2025 Call for Research Reports, Updates, and Outreach Writing

The Food Distribution Research Society invites submissions of Research Reports, Research Updates, and Outreach Writing for the 2025 Annual Conference to be held in San Diego from October 12-14, 2025. Work related to any food distribution area from the farm gate through retail to the consumer is welcome at FDRS.

Organized Symposium offers the opportunity for presentations and discussion on a single theme or problem related to the food distribution field. Interdisciplinary proposals are welcomed and encouraged. Organized symposia proposals are allowed 1 hour and 30 minutes and they are expected to allocate at least 30 minutes to discussion. 

Research Reports are scholarly papers focusing on the results of research efforts. Reports will be evaluated and accepted based on one-page abstracts that describe the research and its relevance to food distribution issues. Presentations of research reports are limited to 15 minutes each, with 5 minutes for Q&A. 

Research Updates are synopses of research or educational work either (1) recently completed, (2) in progress, or (3) to be undertaken within the next year. To give an update, submit a maximum one-page description of the update. Presentations of updates are limited to 10 minutes each, with 3 minutes for Q&A. 

Outreach Writing comprises technical communication of food industry issues that are key to Extension/Industry Outreach. These may include ‘industry outlook’, food supply chain, and marketing articles or content similar to AAEA’s Choices Magazine, for example, geared toward non-academic audiences. Entries in this category must include a PDF copy of the actual article or printout from an online source and the submission form. Authors will have 15 minutes to present a summary of the article’s key points and how it was used in outreach/extension efforts, with 5 minutes for Q&A. 

Teaching Case Studies are scholarly papers that feature a firm or industry addressing an issue relevant to classroom discussion. Case studies can be developed using either primary or secondary research data. Submissions will be evaluated based on a one-page, single-spaced, extended abstract describing the firm/industry, the main issue(s) of the case or decision to be made, why the case is important for teaching purposes, and the learning objectives. Presentations of teaching case studies are limited to 15 minutes each, with 5 minutes for Q&A. 

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST USE THIS SUBMISSION FORM
Email submissions, questions, and/or general inquiries about this call to Dr. Maria Bampasidou, Research VP, at FDRSVPResearch@gmail.com by July 20, 2025.  Authors will be notified of acceptance by early August. All presenters must be registered for the conference. 

Venue:   Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Venue Phone: (858) 240-4913

Venue Website: https://paradisepoint.com

Address:

1404 Vacation Rd, San Diego, California, 92109, United States

Members in the News: July 21, 2025

 David Ortega, Michigan State University

• “How Have Prices Changed Under Trump? Experts Explain”
  By: ABC News – July 8, 2025
• “Americans Are Eating Cheaper. What That Means for the Economy”
  By: Barron’s – July 9, 2025
• “Orange Juice Prices Have Spiked. A 50% Brazil Tariff Will Lift Them Even Higher”
  By: Barron’s – July 10, 2025

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Roderick Rejesus, North Carolina State University
Zachary Brown, North Carolina State University

“Scientists Make Game-Changing Discovery That Could Revolutionize How We Grow Food: 'A Long-Term Investment'”

By: The Cool Down – July 18, 2025

"There is a lot of academic literature looking at short-term effects of cover crops, but our contribution here is in thinking about cover crops as a long-term investment."

"The more you use cover crops, the fewer fertilizer inputs are needed. That effect also increased over time. So, the longer you used cover crops, the more they were able to offset nitrogen fertilizer."

(Continued...)
Read more on: The Cool Down

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Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University
Nick Paulson, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

“Reconciliation Bill Includes Enhanced Safety Net”

By: Agri-Pub News – July 12, 2025

“Our estimates use market-year prices of $4.10 for corn and $10.20 for soybeans. The 2025 yields were set at ARC-CO benchmark levels.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Agri-Pub News

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Wendiam Sawadgo, Auburn University
Ryan Loy, University of Arkansas

“Midwest Farm Economies Suffered While Some Sun Belt States Kept Rolling in Early 2025”

By: Yahoo! News – July 15, 2025

“That’s because Southeastern agriculture includes more poultry and eggs, currently more profitable than the row crops that dominate in the Midwest. The divergence is expected to last, he said, with row-crop prices continuing to fall and meat and egg prices continuing to rise this year.

