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David Ortega, Michigan
State University “Why Trump's Tariffs on Mexico Would Mean Higher Avocado Prices at the Grocery Store” By: NPR – December 23, 2024 “Broad tariffs, like what’s being proposed, is not something that we’ve seen before. We had the trade war with China back in 2018 that affected steel and aluminum, but when it comes to food, these types of policy proposals are not something that are very common or that we’ve seen recently.” "Given that avocado is a staple of our consumption here, I would say that the elasticity is not very high, meaning that even with a big increase in price, consumption is not going to change that much.” (Continued...) Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology “Industrial Policy: Why is it Criticized and is there a Role for it in the 2020s?” By: Medium – December 24, 2024 “Industrial policy has been practiced around the world for a long time. Even though economists acknowledge that there exist a narrow range of circumstances in which this kind of policy makes sense, generally speaking, the practitioners of the “dismal science” tend to have a dim view of the ability of governments to conduct this kind of policy successfully. Why? Five reasons follow.” (Continued...) Zachariah Rutledge, Michigan State University “Migrant Farmworkers Came to Florida For Stability. They Found Danger” By: Tampa Bay Times – December 27, 2024 “Agricultural work is, by nature, punishing. It can also be dangerous. In 2022, it had one of the highest fatality rates among industries nationwide. For more than a decade, the agriculture industry has seen a decline in local workers seeking jobs. It’s generally lower wages — and it’s seasonal.” (Continued...) David Ortega, Michigan State University
Andrew Muhammad, University of Tennessee “Report Details More Economic Struggles for Tenn.’s Ag Sectors” By: Morning Ag Clips – December 22, 2024 “The state’s agricultural and forestry industries directly and indirectly contributed $103 billion to the Tennessee economy. 2024 was a struggle for many of our producers and sectors. Next year could also be difficult, with trade policy uncertainty, low crop prices, drought- and hurricane-reduced feed supplies and high input costs.” (Continued...) Hunter Biram, University of Arkansas “From Mississippi River Lows to Rising Costs: Arkansas Farmers Brace For Uncertain 2025” By: Southwest Times Record – December 23, 2024 “The good news is that the lame-duck session has not entirely sidelined farm country,” said Hunter Biram, an extension economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “However, even with another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, farmers will lack the robust safety net needed for 2024 and 2025.” (Continued...) Michael Adjemian, University of Georgia “Farmers Still Reeling Months After Helene Ravaged Crops” By: Farms.com – December 24, 2024 “Helene's devastation shouldn't have much impact on consumer prices because crops grown elsewhere can make up for most shortage.” (Continued...) David Ortega, Michigan
State University “Egg Prices Soar Ahead of Holiday Season: Why?” By: Retail Wire – December 23, 2024 “You have shocks to supply and increase to demand. That’s a recipe for prices to go up — in this case quite significantly.” “Egg production is a complex system. The bird flu outbreak creates added volatility into that supply chain, which makes it very difficult to break apart how much of the price increase is associated with true cost increase in the supply chain. (Continued...) Dawn Thilmany, Colorado State University “Are Colorado's Egg prices Due For a Big Jump in January? Not Necessarily, and Here's Why” By: Coloradoan – December 24, 2024 "There’s just been supply shocks happening consistently, then you add this (cage-free) policy on top and it’s just a recipe for higher costs. When you’re starting with a base price of eggs that pre-COVID might have even been below $2, that’s why price increases are creating a bit of a shock for folks. Cage-free eggs are typically somewhere between $1 and $5 more expensive per dozen than those produced in caged facilities.” (Continued...) Timothy Beatty, University
of California, Davis “Agricultural Workers Reduce Hours Or Move Locations To Avoid Wildfire Smoke” By: Eurasia Review – December 30, 2024 “When this smoke is really heavy there’s a large reduction in the amount of people in a field in day.” “We could figure out very rich hourly information of where these farmworkers went and if they moved to another location. This is kind of the first application of this data to answer some important questions in agricultural economics.” (Continued...) Paul Mitchell, University of Wisconsin, Madison “For Wisconsin Farmers, Farm Bill Extension Brings Relief, Uncertainty” By: WXPR – January 1, 2025 "Prices have been declining on the corn and soybeans and the processes used to create this support in these times of thin, negative margins, they're out-of-date. Those floors were set in 2018, and you know, we've gone through a lot of inflation and so, $1,000 isn't what it used to be." (Continued...) James Mintert, Purdue University “Dr. Jim Mintert Retires from Purdue as Ag Econ Professor, Director of Center for Commercial Agriculture” By: Hoosier Ag Today – January 2, 2025 ““I’ve been a Land Grant University faculty member for 38 years, spending the first 23 years of my career at Kansas State University before joining the Purdue faculty 15 years ago and I could not have chosen a better career path! Developing and conducting educational programs and applied research designed to address the needs of commercial agricultural producers has been immensely rewarding.” (Continued...) Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign “Economics Say Cash Rents Should Decline in 2025” By: Brownfield – January 3, 2025 “Cash rents have risen quite considerably in the last couple years, particularly since 2020. Getting them back to 2020 levels isn’t going to get us to profitability, but it’s a start. Cash rents on this rented land is going to be difficult to justify from the return that we’re getting.” (Continued...) |
Monday, January 6, 2025
Members in the News: January 6, 2025
Monday, December 23, 2024
Members in the News: December 23, 2024
Alexis Villacis, The Ohio State University
“Why Sky-High Cocoa Prices Don’t Deter Chocolate Lovers”
By: Marketplace – December, 17, 2024
“Some people are willing to pay $400 for a very special single bar of chocolate. It’s from Ecuador, and it even comes with a special set of tongs. And why is this? Because our skin has natural oils, and the natural oils actually change the flavor of the chocolate bar.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Marketplace
Brian Briggeman, Kansas State University
“Focusing on Changing Farmers, Talent Management Important For Co-Ops”
By: Agrinews – December 22, 2024
“It is a highly competitive labor market and these cooperatives operate in rural areas where there is not a large labor pool to draw from. Not only recruiting, but more importantly retaining the right talent is something they think a great deal about.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Agrinews
Glynn Tonsor, Kansas
State University
Chad Hart, Iowa State University
“Stay Focused on Production Costs”
By: High Plains Journal – December 20, 2024
“This always drive break-even values that underpin profitability, and as we come out of (a period of) elevated inflation and production costs, those who manage more tightly are even more positioned for success than in the past when costs were comparatively lower.”
“For cattle producers, prices will remain high as the industry will start to expand again over the next couple of years, and consumer demand has held up despite the high prices. For the hog and bird producers, prices will likely remain high as well, as any slippage in beef demand due to their high prices could lead to increased sales for other meats.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: High Plains Journal
Michael Adjemian, University of Georgia
“Farmers Are Still Reeling Months After Hurricane Helene Ravaged Crops Across the South”
By: AP News – December 20, 2024
“Helene’s devastation shouldn’t have much impact on consumer prices because crops grown elsewhere can make up for most shortages. Pecans are one possible exception. Georgia is responsible for roughly one-third of U.S. production. In most cases, even a terrible storm like this is going to have a relatively small impact. And maybe it’s not even noticeable, depending on the product.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: AP News
Adam Rabinowitz, Auburn University
“Resolve 'Heirs Property' Before it's Too Late”
By: PR Newswire – December 20, 2024
“Imagine owning a piece of land that's been in your family for generations, but no one really knows who is in charge or how to get a clear understanding of who owns the land or who is allowed to use it. Some might call it "family land," "Granny's place" or even "kinfolk property." While these terms sound friendly, they hide a bigger problem. This type of land, known as "heirs property," can cause serious trouble for families if they don't take steps to clear up ownership.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: PR Newswire
Kenneth Foster, Purdue University
“Purdue Launches Institute to Help Farmers Commercialize New Products”
By: Agri News – December 14, 2024
“It’s bringing together the technical expertise on food manufacturing and food safety from food science and the marketing, entrepreneurship and business management strengths of ag econ.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Agri News
Paul Mitchell, University of Wisconsin, Madison
“Partisan Approach to Farm Bill Delaying Updates For Wisconsin Farmers”
By: WPR – December 16, 2024
“It’s fairly rare to see Congress have to pass a second extension to the farm bill. But he said the lack of cooperation between the parties has made it more difficult to reach the consensus needed to pass the large piece of legislation. Just like we walk up to the edge on these continuing resolutions to keep the (federal) budget going, the same thing is happening with the farm bill.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: WPR
George Frisvold, University of Arizona
“University of Arizona Creates New Tool to Help fight wildfires”
By: AZ Family – December 16, 2024
“These managers are making decisions that affect people’s lives. People’s lives and property are at stake. It was a burden to them, emotionally I think, to make the right decision. So helping those folks feels good.”
