Monday, November 10, 2025

Members in the News: November 10, 2025

 Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University

  • Migrant Farm Work Has Boomed in Michigan. The Feds Just Cut Workers’ Pay
    By: IPR - November 6, 2025
  • Tariffs, Trade Wars And Immigration Crackdowns
    By: Isthmus – November 10, 2025
  • U.S. Farm Wage Increases Drive Higher Produce Imports
    By: Fresh Plaza – November 10, 2025
  • Research Ties Rising Farm Wages to Growing Dependence on Ag Imports
    By: Brownfield Ag – November 6, 2025
  • US Farm Labor Policies Don’t Work for All Farmers
    By: Van Trump Report – November 6, 2025

Jada Thompson, University of Arkansas

Rollins: Border Cattle Remain on Hold as U.S. Battles Screwworm Threat

By: RFD TV – November 3, 2025

“Prevention is always less costly than reaction. So if we’re being reactionary, it is going to cost us more and be less effective than if we can prevent that disease. So, if we can [stop] the disease from entering the U.S., if we can prevent it from spreading in Mexico, if we can prevent it from getting into Mexico more, and we can move — prevention is going to be less costly in general than reaction to it.”

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Read more on: RFD TV


Steven Deller, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Wisconsin Soybean Farmers Cautiously Optimistic About Trump’s Trade Deal With China

By: WPR – November 3, 2025

 “Farmers will likely need some sort of additional federal stimulus this year, even with the deal with China. They will need help to make the industry whole. Whether it’s Congress that’s going to act and do something, or whether Trump’s going to do it on his own, it’s not clear.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: WPR


David Ortega, Michigan State University

  • From Gas to Groceries, Has Trump Kept His Promise to Tackle Rising Prices?
    By: BBC – November 5, 2025
  • "Fact check: Trump Falsely Claims It’s Only Beef, But Dozens of Groceries Have Gotten More Expensive This Year"
    By: CNN - November 7, 2025 

Marin Skidmore, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Wetlands Efficiently Remove Nitrogen Pollution From Surface Water, Leading To Cost Savings For Municipalities

By: Eurasia Review – October 29, 2025

“Many of our solutions to reduce excess nutrients focus on the stage before the nutrients reach the surface water system. However, wetlands can intervene after the nutrients have already entered the system and help with cleanup and removal. Wetlands facilitate the nitrogen cycle and can help nitrogen undergo denitrification, releasing it as N2, a harmless gas that is abundant in Earth’s atmosphere.”

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Read more on: Eurasia Review or Phys.org


Mykel Taylor, Auburn University
Michael Langemeier,
Purdue University

Tight Margins, Tough Decisions: Farmers Face 1980s-Like

By: Ag Web – October 28, 2025

“The numbers confirm what farmers already feel — cotton growers are deep in the red. Our Extension economists here at Auburn have put together some estimates of net returns above total costs, excluding land costs, and cotton is negative $236 an acre. And that means that if you’re paying rent, that’s even more.”

“You do see an uptick in farm retirements when you have low margins like this. We saw that back in the 2014 to 2019 period. We had some really good years in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and quite frankly, if you’re at retirement age, it’s just not as fun to farm when you have extremely low margins. We’ll have an uptick of retirements during 2025/2026.”

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Read more on: Ag Web


Allen Featherstone, Kansas State University

Conferences to Help Farmers Navigate Tough Economy

By: KSAL.com – October 28, 2025

“The goal of this is to help crop producers deal with the struggling economy. In 2021, only 4.4% of Kansas farmers had a negative net farm income. But in 2024, that number jumped to 28.5%. Many producers are feeling the strain.”

