Members in the News: April 20, 2026

 Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

“How Extreme Heat Deepens Rural Undernutrition”

By: Basis Point Insight – April 12, 2026

“Extreme heat during the agricultural growing season in rural India can have several deleterious effects. It can reduce crop yields. When temperatures rise significantly, agricultural productivity declines, lowering the quantity of food that farm households can consume from their own production.”

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

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Richard Volpe, California Polytechnical State University
David Ortega, Michigan State University

“Grocery Inflation Slowed in March, But That Doesn't Mean Your Cart is Getting Cheaper”

By: Marketplace – April 13, 2026

“There’s little question that tomatoes is sort of a case study in the ongoing impact of the current administration's tariffs,”

“The canary in the coal mine here are really the perishable food products. They are the least processed, require the most travel, and are time sensitive.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Marketplace

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Richard Volpe, California Polytechnical State University

“Why BLTs and Salad Just Got More Expensive — Tariffs, War Send Tomato Prices Soaring”

By: CNBC – April 15, 2026

“I do expect there’s more pain on the horizon for tomato prices. While the White House has exempted many agricultural products from tariffs, tomatoes are among the few major specialty crops imported from Mexico that haven’t received an exemption.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: CNBC

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David Ortega, Michigan State University

• “Beef, that all-American food, is getting harder for Americans to afford”
  By: CBS News – April 13, 2026  
• “The Strait of Hormuz Blockade is Causing a Slow-Moving Food Crisis”
  By: The Verge – April 13, 2026
• “Your Grocery Bill Could Get Even More Expensive As Fuel Prices Climb”
  By: Harvest Public Media – April 13, 2026

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Christopher Wolf, Cornell University

“Butterfat Production and Protein Demand Fuel US Cheese”

By: Lancaster Farming – April 11, 2026

“Global sales have made space for more production to come online and new U.S. cheeses to be developed while whey has its own markets and demand, a big step up from its former secondary role.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Lancaster Farming

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Seth Meyer, University of Missouri

“Farmers Grow Wary of USDA as Survey Response Rates Plummet - Columbia Today”

By: National Today – April 10, 2026

“Recent USDA surveys have seen response rates plummet to historic lows. This trend has emerged as farmers grapple with a prolonged downturn in the agricultural economy, potentially fueling distrust in the government agency tasked with supporting their interests.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: National Today

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Kenneth Foster, Purdue University

“Rising Oil Prices Expose How Vulnerable US Households Remain to Inflation”

By: CNN – April 12, 2026

“For lower-income households, the delayed effects may be the hardest part. We have households in our country where the percentage of income spent on food is closer to 50%,… And when you add on fuel for heating your home or for transportation for you getting to work, you’re now talking about a sizable percentage of people’s income that’s really not adjustable.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: CNN

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Amelia Finaret, Allegheny College

“New USDA Food Pyramid Could Add $1,000 to Your Grocery Bill”

By: USA Today -  April 10, 2026

"While animal-sourced foods can provide complete proteins, those sources of nutrition can also be found in cheaper options such as plant-based foods. So instead of buying beef, which is one of the most expensive forms of protein that you can get right now, combining rice and beans or combining any kind of grain with any kind of lentil is another way to get a complete protein."

(Continued...)
Read more on: USA Today

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Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee

“Why BLTs and Salad Just Got More Expensive — Tariffs, War Send Tomato Prices Soaring”

By: CNBC – April 15, 2026

“Tariffs levied on imports of Mexican tomatoes appear to be the primary factor underpinning the recent runup in price.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: CNBC

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Chad Fiechter, Purdue University

“The Precision Ag Paradox: Why More Tech Doesn’t Always Mean More Profit”

By: Hoosier Ag Today – April 13, 2026

“On average, most precision ag bundles are not associated with improved efficiency. Of the 17 different combinations we examined, only two showed statistically meaningful gains: automated guidance on its own, and the combination of yield monitors with grid soil sampling.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Hoosier Ag Today

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Paul Mitchell, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“Already Under Financial Pressure, Farmers Squeezed Further By Tariffs and Iran War”

By: PBS – April, 2026

"They're very concerned about negative margins driven by low prices and high cost. There's just a liquidity cash crunch for a lot of them and they're just trying to figure out how to deal with everything."

(Continued...)
Read more on: PBS

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Allen Featherstone, Kansas State University

“Number of Farm Lenders Shrinks as Loan Volume Increases”

By: Capital Press – April 13, 2026

“A declining number of banks that lend bigger amounts of money points to consolidation, rather than institutions getting out of the agricultural industry altogether.”