(Continued...)Read more on: AZ Family
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Members in the News: December 17, 2024
David Ortega, Michigan State University
- “New
Inflation Report: Grocery Prices Rose Sharply in November”
By: NPR – December 11, 2024 - “Your
Daily Cup of Coffee Could Get More Expensive Because of Climate Change”
By: NBC News – December 10, 2024
Steven Deller, University
of Wisconsin-Madison
Paul Mitchell, University of Wisconsin-Madison
“Observers Warn Trump’s Promised Mass Deportations Would Be Costly For Wisconsin’s Ag Industry”
By: Wis Business – December 9, 2024
“If you removed 5,000 undocumented immigrant workers that would have an economic impact of 14,396 jobs and $4.49 billion in industry sales … undocumented immigrants account for 29.5% of the impact of dairy farms. That is a reflection of how important these immigrants have become to Wisconsin dairy.”
“These changes would likely increase the cost of labor for the agricultural economy, creating disruptions and putting upward pressure on prices, at least in the short-term. Longer-term, companies would look for labor saving changes, continuing the trend to invest in automation that has been ongoing for several years.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Wis Business
Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
“The Health Insurance Industry Ought to Be Nonprofit”
By: Rochester Beacon – December 9, 2024
“transforming the health insurance industry into a nonprofit model is not just a moral imperative but also a practical necessity for improving health care outcomes and equity. By deemphasizing, if not eliminating, the profit motive, the industry could focus on what I have argued ought to be its basic raison d’etre: ensuring all individuals have access to affordable, high-quality medical care.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Rochester Beacon
Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis
“Officials Warn of Bird Flu Amid Child Possibly Infected After Drinking Raw Milk in North Bay”
By: NBC Bay Area – December 11, 2024
“Bird flu is partially to blame for the price hikes. Expect higher egg prices in the year ahead if the virus isn’t contained… So if 10% of the eggs are not in the market, the price has to go up a lot to get people. Overall, to cut back by 10%.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: NBC Bay Area
Luis Ribera, Texas A&M University
“The Turbulent History Of Peanuts Is The Story Of America”
By: The Takeout - December 10, 2024
“Genetically engineered peanuts will be converted into renewable diesel, which is chemically identical to fossil diesel, so it can be used in anything that uses diesel. While research to achieve this goal is still ongoing, diesel-replacing peanuts could become a sustainable fuel of the future.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Takeout
Jeffrey Dorfman, North Carolina State University
“Trump Migrant Deportations Could Threaten States’ Agricultural Economies”
By: Stateline – December 10, 2024
“The H-2A program will not expand instantly to fill the gap. So, that’s going to be a problem… When farmworkers hear about ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids on a nearby farm, lots of them disappear. Even the legal ones often disappear for a few days. So, if everybody just gets scared and self-deports, just goes back home, I think that would be the worst disruption.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Stateline or New Jersey Monitor , Idaho Capital Sun
Zachariah Rutledge, Michigan State University
“Michigan State University Researcher to Study Labour Challenges”
By: The Grower – December 9, 2024
“The U.S.-based agricultural workforce — immigrant and non-immigrant workers settled within the country — continues aging and declining in number, farmers have had to make changes in their production practices, including implementing new technology on farms and contracting workers through third parties. “
(Continued...)
Read more on: The Grower
Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University
“Most Surveyed Grocery Shoppers Report Noticing Shrinkflation”
By: Agrinews – December 12, 2024
“Our research on food values shows that price and affordability are among the top concerns for food shoppers, and one way for food manufacturers to reduce the price is to reduce the size of a product. But reducing product size could cause consumer resentment.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Agrinews
Maria Marshall, Purdue University
“Consider Agritourism For Farm Growth”
By: Farm Progress – December 12, 2024
“One of the many reasons agritourism businesses are around for many years is because consumers want to support local farmers… In a strong economic environment, agritourism will thrive as consumers look for outdoor recreational opportunities.”
(Continued...)
Read more on: Farm Progress