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Read more on: KSAL.com


Alexis Villacis, The Ohio State University

  • Chocolate Crunch Sends Halloween Candy Prices Soaring
    By: NBC News – October 29, 2025
  • Why Your Halloween Candy Might Cost More This Year
    By: NBC 4i – October 23, 2025
  • OSU Expert Unwraps the Reason Behind Halloween Chocolate Price Increase
    By: Farm and Dairy – October 9, 2025

(Continued...)
Read more on: Yakima Herald


Michael Langemeier, Purdue University

Trade War With China Hits Indiana Farmers Hard

By: WISH TV – October 29, 2025

“While low prices are not new to American farmers, the current situation is exacerbated by higher production costs. Our production costs are higher, and so that’s what makes this situation relatively tough.”

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Read more on: WISH TV


Shawn Arita, North Dakota State University

"US Farmers Face $44 Billion in Losses as Costs Rise and Markets Shrink"

By: Missouri IndependentOctober 31, 2025

“But this squeeze is made worse by the loss of key export markets — particularly China. The tariffs are creating challenges, but it’s not fair to say they are the main culprit. Certainly, they are exacerbating the issue. The crop sector tends to follow trade cycles more closely than inflation trends. China is not going to start buying soybeans until they get something out of these negotiations.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Missouri Independent

Monday, November 3, 2025

Members in the News: November 3, 2025

 Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University

  • New Coalition Hopes to Elevate Stories of Farmers in the Ag Labor Crisis
    By: The Packer – October 27, 2025
  • Federal Migrant Worker Program Proves Fickle, Agriculture Workers and Employers Want Change
    By: Kansas Reflector – October 27, 2025

Alexis Villacis, The Ohio State University

  • Chocolate Crunch Sends Halloween Candy Prices Soaring
    By: NBC News – October 29, 2025
  • Halloween Candy Prices Have Nearly Doubled in Five Years As Sticker Shock Continues to Hit America
    By: The Independent – October 29, 2025
  • Halloween Candy Prices Rising, Spooked By Trump’s Tariffs and Climate Change
    By: The Guardian – October 30, 2025
  • Scary Prices: Cost of Halloween Chocolate on the Rise
    By: Morning Ag Clips – October 2, 2025

David Ortega, Michigan State University

  • Fact Check: Grocery Prices Are Up, Not ‘Way Down’ as Trump Claimed
    By: CNN  - October 24, 2025
  • Wholesale Turkey Prices Soar Ahead of Thanksgiving
    By: CBS News – October 22, 2025
  • Turkey Prices Soar Before Thanksgiving
    By: Newsweek – October 24, 2025

Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

  • Can We Produce Aviation Fuel Sustainably to Meet the Rise in Air Travel?
    By: Rochester Business Journal - October 13, 2025
  • Why the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ Scheme Still Falls Short in Practice
    By: Basis Point – November 1, 2025

Sandro Steinbach, North Dakota State University

China’s Trade-War Playbook Keeps U.S. Soybeans Sidelined

By: Ag Web – October 27, 2025

“China’s refusal to buy U.S. soybeans this fall is less about economics and more about politics. China is making a calculated move to limit its dependence on the United States. If Chinese leaders see Washington as a strategic threat, they have the resources to pay a little more for Brazilian soybeans or draw down state reserves. It’s about control and national leverage, not about getting the cheapest beans.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Ag Web


Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee

Trump’s Tariffs Have U.S. Soybean Farmers Looking for Buyers

By: Sentient Media – October 20, 2025

“Even if you find yourself to be a farmer who sells to a biodiesel plant, you’re still going to suffer from the depressed prices from the extra soybeans lingering on the domestic market. Everybody’s negatively affected.”

