As broadband—or high-speed—Internet use has spread, Internet applications requiring high transmission speeds have become an integral part of the “Information Economy,” raising concerns about those who lack broadband access. This report analyzes (1) rural broadband use by consumers, the...

A modeling framework addresses manure management policies within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Policy focus is on manure-land application at agronomic rates, as proposed under the EPA/USDA Unified Strategy. Manure-nutrient flows are assessed subject to assimilative capacity of farmland. National...

Since 1985, U.S. agricultural producers have been required to practice soil conservation on highly erodible cropland and conserve wetlands as a condition of farm program eligibility. This report discusses the general characteristics of compliance incentives, evaluates their effectiveness in...

Efforts to encourage Americans to improve their diets and to eat more nutritious foods presume a wide variety of these foods are accessible to everyone. But for some Americans and in some communities, access to healthy foods may be limited. Policies to improve access to healthful foods have been...

A Chesapeake Bay Watershed manure management model estimates the minimal regional cost of land applying manure at $110 to $130 million, depending on crop producer's willingness to accept manure and the nutrient standard enforced. Annualized capital costs of existing industrial plants indicate...

Agri-environmental policy is at a crossroads. Over the past 20 years, a wide range of policies addressing the environmental implications of agricultural production have been implemented at the Federal level. Those policies have played an important role in reducing soil erosion, protecting and...

Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2005, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The...

Given recent concerns expressed about the structural transformation of agriculture and the health of the family farm this study provides a measure of the economic health of small and large farms at the state level. We use nonparametric frontier methods to measure and explain changes in the...