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

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Wendong Zhang, Cornell University

“Trump's Tariffs Dealt an Economic Blow to All 50 States, Study Finds”

By: Fortune – April 15, 2026

“The United States doesn’t have one agricultural trade exposure—it has 50 different ones… When processors face higher input costs, they pass it along. Eventually, the consumer in a New York grocery store is paying more for something that traces back to a trade dispute in Washington—even if New York itself exports very little.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Fortune

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Dawn Thilmany, Colorado State University

“Colorado’s small rural districts face big financial strains, but anchor communities and have outsized outcomes”

By: CPR News – April 15, 2026

“Schools and health care are the two most critical factors in a small town’s ability to sustain itself. They’re also a primary economic anchor, providing middle-income jobs.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: CPR News

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Shawn Arita, North Dakota State University

• "Strait Delays Could Keep Global Fertilizer Flows in Limbo for Months"
  By: Red River Farm Network - April 17, 2026
• "Fertilizer Prices to Stay Elevated Through 2027 Even If Strait of Hormuz Reopens, Says Analyst"
  By: Brownfield - April 10, 2026 
• "Iran Crisis Adds Cost Pressure, Not a Food Shock"
  By: Miller Magazine - April 13, 2026 
• Will the Iran crisis lead to another round of food price spikes?
  By: CGIAR - April 7, 2026

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Members in the News: April 13, 2026

 Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

“India’s Farm Productivity Puzzle Lies in Distorted Land Markets”

By: Basis Point Insight – April 8, 2026

“It is now well known that agricultural productivity in India is very low. Despite overall economic progress, agricultural productivity in India remains extremely low compared to developed countries, with output per worker only a small fraction of that in the United States.”

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

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William Burke, Michigan State University

“Rising Oil Prices Threaten Global Food Security”

By: KTVU – April 6, 2026

“Global food costs keep climbing, and farmers are feeling the squeeze. The U.N.’s FAO reports another jump in prices, while the U.S. exports phosphate fertilizers even as domestic shortages hit spring planting. William Burke, an agricultural economist, at The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, gives insight.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: KTVU

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Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee

• “Why Is 95 Percent of the World’s Bourbon Made in Kentucky?”
  By: Freakonomics – April 3, 2026
• “U.S. Farmers Face ‘New Era of Trade Deficits’ as Global Markets Shift”
  By: Farm Progress – April 2, 2026

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Seungki Lee, The Ohio State University

“The Iran War is Changing How Millions of People Cook — And What They Eat”

By: Grist – April 6, 2026

“Because of the economic strain created by the conflict, nation-level progress toward the U.N.’s sustainable development targets, for example, are more likely to see at least a short-term regression on the aim to transition billions of households away from using coal, kerosene, or solid biomass as primary cooking fuels.”

(Continued...)
Read more on:Grist

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Charles Martinez, University of Tennessee

“Should Market Data Add a Beef x Dairy Category?”

By: Feedstuffs – February 24, 2026

“Beef on dairy has always been available as a backup strategy for dairy producers to maintain operations during slumps of dairy prices. But the current landscape has producers using artificial insemination to make genetic-based decisions for dairy production while also intentionally using semen from beef bulls to produce calves to market as beef.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Feedstuffs

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Cesar Escalante, University of Georgia

“Expanding H-2A Farmworker Program Could Increase Health, Safety Risks”

By: PNS – April 8, 2026

“Native-born workers will only work for one day or half a day, and then they quit… They cannot tolerate the working conditions.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: PNS

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David Ortega, Michigan State University

“Grocery Prices Rise, But These Staples Are Getting Cheaper”

By: USA Today - April 8, 2026

“There have been several "shocks" that have affected the agricultural and food industry, such as bird flu devastating the egg markets, climate-driven droughts hammering coffee and fresh produce production and tariffs layering additional costs onto import-heavy categories. These shocks hit products in different ways, which is why you get such a mixed picture when you look item by item. But the net result is that families are still paying more at the register."

(Continued...)
Read more on: USA Today

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Christopher Wolf, Cornell University

“‘The Good Old Days Are Gone’: How Will US Prices Stand As War in Iran Surges On?”

By: The Guardian – April 4, 2026

“Along with oil prices, diesel and fertilizer prices are also rising, which are critical to farming. That makes both the cost of growing crops and raising livestock more expensive.”

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

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Jeffrey Dorfman, North Carolina State University

“Diesel and Fertilizer Cost Spikes Put Squeeze on NC Corn Farmers”

By: Carolina Public Press – April 6, 2026

“Higher oil and fertilizer prices may encourage farmers to shift some acres away from corn. Soybeans, which require less fertilizer and are more forgiving when it comes to drought, are a logical replacement. In general, these higher prices mean a 3-5 percent increase in production costs for most crops, which is very unwelcome after production costs have already risen about 65 percent in the last five years.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Carolina Public Press

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Joshua Maples, Mississippi State University

“Rising Fuel And Fertilizer Costs Are Hitting U.S. Producers Differently, With Smaller Operations Feeling the Squeeze”

By: Brownfield – April 9, 2026

“Larger producers likely purchased fuel and fertilizer at the end of 2025. However, I would say a lot of smaller producers don’t do that. And so this is a spot here where we may see a bit of differences between size of operation and the relative impact it has on their operation.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Brownfield

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Richard Volpe, California Polytechnical State University

"Why Tomato Prices Are Rising and Driving Grocery Inflation"

By: Axios - April 10, 2026 

"The U.S. imports a large share of its tomatoes, and tariffs are being passed through fairly cleanly. There are few players in the supply chain with the capacity to absorb losses. While prices typically rise this time of year, the current spike is larger than usual." 