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Read more on: Sentient Media


William Ridley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

U.S. Ag Trade Deficit Widens As Exports Decline and Imports Rise

By: Brownfield Ag News – October 20, 2025

“Exports have largely been chugging along at the same levels for quite a while now. This year, however, exports have really nosedived. All of that’s driven by the current situation with China in the trade war. So, what was kind of a troubling situation has turned into a really serious, dire situation.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Brownfield Ag News


Jeff Luckstead, Washington State University

Harvest at a Crossroads: How immigration is affecting the 2025 harvest in the Pacific Northwest

By: Yakima Herald – October 21, 2025

“Reducing the wage could affect whether workers sign H-2A agreements. He also said that farmers have been looking for wage relief as agricultural wages have increased. H-2A wage rates have been growing around 20% a year on average. So this could provide some relief for the farmers but could have some longer run effects on supply issues.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Yakima Herald


Yizao Liu, Pennsylvania State University

How Is Online Grocery Shopping Changing Our Eating Habits? Insights from Penn State University

By: Newz9 – October 20, 2025

“Shopping has changed significantly. Many people, regardless of income or location, are now buying groceries with just a few clicks. The aim is to find out how this change impacts our eating habits. Grocery shopping plays a key role in our health and daily choices, so understanding online shopping’s effects is crucial.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Newz9


Christopher Bastian, University of Wyoming
Glynn Tonsor,
Kansas State University

Wyoming Ranchers Call For Help as Trump Turns to Argentine Beef Imports

By: Gillette News Record – October 24, 2025

“In 2024, the U.S. consumed 27.8 billion pounds of beef. Relative to this figure, the increase, even up to 100,000 metric tons, is unlikely to cause beef prices to drop by dollars per pound. At the retail and cattle level ... it will have some impact, but it’s unlikely to be a big impact.”

“The likelihood of importing enough additional pounds of beef from Argentina to impact the market in a sizable way is pretty low. Argentine beef currently accounts for only about 2% of total U.S. beef imports.”

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Read more on: Gillette News Record


Grant Gardner, University of Kentucky

Has the Trade War Affected Bourbon Prices?

By: Byteseu – October 25, 2025

“A bottle of bourbon can cost anywhere from between $20 to over $100 for more premium products. We are seeing higher supply, but we haven’t seen large drops in prices. That’s because alcohol is a perishable good, which means you can put it in storage and release it at a slower pace, keeping prices at their current levels. I think your long-term hope is that you can just hold onto that product…and you can continue to sell it at a higher price later on. But we’re not seeing prices move up as much as they used to as a result.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Byteseu


Becca Jablonski, Cornell University

Trump’s Argentina Beef Deal Angers America’s Struggling Farmers: ‘You’re Selling Us Out’

By: CNN – October 23, 2025

“The price increase is fueled by multiple factors. Historically the livestock sector barely makes money, but is having a rare positive year, which allows farmers to pay down debts they accrued during unprofitable years.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: CNN


Andrew Hultgren, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Why Your Beef, Bananas and Coffee Beans Have Gotten So Expensive

By: CBS News – October 27, 2025

“Global prices for bananas and coffee will continue to be sensitive to extreme heat or drought conditions, especially because the products are cultivated in a relatively small number of regions around the world. These types of price sensitivities will look like inflation to the average consumer.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: CBS News

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Gund Institute for Environment Funded PhD Opportunities

The Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont (UVM) seeks exceptional PhD applicants to conduct interdisciplinary research on global environmental challenges beginning in fall 2026. Applications are due Jan. 6, 2026.

The Gund Institute is a research center dedicated to understanding and tackling the world’s most critical environmental challenges, where 300 faculty, global affiliates, postdocs, and graduate students collaborate widely to understand interactions among ecological, social, and economic systems.

Driven by the belief that research should inspire action, we explore environmental issues at the interface of five pressing research themes—climate solutions, health and well-being, sustainable agriculture, resilient communities, and equity and justice—in partnership with government, industry, and broader society.

Students will receive up to four years of funding, including an annual stipend of $37,000, plus tuition. All students are eligible for health insurance and additional funds for conference travel and research costs. These assistantships are for individuals who have not yet started their PhDs.

For more details and application instructions, please see this webpage.

Students who are interested in the Leadership for the Ecozoic (L4E) initiative are encouraged to apply to both the Gund and L4E.

Questions? Please contact: bailey.rowland@uvm.edu