Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Members in the News: September 8, 2026

 Ian Sheldon, The Ohio State University

  • Tariffs And The Economy
    By: NYT - August 11, 2026
  • Pending Canada Tariffs Could Ripple Through Ohio Auto Industry
    By: Spectrum News – August 27, 2026
  • How Will a Trade War with Canada Affect Ohio?
    By: Ohio Capital Journal – August 28, 2026
  • New Canadian Dairy Tariffs Highlight Long-Running USMCA Market Access Dispute
    By: Brownfield – August 5, 2026

Rabail Chandio, Iowa State University

Farm Acres Reap More in Sales Than in Crops

By: NYT – August 24, 2026

“Traditionally, the value of farmland was mostly based on the profitability of its crop production. Now many owners treat farmland as a separate asset, she said, divorced from the crops grown on it, instead of a farm input, like seeds and fertilizer.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: NYT


Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

Empowering Women in India Economically also Improves their Mental Health

By: Basis Point Insight – September 3, 2026

“It is reasonable to think that the economic empowerment of Indian women might have a positive impact on their mental health. This is because greater access to resources and property can attenuate financial stress and vulnerability, while stronger bargaining power can enhance women’s voice and social standing within the household. These sort of changes may foster greater self-esteem, independence, and life satisfaction, while reducing feelings of insecurity and psychological distress. However, if this kind of thinking is to form the basis for policy, then we need credible evidence demonstrating the nexus between economic empowerment and improved mental health.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Basis Point Insight


Alejandro Gutierrez-LiNorth Carolina State University

Policy and Automation Are Key Solutions to Ag Labor Shortages

By: Morning Ag Clips – August 31, 2026

“Labor is a top issue for farmers, large and small. Given the rising costs and political bottlenecks surrounding immigration and guest workers, further automation of routine, physically demanding tasks could be the answer for American farmers.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Morning Ag Clips or Global Agriculture


David Ortega, Michigan State University

  • The Fight Over Food Prices Won’t End Soon
    By: Bloomberg – September 4, 2026
  • US Diesel Prices Hit a Record High, Pushing Up Transportation Costs for a Long List of Goods
    By: The Associated Press – September 4, 2026
  • A ‘sleeper Issue' in Red States This Fall: Diesel Prices
    By: Politico – September 1, 2026

James Mitchell, University of Arkansas
Glynn Tonsor,  
Kansas State University

Beef Packers Adjusting to Low Cattle Inventory - High Plains Journal

By: High Plains Journal – August 28, 2026

“It is difficult for an outsider to assess Tyson’s situation… These decisions should help by bringing Tyson’s packing capacity in line with cattle numbers, but I don’t think closing plants or reducing shifts alone is the answer. Some other strategic decisions are likely forthcoming.”

“I am not surprised that we have seen additional closures and adjustments. It is widely recognized that the packing sector has too much physical capacity (nationally).”

(Continued...)
Read more on: High Plains Journal


William Ridley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

U.S.-Canada Tariffs Add Pressure to Farmers' Thin Margins

By: Iowa PBS – August 28, 2026

The U.S. imposed tariffs of up to 50% on roughly $20 billion in Canadian imports after trade negotiations broke down. Canada responded with tariffs on U.S. goods, including dairy products and agricultural equipment. Economist William Ridley says farmers may feel the greatest effects through higher input costs.

(Continued...)
Read more on: Iowa PBS


Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis

With Shoppers Wary of Illness, Farmers Destroy Millions of Heads of Lettuce

By: Press Democrat – August 29, 2026

“It is unclear how long customers will avoid leafy greens, given how fast information travels on social media and a larger lack of trust in institutions.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Press Democrat


Jaime Luke, Michigan State University

Trump Wants To 'Allow' Cattle Farmers To Process Their Own Beef. Are We Sure This Is A Good Idea?!

By: Huff Post – August 26, 2026

“Nearly all meat produced in the U.S. is processed off the farm. Processors vary in size, with the largest firms controlling a commanding share of the market.”

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Read more on: Huff Post


Joseph Glauber, International Food Policy Research Institute

What’s Driving the Financial Crisis on Minnesota Farms?

By: Minn Post – August 31, 2026

“The tariffs had mixed effects on U.S. agricultural exports, with exports to China and Canada falling partly because of retaliatory tariffs and consumer reactions. Soybean farmers were particularly hard hit by the U.S. tariff actions. China implemented retaliatory tariffs against a wide range of U.S. agricultural products in February 2025 following U.S. imposition of so-called fentanyl tariffs against China.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Minn Post

 



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Monday, August 31, 2026

Members in the News: August 31, 2026

Sandro Steinbach, North Dakota State University
Shawn Arita,
North Dakota State University

NDSU Ag Trade Monitor Honored

By: RRFN – August 17, 2026

“The North Dakota State University Agricultural Trade Monitor has earned the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis. The award recognizes the Monitor, a monthly publication providing data-driven analysis of agricultural trade patterns and policy developments. NDSU Farmers Union Endowed Professor of Agribusiness and Applied Economics Sandro Steinbach and NDSU Associate Professor Shawn Arita accepted the award.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: RRFN


Ricky Volpe, California Polytechnic State University

As California Demands Less Plastic in Packaging, Manufacturers Say You’ll Pay More For Stuff

