risk management interests loom large as this Farm Bill cycle speeds up, particularly with recent price trends, droughts, fires, floods, and related challenges to production and bottom lines. In House […]
A Tale of Two Cities
The Des Moines Water Works Board of Trustees voted on Jan. 8, 2015, to issue an intent to sue counties in the Des Moines river and Raccoon river watersheds because […]
Plains and Eastern Arkansas Delta Economic Study
The Arkansas Delta Economic Study (App-J of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement) assesses economic impacts of a wind energy transmission line. Economic assessment and report writing by Blackwoods Group.
Investing in sustainability
Most of my career was spent as an economist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). One of the things I dreamed of was harnessing the power of markets to […]
Opportunity to craft workable policy
Born in conflict—enacted by Congress in 1972 over President Nixon’s veto—the Clean Water Act (CWA) has served for more than four decades as the foundation for protecting water quality in […]
A Public-Private Partnership to Enhance Voluntary Conservation
Co-authored by Doug Lawrence, “A public-private partnership to enhance the voluntary approach to nutrient stewardship”, considers how agricultural retailers and conservation districts can work together to enhance voluntary conservation.
Feeding 9 billion people…sustainably
A number of forces are currently shaping and threatening the rural landscape around the world. First is continuing population growth. By 2050, the world’s population will grow from 6.8 billion […]
