Ricky Volpe, California Polytechnic State University
“Forget Gasoline: Why the Price Surge in This Under the-Radar Fuel is the Real Threat to the U.S. Economy”
By: Market Watch – July 18, 2026
“Our growing and harvesting sectors are very, very energy intensive, and they get hit hard when energy costs go up… People already have seen some price impacts from higher energy costs — as well as higher costs for fertilizer, whose inputs also largely come from the Middle East.”
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Read more on: Market Watch
Ricky Volpe, California
Polytechnic State University
David Ortega, Michigan State University
“Buying Less, Trading Down: High Grocery Prices Will Hurt Produce Growers”
By: Capital Press – July 29, 2026
“The shift toward processed food is challenging but farms and other businesses can adapt and take advantage of the change in consumer habits. Substitutions happen and this presents opportunities.”
“When budgets are tight, food is one area where households have some flexibility, so consumers adjust at the margins. They switch to store brands, trade down from fresh to canned or frozen and prioritize who gets what.”
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Read more on: Capital Press
David Ortega, Michigan State University
- “Taylor
Farms Produce Is Sold Everywhere, Making Outbreak Difficult to Escape”
By: Bloomberg – July 24, 2026 - “How
Michigan Became the Epicenter of the Cyclosporiasis Outbreak”
By: Crains Detroit – July 24, 2026
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
“Simpler Applications Can Lift Welfare Benefit Uptake”
By: Basis Point Insight – August 1, 2026
“Governments in India face a recurring problem: many eligible citizens do not claim benefits that could materially improve their welfare. New research offers a rigorous and intuitive explanation. The application process itself can become the barrier.”
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Read more on: Basis Point Insight
Michael Langemeier, Purdue University
“Impact of Leverage on Rates of Return of Crop Farms”
By: Successful Farming – July 27, 2026
“Increasing financial leverage will increase expected returns as long the marginal returns from the use of loans exceed the cost of borrowing. In favorable economic times, higher leverage can improve financial performance and stimulate farm growth. However, in unfavorable economic times, leverage can cause business performance to deteriorate rapidly. Thus, higher leverage may increase expected returns and financial risk. Given this risk/return relationship, what is the optimal level of farm debt?”
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Read more on: Successful Farming
Gregory Ibendahl, Kansas State University
“Rising fuel costs cause concern for Cortez Transportation”
By: WIBW – July 26, 2026
“The fluctuating fuel costs don’t come as much of a surprise… Gas prices react very strongly to what the oil price does, there’s hardly any delay at all to where we get the most usually before you start seeing something happen. So this jumping around in gas prices to me is not unusual because we see the oil price doing the same thing.”
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Read more on: WIBW
Bradley Lubben, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
“Economist Warns of Growing Uncertainty in Ag Policy”
By: Brownfield Ag News – July 27, 2026
“While there’ve been necessary updates to the farm safety net, it doesn’t address larger issues. The future directions of the ag economy and drivers on the policy front – those are the things that aren’t in the farm bill that have the most significant questions ahead.”
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Read more on: Brownfield Ag News
Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
“Volatile Fertilizer Market Could Change How Farmers Buy Inputs”
By: Brownfield Ag News – July 28, 2026
“There could be dramatic swings between now and spring. Spreading out the input decisions just like you would for spreading out sales, is a good thing and more important now than a year ago.”
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Read more on: Brownfield Ag News
Hope Michelson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
“How AI Can Unlock Africa’s AfCFTA Potential”
By: News Central TV – July 28, 2026
“Uninsured risks continue to affect farmers’ willingness to invest in improved farming methods and technologies. And there’s a lot of uninsured risk… when farmers lack protection such as crop insurance, they become less willing to invest in inputs and techniques that could improve productivity.”
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Read more on: News Central TV
Elizabeth Canales Medina, Mississippi State University
“From Price Spikes To a Cyclospora Outbreak: Lettuce is Hitting Some Restaurants Hard”
By: Fast Company – July 30, 2026
“Unusually hot weather in Arizona early in the year caused crops to mature too early. That caused big supply gaps until California production began in late April. Fuel costs, which increased after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran and Iran blocked most oil tankers from leaving the Persian Gulf, have also been an issue. Lettuce is especially perishable and requires energy for cooling from the time it’s picked to the time it’s sold. The cold chain needs to be maintained. Cooling and transporting it is very important.”
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Read more on: Fast Company
Lee Schulz, Ever.Ag
“U.S. Hog Inventory Edges Lower in June”
By: High Plains Journal – July 31, 2026
“Market hog inventories by weight category provide an indication of anticipated slaughter levels during the six months following June 1. All four USDA market hog inventory estimates were below the average pre-report expectations.”
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Read more on: High Plains Journal
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