By: Cal Matters – August 20, 2026

“Federal data show grocery prices dipped slightly in July from June, though prices have climbed year over year and that rate is accelerating… Retailers, who run on thin margins, will eventually pass  costs on to consumers — but probably not right away. It will not happen overnight and it will still be relatively small, mostly on the order of pennies on the dollar.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Cal Matters


Shawn Arita, North Dakota State University

An Evolving Tariff Strategy

By: RRFN – August 24, 2026

“In many ways taking account the industry concerns that have been raised various groups, from the American Farm Bureau through American Soybean Association, and NCGA, who had voiced many concerns given that production costs were already high and that these tariffs we’re going toa make con production costs even higher.” The Trump Administration didn’t remove tariffs completely but started granting exemptions. “Unfortunately, machinery didn’t find the same luck.  That one, because it is lumped in with these steel and aluminum, they are fairly high.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: RRFN


David Ortega, Michigan State University

Shrimpers Are the Latest Group Seeking Protection From Washington

By: The Economist – August 27, 2027

“Even if tariffs do remain, they are unlikely to solve the economics of shrimping. “Tariffs may buy time but won’t make the industry competitive or make the underlying issues go away.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: The Economist


Yangxuan Liu, University of Georgia

OBBBA Levels the Playing Field for Different Farm Business Structures for USDA Payment Limitations

By: Oklahoma Farm Report – August 20, 2026

“Authors Yangxuan Liu and Michael R Langemeier write in Southern Ag Today: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes how U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) payment limitations apply to different farm business structures. On June 2, 2026, USDA released the final rule (link) explaining how this provision will be administered beginning with the 2026 program year.”
 

(Continued...)
Read more on: Oklahoma Farm Report Or Georgia Cotton Commission, Farms.com


Brian Whitacre, Oklahoma State University

AI Use is Growing in Healthcare. An Oklahoma Researcher Found Rural Hospitals Are Slow to Adopt It

By: KGOU – August 19, 2026

“The takeaway message from our paper is that the gap is real – the urban-rural gap is real… Urban and rural hospitals adopt predictive AI for different reasons. Rural facilities are less likely than urban ones to use it for clinical decision-making or treatment recommendations, but equally likely to apply AI to billing and other operational tasks.”
 

(Continued...)
Read more on: KGOU


Mckenzie Boyce, Oklahoma State University

Data Centers Bring Opportunities and Challenges to Rural Oklahoma

By: Oklahoma Farm Report – August 19, 2026

“Growing demand for data centers across the country is creating a need for additional locations, and rural communities can offer one important resource: available land. As we see data center development or the demand for data center development increasing across the country, these data centers need additional places to locate.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Oklahoma Farm Report


Jaime Luke, Michigan State University

Will Trump's Latest Beef Plan Make Your Hamburger Cheaper? Not Much, Experts Say

By: NPR – August 28. 2026

“An additional 300,000 metric tons of ground beef would represent about a 2% increase in the domestic beef supply. "So when we look big picture, it maybe isn't as big of a number as you might think when you first see it outright.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: NPR


William Ridley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Canada Retaliatory Tariffs Set To Impact $20 Billion of American Goods

By : Courthouse News Service – August 29, 2026

“They’re not just casting out a wide net; they’re going after products that are exported from politically sensitive or battleground states. I think the goal here is to impose pressure or impose pain from a political angle of attack.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Courthouse News Service


Eric Belasco, Montana State University

The U.S. Faces a “Historic” Cattle Shortage as the Size of the U.S. Herd Shrinks to the Smallest Since 1951

By: Economic Collapse Report - August 20, 2026

“The biggest thing has been drought. Years of dry weather have depleted grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough feed or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell cattle early, including cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making the road to recovery even longer.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Economic Collapse Report


Success Okafor, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

  • Processing, Pastures Show Huge Mismatch
    By: Agri-View – August 19, 2026
  • Wisconsin Meat Processing Deserts Limit Growth For Livestock Producers
    By: Brownfield – August 21, 2026

Michael Langemeier, Purdue University

The Bottom Line: Marketing Matters Now More Than Ever

By: Agri News Pub – August 24, 2026

“Long-term profitability will depend less on producing a good crop and more on earning a profitable price for it. That’s an important shift because it tells us where producers think profitability will be won or lost in the years ahead,”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Agri News Pub


Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University

Economists Don’t Expect Reopening the US to Mexican Cattle Imports to Reduce High Beef Prices

By: The Wyoming Truth – August 24, 2026

“The potential effect on beef prices from the smaller supply of cattle was lessened because the U.S. beef industry is more efficient and has been able to get more meat from each animal than in past years.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: The Wyoming Truth


Joseph Glauber, International Food Policy Research Institute

What’s Driving the Financial Crisis on Minnesota Farms?

By: Twin Cities Business – August 25, 2026

“The tariffs had mixed effects on U.S. agricultural exports, with exports to China and Canada falling partly because of retaliatory tariffs and consumer reactions. Soybean farmers were particularly hard hit by the U.S. tariff actions. China implemented retaliatory tariffs against a wide range of U.S. agricultural products in February 2025 following U.S. imposition of so-called fentanyl tariffs against China.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Twin Cities Business



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