(Continued...)
Read more on: Axios

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Members in the News: April 6, 2026

 Ricky Volpe, California Polytechnical State University

“Unilever's Sale to McCormick is About More Than Just Mayo”

By: Marketplace – March 31, 2026

“Folks have been increasingly moving towards more prepared and ready-to-eat foods, the perimeter of the supermarket… With especially younger Americans, we've seen brand loyalty eroded in a big way.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Marketplace

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Rabail Chandio, Iowa State University

• “Annual ISU Farmland Survey Predicts Short-Term Stability, Long-Term Growth”
  By: Decorah Leader – January 7, 2026
• “Northwest Iowa Continues to Lead State in Farmland Values”
  By: KTIV News 4 – January 21, 2026

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Miguel Gomez, Cornell University

“The Hidden Cost of Viral Food Trends”

By: Bloomberg – March 29, 2026

“Social media has turned niche foods into global sensations at unprecedented speed, sending demand for products like matcha, ube, acai and Dubai chocolate far beyond their traditional markets… Influencers can create demand spikes that supply chains struggle to meet, exposing farmers and producers to volatility and quality risks. In matcha, the surge has been especially intense.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Bloomberg

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Kenneth Burdine, University of Kentucky

“Declines in U.S. Corn Acres Could Pressure Feed Prices and Create Headwinds for the Livestock Sector”

By: Brownfield – March 30, 2026

“Tighter margins were already pointing to increased soybean acres.  The recent run up in fertilizer prices have changed this even more. The story to me is that we’re going to see a decrease in corn acres. We’re going to see it shift other crops. It’s a question of how significant that decrease is, and I think it’ll be relatively significant.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Brownfield

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Scott Irwin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

“As Prices Soar, EPA Greenlights Higher Ethanol Blends in Gasoline”

By: Inside Climate News – March 25, 2026

“I expect relatively slow growth in the U.S. ethanol blend rate from where it is now, about 10.5 percent. But regardless of what the path is, I do think it will be upward, and it’s important to remember that each 10th that the ethanol blend rate increases, that raises domestic U.S. ethanol demand by about 130 million gallons. So even small improvements in the blend rate do matter.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Inside Climate News

 

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David Ortega, Michigan State University

“Fresh Food Distributors Add Surcharges as Fuel Costs Rise”

By: New York Times – March 31, 2026

“We’ve been talking about the price of food for the past five years. Grocery store prices are nearly 30 percent more than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic. Particularly for lower-income households, food is a necessity, and they will protect their food budgets, which means they will cut down on other things like eating out.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: New York Times

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Sandro Steinbach, North Dakota State University
Yasin Yildirim, North Dakota State University

“U.S.-China Trade Conflict Harming California Ag”

By: Farm Progress – April 2, 2026

“In aggregate the top 13 California agricultural commodities exported to China fell from an average total annual value of around $1.55 billion in 2024 to $554 million in 2025 – a 64% decline in a single year.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Farm Progress or Imperial Valley Press, ivpressonline.com, News Break, FreshPlaza

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Shawn Arita, North Dakota State University

“‘Could Not Come At a Worse Time’: U.S. Farmers Hit Hard By Economic Fallout of Iran War”

By: MS Now – March 27, 2026

“Before the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the global situation of fertilizer was already extremely tight. So this happened in a very, very bad time. Even if the strait were to open tomorrow, Arita said, fertilizer prices won’t soon recover from the lasting impacts of Gulf suppliers halting production amid the war.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: MS Now or Farms.com

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Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

“How Marriage Markets Drive India's Vanishing Girls Problem”

By: Basis Point Insight – April 3, 2026

“India’s gender imbalance is neither new nor subtle. Skewed sex ratios continue to favour boys, bringing with them consequences that extend beyond demography: a marriage market squeeze, rising trafficking risks, and deeper social strain.”

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

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Laura Kalambokidis, University of Minnesota

“Minnesota’s Job Engine Stalled in January”

By: MPR News – April 2, 2026

“We've taken for granted for a while that Minnesota's unemployment rate tends to be below the U.S. unemployment rate. Seeing that change for this one data point, which is January of this year, is an unwelcome development but something that could change. It could reverse.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: MPR News

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