Posted: January 18, 2018
The mission of USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) is to anticipate trends and emerging issues in agriculture, food, the environment, and rural America and to conduct high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision making. Two new reports highlight how ERS research is used on the ground.
The ERS and Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation issued reports this month showing how ERS research is used.
The 2017 ERS Annual Report highlights how ERS research is used by those who routinely make or influence public policy and program decisions. For example, ERS research indicating that veterans are over-represented in rural America is being used by "policy makers in USDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs and is part of a longer-term ERS focus on understanding the social and economic characteristics of rural veterans and their role in contributing to rural well-being." Access the full ERS 2017 Annual Report here.
In addition, the Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Foundation (RMF) conducted a study of the ERS and released a report this month titled "Economic Research Service: Specialized Agency Functions and Public Goods' Provision," which "summarizes the agency's outsized impact serving the public goals of USDA programs and in contributing to the practice of agricultural and applied economics." The RMF Special Report is available here (PDF).