“Farm bankruptcies nationally came to 259 in the first three months of this year. That was more than any full year since 2021, when there were 276. Arkansas saw 15 farm bankruptcies in the first quarter, almost as many as in all of 2024, when there were 16.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Yahoo! News

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Daniel Sumner, University of California, Davis

“Trump Is Suing To Overturn Animal Welfare Laws”

By: Truth Dig – July 15, 2025

“The law has resulted in higher egg prices in California, but not elsewhere. These California rules cause Californians to pay more, but have no measurable impact on eggs (or pork) in other places. Consumers and producers who buy or sell conventional eggs are largely unaffected.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Truth Dig

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Malek Hammami, University of Florida

“Tariffs on Brazilian Imports Could Destroy Florida's Citrus Industry, Expert Warns”

By: Palm Beach Post – July 16, 2025

“The tariffs on Brazil may juice demand for Florida’s home-grown fruit at first — driving up prices that growers can get. But these same tariffs may ultimately make juicing oranges an unprofitable industry… Right now, mixing Brazilian and Mexican orange concentrate with the juice of Sunshine State oranges is keeping the industry alive because hurricanes and a citrus greening disease have decimated the state’s groves, which are predominantly used to grow oranges for juice.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Palm Beach Post

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Brandon McFadden, University of Arkansas

“Trump’s Cane Sugar Coca-Cola Push Could Disrupt U.S. Agriculture: Trade Group”

By: MSNBC TV – July 17, 2025

“Changes in demand for corn syrup, such as that used in Coke, would increase demand for cane sugar in Louisiana and Florida, as well as from Central and South America, where the sweetener is heavily tariffed. It could force corn farmers—primarily in Iowa and Illinois—to look for business elsewhere… The exports were looking really good, but they would look even better if we were still supplying China so heavily.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: MSNBC TV

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Brenna Ellison, Purdue University

“We're Tracking Grocery Prices Around Chicago Since Trump Took Office. They're Up And likely to Keep Rising”

By: Chicago Sun Times – July 18, 2025

“I do think people are bracing for impact,” Brenna Ellison, an agricultural economics professor at Purdue, says.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Chicago Sun Times

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Brian Roe, The Ohio State University

“The Short-Term Vacation Rental Industry Has a $2.3bn Food Waste Problem”

By: Ag Fund News – July 18, 2025

“This uneaten food equates to a 5% additional lodging tax “through the money they spend on food that they never eat while they’re in the Airbnb.”

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

Members in the News: July 14, 2025

 

Wendong Zhang, Cornell University

• “Trump’s Previous Tariff Push Terrified the World Economy. He’s Betting This Time is Different”
  By: AP News – July 8, 2025
• “Trump Says it Was ‘Too Time-Consuming’ to Negotiate Trade Deals So it Was Just Easier to Send Letters”
  By: Fortune – July 9, 2025 

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Zach Rutledge, Michigan State University

"MSU Study Shows Farm Labor Changes, Challenges"

By: Vegetable Growers News – July 12, 2025

“In a Michigan State University (MSU) study, researchers provide an overview of the farm labor market in Michigan, emphasizing changes in employment, wages and farmworker characteristics to highlight how the farm labor force has changed over the past 20 years.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Vegetable Growers News

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Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

“Knowing English Greatly Helps One’s Employability in India”

By: Basis Point – July 10, 2025

“Low-income individuals in India and other developing countries often lack the skills required for employment in growing service sectors such as tourism, call centers, and business process outsourcing. While job training programmers often emphasize vocational or technical skills, English language skills—critical for many modern jobs—are frequently overlooked.”

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

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Peter Orazem, Iowa State University
Chad Hart, Iowa State University

“Iowa's Sinking GDP Linked to Long-Term Trends, Economists Warn”

By: Axios Des Moines – July 7, 2025

“Iowa's economy has not done well compared to other states for years, starting with slower growth in 2018.”

