Office of the Chief Economist

In June 2013, Secretary Vilsack outlined a vision for agricultural solutions to environmental challenges, which included creating the Regional Climate Hubs. In 2014, the USDA Climate Hubs were established in to serve as regional centers of climate change information and outreach to reduce risks. The Climate Hubs enhance USDA capacity to deliver science-based knowledge and practical information to support climate-informed decision making on farms, ranches, and forests.

October is Farm to School Month! The USDA Farm to School Program helps schools incorporate local foods into meal programs and supports local food and agriculture education through grants, research, and technical assistance. Less plate waste may be a benefit for schools implementing farm to school. According to the 2019 School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS), approximately 21 percent of calories available in school lunches were wasted – 31 percent of vegetables and 41 percent of milk were discarded from lunch trays. Evidence from the SNMCS indicates participation in a farm to school program was associated with a lower percentage of waste for calories in the School Breakfast Program, and higher participation in the National School Lunch Program.

September 29 is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Earlier this month, USDA hosted a convening to raise awareness of food loss and waste mitigations across the supply chain. The second annual Food Loss and Waste Innovation Fair showcased some of the latest food loss and waste mitigation technologies, programs, and innovations from USDA agencies, universities, local governments, and businesses.

Last year, as COVID-19 rattled the world economy and disrupted trade flows, agricultural trade remained mostly stable, falling only two percent during the initial wave of infections and lockdowns, before bouncing back and ending the year up 3.5 percent. But the growth in agricultural trade doesn’t mean that trade flows were insulated from the effects of the pandemic. Much of 2020 was in fact shaped by other factors. For instance, 95% of global agricultural trade growth came from China and was driven in part by non-pandemic related factors of increased feed demand, efforts to restock grain reserves, and policy factors. A recent paper by USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist, Has Global Agricultural Trade been Resilient under COVID-19? Findings from an Econometric Assessment (PDF, 1.4 MB) (Arita et al.), suggests that while agricultural trade remained stable at the aggregate level, a deeper empirical analysis reveals there were still significant disruptions due to the pandemic.