Members in the News: Luckstead, Tsiboe, Nalley, Langemeier, Mintert, Orden, Dinterman, Katchova, Hilker, and Countryman

Jeff Luckstead, University of Arkansas Francis Tsiboe, Kansas State University Lawton Nalley, University of Arkansas A sweet deal? Study shows higher cocoa prices could end child labor in Ghana By: Reuters - June 5, 2019 Ghana could end child labor on cocoa farms by increasing the prices it pays impoverished farmers by about 50%, a U.S. study said on Wednesday, as global efforts to end child labor stall. Paying just 3% more at the farm gate could stop children in Ghana doing the most hazardous tasks, like using machetes, or working more than 42 hours a week, researchers said, as the illegal practice is driven by poverty and rarely prosecuted. “We figured there has to be some kind of incentive, on top of the laws, to get the farmers to stop using child labor,” said Jeff Luckstead, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas, co-author of the study in the journal PLoS ONE. (Continued...) Read more on: Reuters, El Pais, Popular Science, and Live Science Michael Langemeier, Purdue University James Mintert, Purdue University Indiana is behind nearly every other state in corn planting. Billions are on the line. By: Indy Star - June 10, 2019 "As you start to plant corn after the first week of June, it's more risky because you have less summer available for that corn to grow," said Michael Langemeier, a professor of agriculture economics at Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "So chances of early frost, chances of inclement weather of any sort in the summer, leads to more risk." But it's a gamble, said Jim Mintert, a Purdue agricultural economics professor. Farmers need to plant to qualify for the payments, and they can't take prevented insurance. The USDA also has yet to specify how large the payments will be, though the agency did say that more relief would be available to U.S. farmers this year than last. (Continued...) Read more on: Indy Star David Orden, Virginia Tech Donald Trump says Mexico agreed to start buying more from American farmers. Mexico says it didn’t. By: PolitiFact - June 10, 2019 Trade specialist David Orden, director of the Global Issues Initiative at Virginia Tech, said sales to Mexico have been looking promising since a few weeks ago when Trump ended the steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Until then, Mexico had counterpunched with its own tariffs on American goods, including pork. "Mexico is a huge market for our agricultural products," Orden said. "The retaliatory tariffs offsetting the U.S. ones on steel and aluminum have come off so ag exports should pick up on that account." (Continued...) Read more on: PolitiFact Robert Dinterman, The Ohio State University Ani Katchova, The Ohio State University Taxes on farmland dropping steadily By: Ohio’s Country Journal - June 12, 2019 Taxes, on average, are going down for owners of farmland across Ohio and are expected to decline at an even faster rate beginning in 2020, a study by researchers with The Ohio State University shows. The average value of agricultural land across the state has dropped by a third since a recent change in how the state calculates taxes for farmland owners, according to a study by Robert Dinterman and Ani Katchova, two agricultural economists with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). (Continued...) Read more on: Ohio’s Country Journal James Hilker, Michigan State University Michigan's climate: Models project 30% increase in rain and snow, plus rising temps By: Detroit Free Press - June 13, 2019 "Corn prices have jumped 80 cents (a bushel) in the last four or five days — they've gone from $3.40 to $4.30," said Jim Hilker, a professor in Michigan State University's Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics. "The corn price could go up another dollar." About one-third of all corn produced in the United States goes to livestock feed. Hilker isn't predicting a hit to consumer prices in the supermarket yet because of the late planting. But, were one to occur, it will likely hit first the cost of eggs and chicken, he said. (Continued...) Read more on: Detroit Free Press Amanda Countryman, Colorado State University Escalating Trade Wars Put Billions Of Dollars, Thousands Of Workers In Colorado At Risk By: Colorado Public Radio - May 31, 2019 Producers are also dealing with the impact of a trade war with China, the state’s third largest export market, said professor Amanda Countryman, an agricultural economist with Colorado State University. “So adding this challenge with the uncertainty of what’s going to happen with Mexico is incredibly troubling and challenging for Colorado and U.S. ag producers across the board,” she said. (Continued...) Read more on: Colorado Public Radio

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*Articles in response to the AAEA Communicating Out Strategy Press Releases highlighting: Government Relations, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, Choices Magazine, General Media, and/or 2018 AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.