“The state's ag sector took a step back last year, and the latest GPD report is the result.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Axios Des Moines

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Brian Roe, The Ohio State University

“US Vacation Renters Are Wasting $2B Worth of Food Every Year: Study”

By: WDCTV – July 10, 2025

“So people are basically paying an additional lodging tax through the money they spend on food that they never eat while they’re in the Airbnb.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: WDCTV

Members in the News: July 7, 2025

 Rabail Chandio, Iowa State University

“Fresh Analysis of Meat Consumption and Farmland Values”

By: Iowa Farm Bureau – June 9, 2025

“In this episode, we chat with Iowa State University’s resident expert on farmland values, economist Dr. Rabail Chandio. We also explore new research on Americans’ meat purchasing habits, with Rick Stein, who’s the Vice President of Fresh Foods for The Food Industry Association.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Iowa Farm Bureau  

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Alejandro Gutierrez-Li, North Carolina State University

• “Inflation, Trump Tariffs Hurting Americans' Fourth Of July Plans, Survey Finds: Here's How”
  By: Daily Voice - July 2, 2025 
• “Ground Beef Prices Surge To Record High Before Fourth Of July Cookouts: Here's Why”
  By: Daily Voice – July 2, 2025

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David Ortega, Michigan State University

“Summer Without Cherry Pie? Michigan’s Signature Crop Faces Battery of Threats”

By: The Guardian – July 5, 2025

“Labor issues are also hampering cherry production. The supply chain relies on a mix of local and migrant labor, and there is a shortage of both. Some migrant laborers are hired through the H-2A visa, a temporary work visa for agricultural jobs, and some migrant laborers are undocumented. Cherrypicking is often done mechanically, but packing and processing relies on human labor. Producers and other stakeholders have seen how Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids make some workers afraid to show up because of deportation fears. Without enough agricultural workers, many of Michigan’s specialty crops could spoil.”

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

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Antonina Broyaka, Kansas State University

“Expert: EU Quotas Put More Ukrainian Products on Global Market”

By: Capital Press – June 25, 2025

“Ukraine will need to diversify its agricultural exports, since export capacity is much higher than Europe is going to buy from Ukraine. Ukraine will search for alternative markets, which means there will be high competition on the other markets. The EU was always the main market for Ukrainian animal and crop products. Its value for Ukraine was nearly $12.9 billion in 2024, double that of 2021, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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

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Chad Hart, Iowa State University

“Iowa’s Economy Had the Worst Growth in the Nation Early This Year. Why?”

By: The Gazette – July 2, 2025

“Iowa’s agricultural sector has been “treading water,” waiting to see how Trump’s tariff policies will play out. For our farmers the big thing they need to worry about is not the tariffs that are put in here in the U.S., it’s how other countries respond to those tariffs. And right now, we haven’t seen a lot of responses from other countries because of the on again, off again nature of what we’re seeing here within the U.S.”

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

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Valerie Kilders, Purdue University

“These Fast Food Restaurants Hiked Their Prices the Most Last Year”

By: World NL – July 3, 2025

“Inflation at fast food restaurants is a multilayered phenomenon. Increased minimum wages for low-wage workers and the increase of general food prices as two large factors contributing to rising fast food prices. Post pandemic, we saw that lowest wage workers, which include those that are typically working in fast food restaurants, saw the fastest growth in wages… From January 2024 to January 2025 "cattle prices increased 20.6% and wholesale beef [increased] around 15%. Eggs are even up 183%, so we're seeing these big increases in just those two categories. The increased prices for the operators are passed on to the consumers.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: World NL or All Things American

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Ted Schroeder, Kansas State University

“Why Beef Prices Have Hit a Record”

By: The New York Times – July 4, 2025

“Ranchers reported strong profits in 2014, and expanded their herds over the next five to six years. But with more supply, the price that ranchers received for cattle fell, just as a drought began across the Western United States. With less grass for their cattle to graze on, ranchers had to buy more feed for their herds to subsist on, raising their costs. As the drought persisted, many ranchers decided to sell some cattle and downsize their herd.”

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