2010

May, 2010

"From Specialized Farming to your Fork: Implications for Competition and the Changing Structure of Agriculture”
The National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research (National C-FAR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, consensus–based and customer–led coalition that brings food, agriculture, nutrition, conservation and natural resource stakeholders together with the food and agriculture research community, serving as a forum and a unified voice in support of sustaining and increasing public investment at the national level in food and agricultural research, extension and education.

On May 24 C–FARE sponsored the briefing speaker, Dr. Brian Buhr (University of Minnesota). His talk was entitled, "From Specialized Farming to your Fork: Implications for Competition and the Changing Structure of Agriculture." Dr. James MacDonald (USDA ERS) provided Dr. Buhr’s introduction.

C-FARE's Summer 2010 Intern
Ms. Kayla Calhoun (University of Georgia) was the C-FARE Summer 2010 Intern.

June, 2010

"Local Foods Across the Country and Close to Home: The Economics of Local Foods Supply Chains"
On June 21 C-FARE sponsored Dr. Rob King (University of Minnesota) as the National C-FAR "Lunch-n-Learn" speaker on "Local Foods Across the Country and Close to Home: The Economics of Local Foods Supply Chains." Dr. Mary Bohman (USDA ERS) introduced the speaker and the event was moderated by Stephanie Patrick from the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Rob was part of a team research project funded by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) on the economics of local foods supply chains. The report was released by ERS on June 21 (http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR99/).

Climate Change and Agriculture: Food and Farming in a Changing Climate
On June 16, 2010 C–FARE co–hosted briefings in the Senate and in the House on the issue of "Climate Change and Agriculture: Food and Farming in a Changing Climate." The other sponsoring organizations were American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). C–FARE hosted Dr. Gerald Nelson (IFPRI) as the economist.

June Intern Events
On June 14 and June 28 C–FARE sponsored the Intern Briefing focusing on Capitol Hill Careers and Private Sector Careers, respectively. We appreciated the volunteer efforts of the speakers and organizers.

June 14, 2010 – Capitol Hill Event
Dr. Craig Jagger – House Committee on Agriculture
Dr. Stephanie Mercier – Senate Agriculture Committee
Dr. Jim Monke – Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Joseph A. Shultz – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

On June 28, 2010 – Private Sector Careers
Gary Blumenthal – World Perspectives, Inc.
Dr. Ruben N. Lubowski – Environmental Defense Fund
Allison Specht – American Farm Bureau Federation

July, 2010

July Intern Events
We partnered with USDA Economists Group and helped organize tours of the World Agriculture Outlook Board (July 9, 2010), USDA NASS Lock-up (July 9, 2010), and USDA ERS (July 15, 2010). We also worked with them on the USDA Career briefing and the Agency briefing and career fair.

July 12, 2010 – USDA Careers

• Joy Harwood – USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)
• Antonio McLaren – USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
• Warren Preston – USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
• Daniel Whitley – USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)

July 16, 2010 – Non-USDA Agency Careers

• Jonathan R. Coleman, Chief, Agriculture and Fisheries Division, U.S. International Trade Commission
• Uma Lele, Senior Advisor in the Operations Evaluation Department, World Bank
• Carrie L. Litkowski, Bureau of Economic Analysis

After the July 16 Brown Bag Briefing on agency careers C-FARE worked with the USDA Economists Group to develop a career fair. Agencies that participated in the Career Fair were: Johns Hopkins, USDA APHIS, USDA ERS, USDA FAS, USDA FSA, USDA NASS, USDA NRCS, USDA OCE, USDA Economists Group