Monday, June 23, 2025

Members in The News: June 23, 2025

Martin Smith, Duke University

US Shrimp Fishers See Trump Tariffs as a Lifeline: ‘We’re Basically on Our Knees’

By: The Guardian – June 11, 2025

“It was not clear that Trump’s recent broad-based tariffs – those that target a wide array of goods – are the right tool to address a flood of cheap shrimp imports.”

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Read more on: The Guardian 


William Maples, Mississippi State University

Trump’s Tariffs Are Hurting U.S. Agriculture. Some Farmers Support Them Anyway

By: Mississippi Free Press – June 17, 2025

“A new trade deal with China “locks in a source of demand” for U.S. farm products… The problem with Trump’s more expansive and erratic tariff strategy this time is that it risks alienating trade partners and further destabilizing markets, which in turn would drive down crop prices.”

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Read more on: Mississippi Free Press


Rebecca Taylor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Plastic Shopping Bag Policies Are Actually Working, a New Study Suggests

By: CNN – June 19, 2025

“And you can always go back to the three R’s: Reduce the number of plastic bags you use, reuse them when you can and recycle them when you must.”

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Read more on: CNN


Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University 

Labor Crisis Reality Check: How Immigration Crackdowns Could Increase Milk Prices by 90% and Crash Profits

By: The Bullvine – June 15, 2025

“Michigan State University agricultural economist Zach Rutledge estimates that domestic workers with employment taxes may cost between $15 and $25 per hour, while H-2A workers can cost almost twice as much, $25 to $30 per hour. He noted that cost may be higher when factoring in housing and other expenses.”

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Read more on: The Bullvine


Jennifer Ifft, Kansas State University
Alejandro Plastina,
University of Missouri-Columbia

Government Payments Push Kansas Farm Income Higher in 2025 Amid Global Uncertainty

By: Oklahoma Voice – June 19, 2025

“If you look at the inflation-adjusted farm income for 2025, it’s by far the largest we’ve seen in several years. What drove that sharp increase that we see from 2024 to 2025? The answer is government payments.”

“The bottom line at the national level is that we are seeing short- and medium-term pain for field crops because of lower prices, sticky costs. In the cattle sector, I would say the picture is better. There are limited supplies, mostly on beef and cattle production, high prices and lower feed costs than in the past, still high, but lower than the past.”

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Read more on: Oklahoma Voice


Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University

Knowing What’s Healthy, But Still Reaching For the Unhealthy

By: Ag Week – June 20, 2025

“Our research shows that consumers care about nutrition, but that they prioritize taste first and foremost, and then price and availability.”

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Read more on: Ag Week

Monday, June 16, 2025

Members in the News: June 16, 2025

 

David Ortega, Michigan State University

  • How Do Grocery Stores Decide Which Products Will Be Loss Leaders?
    By: Marketplace – June 6, 2025
  • Egg Prices For Consumers Fell to 5-Month Low in May. Here’s Why
    By: CBS News – June 11, 2025

Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University

DTN/Progressive Farmer Takes Closer Look at Ag Labor Challenges, Solutions

By: DTN/Progressive Farmer – June 11, 2025

“Over the past five years, he's surveyed around 2,500 farmers, and about half said they couldn't hire all the workers they needed. On average, those farms were running about 20% short on labor… Labor shortages appear across all types of crop-production operations.”

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Read more on: DTN/Progressive Farmer


Charles Martinez, University of Tennessee

Previewing Friday’s On Feed report from the USDA

By: Brownfield – May 21, 2025

“I’m always interested to see just where we are in terms of total numbers. Recently released reports from the USDA have noted the indefinite suspension of live cattle imports from Mexico. I would be interested to see if that impacts anything in the Cattle on Feed report, and then does that lead to lower numbers of cattle on feed expectations. It might not be in this report, but it might be the next month’s report that has that number because we’ve lost those cattle.”

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Read more on:  Brownfield


Aaron Smith, University of Tennessee

Farmers Brace for Impact of Tariffs

By: Herald Citizen – May 2, 2025 

“We see that market squeezed between the expected higher expenses and softened demand for American agricultural exports, especially to China, for many years a top customer for US soybeans and corn.

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Read more on: Herald Citizen


Dawn Thilmany, Colorado State University

Young Food Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Face of Rural America

By: The Conversation – May 22, 2025

“Visit just about any downtown on a weekend and you will likely happen upon a farmers market. Or, you might grab lunch from a food truck outside a local brewpub or winery. Very likely, there is a community-shared kitchen or food entrepreneur incubator initiative behind the scenes to support this growing foodie ecosystem.”

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Read more on: The Conversation


Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis

Blue Diamond Sacramento plant is shutting down. Will almond prices go up?

By: Sacramento Bee – June 10, 2025

“No, there will be no local effects on the market for almonds” as a result of the Blue Diamond Growers plant closure… The trees remain in California and other processing plants can easily cover the local demand.”

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Read more on: Sacramento Bee


Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University

Rebuilding the Herd Will Take Time

By: High Plains Journal – June 13, 2025

“Profitability in the near term is sound, but noted the elevated risks tied to higher cattle price exposure and elevated macroeconomic uncertainty tied to beef demand risk is also playing the part…  Broader market uncertainty and amount of dollars at stake may give some excitement in expanding and others heartburn in expansion discussions.”

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Read more on: High Plains Journal


Roderick Rejesus, North Carolina State University
Zachary Brown,
North Carolina State University

Study Develops Optimal Cover Crop Adoption Thresholds

By: Morning Ag Clips – June 15, 2025

“There is a lot of academic literature looking at short-term effects of cover crops, but our contribution here is in thinking about cover crops as a long-term investment. Agronomists seem to mostly agree that cover crops are a worthwhile investment; many economists say they are not. We find some truth to both sides of the argument in this paper: In certain conditions it might be worth it to plant cover crops; in other conditions it might not be worth it.”

“If you’re starting from a place where the soil is degraded, it takes so long to build up better soil conditions that, from an economic perspective, it’s not worth it to plant cover crops,” said Zachary Brown, associate professor of agricultural and resource economics at NC State and a co-author of the paper. “Like other investments, farmers are interested to know how fast the returns are for cover-crops investments.”

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Read more on: Morning Ag Clips or Phys.org