California Agricultural Issues Lab
of the University of California
Sumner presented data and projections for the long term future of California Agriculture to seed industry professionals at the UC Davis Seed Central Oniline Event on December 10.
Highlights: AIC Director Daniel Sumner summarized analysis done by himself and William A Matthews on the economic contributions of the California dairy industry to the California state economy and the San Joaquin Valley regional economy. The facts presented are part of an extensive research project funded by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB). Sumner’s presentation to the CMAB was the first release of research findings and allowed for quality feedback from dairy industry stakeholders. A final report, which will be posted on the AIC website, is forthcoming.
Highlights: AIC postdoctoral scholar Pablo Valdes-Donoso organized the seminar Challenges in Sustainable Aquaculture: The Case of the Chilean Salmon Industry. The seminar accounted with speakers from the Chilean salmon industry, Academia, and NGOs. Dr. Paulina Artacho, R & D from Intesal-Salmon Chile Association, delivered a comprehensive overview of the salmon industry. Dr. Fernando Mardones, assistant professor of the Catholic University Chile (PUC), spoke about Challenges in Sustainable Aquaculture. Tyler Isaac, an aquaculture scientist of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA), talked about the Seafood Watch Program that rates aquaculture products based on their sustainable attributes.
Highlights: AIC postdoc Pablo Valdes-Donoso summarized the recent article from the AIC members, Hyunok Lee and Daniel Sumner, entitled Dependence on policy revenue poses risks for investments in dairy digesters to discuss Dairy Manure Regulations and Economic Implications for Dairy Farms in California. This presentation was given to Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) students as a part of the One Health for Food Safety and Security program organized by the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS).
AIC research economist Karen Jetter presented “Costs to manage invasive aquatic weeds in the California Bay-Delta 2013 -2017” at the Delta Stakeholders meeting in Stockton.
AIC project scientist William Matthews presented results of our study on the economic contributions of the U.S. honey industry to the annual meeting of the National Honey Board in Denver, Colorado on October 19, 2018.
Highlights: AIC postdoc Pablo Valdes-Donoso delivered a comprehensive talk about Regional Strategies to Control Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in the US in the MSD Animal Health High-Quality Pork EU Conference in Baveno, Italy this October 9th and 10th. Pablo received the MSD Animal Health 2018 High-quality Pork Runner-up award for his MS and Ph.D. research.
On June 12, 2018, at the 12th annual conference of the American Association of Wine Economists at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, AIC researcher Robin Goldstein organized and chaired a plenary session on “Cannabis and Opioid Economics.” The majority of the work presented in the session was AIC research.
Goldstein presented “Retail costs and price relationships for the 2017 California cannabis market,” joint work with AIC Director Dan Sumner and AIC undergraduate researcher Allie Fafard. Sumner presented research with Yolanda Pan on “Simulating impacts of legalization and regulation of cannabis on the retail market,” and also discussed ongoing work on cannabis testing costs, joint with AIC researcher Pablo Valdes-Donoso and Goldstein.
The panel also featured the eminent economist Orley Ashenfelter of Princeton University, Guggenheim Fellow and past president of the American Economic Association, who presented “Opioids and alcohol: Substitutes or complements?”, and James Eaves (University of Laval), whose presentation, “Is cannabis like wine? The user experience offered by some popular cannabis strains,” focused on the economics of the Canadian cannabis market.
Economic Issues for Raisins
January 10, 2018, Fresno, California
Prepared by Daniel A. Sumner, William A. Matthews and Donald Stewart, University of California Agricultural Issues Center
For presentation slides (PDF) click here: cail.ucdavis.edu/publications/2018Raisin.pdf
1. THE FARM BILL AND THE WESTERN HAY INDUSTRY
pdf of presentation slides: cail.ucdavis.edu/publications/2017AlfalfaANDForage.pdf
video: http://lecture.ucanr.edu/Mediasite/Play/1d3a5333d9744d7ca739ae21b668a6e51d
Daniel A.Sumner and William A. Matthews
– Leaders of Agriculture Committees in Congress say the new farm bill is coming in early 2018 (They seldom do what they say, but maybe this time.)
– Commodity focus on higher subsidy rates and new subsidies for cotton and dairy
– Crop insurance and insurance-style programs have emerged as central
– But hay gets none of this! So why does it matter to a western hay and forage crowd?
2. THE DRIVERS OF WESTERN HAY AND FORAGE EXPORTS
pdf of presentation slides: cail.ucdavis.edu/publications/Farm bill and Hay 2017.pdf
video: http://lecture.ucanr.edu/Mediasite/Play/dcc78ef86d6e482d89b440ecdb6cc0131d
William A. Matthews and Daniel A. Sumner
– The export of Western-produced forage crops has increased over the past decade, with volume of exports increasing by 86 percent from 2007 to 2017.
– Continued growth in Western exports depends on:
– Western production of hay and other forage
– Domestic demand for hay and other forage
– Export growth also depends on:
Forage demand in foreign markets.
Forage supply from foreign suppliers
– This presentation reviews the available data and economic factors driving the export markets