Members in The News: June 23, 2025

Martin Smith, Duke University “US Shrimp Fishers See Trump Tariffs as a Lifeline: ‘We’re Basically on Our Knees’” By: The Guardian – June 11, 2025 “It was not clear that Trump’s recent broad-based tariffs – those that target a wide array of goods – are the right tool to address a flood of cheap shrimp imports.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Guardian  William Maples, Mississippi State University “Trump’s Tariffs Are Hurting U.S. Agriculture. Some Farmers Support Them Anyway” By: Mississippi Free Press – June 17, 2025 “A new trade deal with China “locks in a source of demand” for U.S. farm products… The problem with Trump’s more expansive and erratic tariff strategy this time is that it risks alienating trade partners and further destabilizing markets, which in turn would drive down crop prices.” (Continued...) Read more on: Mississippi Free Press Rebecca Taylor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign “Plastic Shopping Bag Policies Are Actually Working, a New Study Suggests” By: CNN – June 19, 2025 “And you can always go back to the three R’s: Reduce the number of plastic bags you use, reuse them when you can and recycle them when you must.” (Continued...) Read more on: CNN Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University  “Labor Crisis Reality Check: How Immigration Crackdowns Could Increase Milk Prices by 90% and Crash Profits” By: The Bullvine – June 15, 2025 “Michigan State University agricultural economist Zach Rutledge estimates that domestic workers with employment taxes may cost between $15 and $25 per hour, while H-2A workers can cost almost twice as much, $25 to $30 per hour. He noted that cost may be higher when factoring in housing and other expenses.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Bullvine Jennifer Ifft, Kansas State University Alejandro Plastina, University of Missouri-Columbia “Government Payments Push Kansas Farm Income Higher in 2025 Amid Global Uncertainty” By: Oklahoma Voice – June 19, 2025 “If you look at the inflation-adjusted farm income for 2025, it’s by far the largest we’ve seen in several years. What drove that sharp increase that we see from 2024 to 2025? The answer is government payments.” “The bottom line at the national level is that we are seeing short- and medium-term pain for field crops because of lower prices, sticky costs. In the cattle sector, I would say the picture is better. There are limited supplies, mostly on beef and cattle production, high prices and lower feed costs than in the past, still high, but lower than the past.” (Continued...) Read more on: Oklahoma Voice Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University “Knowing What’s Healthy, But Still Reaching For the Unhealthy” By: Ag Week – June 20, 2025 “Our research shows that consumers care about nutrition, but that they prioritize taste first and foremost, and then price and availability.” (Continued...) Read more on: Ag Week