Members in the News: May 6, 2024

 

Zhengfei Guan, University of Florida

“Chinese Professors Warn of ‘Culture of Fear’ in Florida After DeSantis’ Hiring Restrictions”

By: Politico -  May 29, 2024

“Guan says the law has stalled his agricultural economics research. Originally, he received 18 applicants for a graduate or postdoctoral assistant, and the best person for the job ended up being a Chinese applicant, he said. About a quarter of the candidates were from “countries of concern,” and all were international.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Politico

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Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University

“Grocery Prices 2024: When Will Things Start to Get Cheaper Again at the Supermarket?”

By: NASDAQ – April 25, 2024

“The 26-month survey also showed an 11.3% peak in U.S. food prices surge in 2022, but it has cooled down to 2.6 Although inflation has declined, it’s still present in the economy. Consumers expect more increase in food price inflation in the next 12 months.”

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Read more on: NASDAQ

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Scott Swinton, Michigan State University

“Are Cultivated Morel Mushrooms Possible?”

By: Brownfield – April 19, 2024

“Even though it’s difficult to cultivate them outdoors and we’re still learning how to do this in the United States, the prices are high enough that there’s hope that with even with fairly low yields, you might still be able to make a profit.”

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Read more on: Brownfield

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Wendong Zhang, Cornell University

“What is Hindering Edge-of-Field Conservation Adoption?”
By: Farm Progress – April 18, 2024

“Laid-off: Former Tyson Foods Chicken Farmers Face High Costs Switching to Eggs”
By: Reuters – April 30, 2024 or Fast Company

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Stephen Koontz, Colorado State University

“Livestock Marketing Information Center: More Front Loaded Long-Fed Cattle”

By: Morning Ag Clips – April 30, 2024

“While market attention appears to be captured by the HPAI information from the cattle herd – specifically dairy animals, there remains a rather substantial amount of other bearish short-term news in the market fundamentals. Primarily, the calculated and assumed cattle on feed over 150 days is substantial and growing.”

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Read more on: Morning Ag Clips

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Amy Hagerman, Oklahoma State University

“USDA Wildfire and Disaster Relief Program Overview with OSU’s Amy Hagerman”

By: Oklahoma Farm Report – May 2, 2024

“The main thing that people need to know is to do timely reporting of the damages. A lot of these programs have a bit of a time clock associated with them, so getting timely reporting of those damages and documentation is so critical for any of these programs. It is also a good idea for producers to take documentation of their property before disaster strikes as well so it can be compared in the case of a disaster.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Oklahoma Farm Report

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Rodolfo Nayga Jr., Texas A&M University
Jianhui Liu, University of Florida
Bachir Kassas, University of Florida

“Academics Worry About Ag Economist Shortage”

By: The Western Producer – May 3, 2023

“Given the predicted drop in high school graduates, it is imperative for many agricultural economics departments to adapt to the changing landscape to ensure their sustainability and relevance. Ag economics departments could be severely compromised by the predicted slump in high school graduates after 2025, which will continue to about 2037. Declining birth rates in recent decades are hitting the school age population. That shrinks the pool of young people expected to enter university in general."

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Read more on: The Western Produce

Members in the News: April 29, 2024

 

Andrew Stevens, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“Bird Flu Outbreak Is Driving Up Egg Prices — Again”

By: CBS – April 24, 2024

“During a bird flu outbreak, farmers report the incident to the USDA and officials from the agency visit the farm to slaughter the entire flock. For the chicken farmer, that means "hundreds of thousands of them that were laying multiple eggs are now not. You're taking out all the baseline egg production for up to three months at a time. You're paying for that lag time it takes to shore up and build back up production."

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Read more on: CBS

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Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

“What Does the Relationship Between Mothers-in-Law and Daughters-in-Law Tell Us About Women’s Labor Force Participation in India?”

By: Medium – April 20, 2024

“Given how vast Asia is and the existence of substantial regional differences within Asia, it helps to think about this unfortunately low female labor force participation by focusing on India, the most populous nation not only in Asia but also in the world.”

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Read more on: Medium

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Joana Colussi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University

“Brazil Poised For Major Agricultural Expansion”

By: Feed & Grain – April 10, 2024

“By transforming 70 million acres of degraded pastureland into croplands, Brazil could see a 35% expansion in agricultural area.”

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Read more on: Feed & Grain or AgriMarketing

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Sandro Steinbach, North Dakota State University

“The Dollar Store Dilemma”

By: Marketplace – April 23, 2024

“Dollar stores have been expanding significantly over the last 20 years … we’re talking about 50,000 stores. So it’s the end of a wave.”

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Read more on: Marketplace

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Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University

“Why Experts say Inflation Is Relatively Low But Voters Feel Differently”

By: NPR – April 25, 2024

“I'd say that most of the drivers of higher food prices have gone away. The one that's lingered is high labor costs. And so we see sustained higher prices or faster inflation in items that are labor intensive, including restaurant meals and packaged foods. So we're going to see higher food prices in some items. I don't think – and I certainly don't hope – that we return to the fast food price inflation that we saw last year or the year before.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: NPR

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Vishavdeep Sharma, The Ohio State University
Rabail Chandio, Iowa State University
Ani Katchova, The Ohio State University

“A look at foreign Inverstment in Ohio Farmland”

By: Ohio Country Journal – April 15, 2024

“The surge in foreign investment in U.S. farmland can have profound effects on local farmers and the agricultural economy. A primary concern is about the potential impact of foreign investments on land prices.”

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Read more on: Ohio Country Journal

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Aaron Smith, University of Tennessee

“Analyst: ‘Sure Looks Like’ Ag Census Undercounted Corn And Soybean Acreage”

By: Successful Farming – April 26, 20244

“I don’t know what explains this, but it sure looks like the 2022 census significantly undercounted corn and soybean acres in multiple Corn Belt and Great Plains states.”

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Read more on: Successful Farming

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Members in the News: April 22, 2024

 Soumya Balasubramanya, The World Bank

“Is There a Dark Side To Solar-Powered Irrigation Pumps?”

By: Forbes – April 5, 2024

"The paper argues that while solar irrigation has potential for reducing poverty and improving livelihoods and incomes in low and middle income countries (global south), greenhouse gas emissions reductions are not likely to meet expectations, and the groundwater use will increase," she says, adding that's limited incentives for farmers to reduce groundwater use, which could put further stress on these resources.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Forbes

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Mehdi Nemati, University of California, Riverside

“Cherish That Hamburger. It Cost a Quarter of the Colorado River, According to Researchers”

By: The Colorado Sun – April 4, 2024

“Accounting for nature’s uses is one of the most helpful parts of the study. If there is a cutback, alfalfa and hay and pasture — those are the ones to go first. This is just purely looking at direct economic impacts. Crops like alfalfa are relatively drought tolerant, always in demand and can be harvested by machine, a more affordable option than human labor. They also act like a buffer in dry years, when farmers can switch to other crops.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: The Colorado Sun

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Brittney Goodrich, University of California, Davis

“UC Examines Cost of Growing Strawberries”

By: Farm progress – April 12, 2024

“This study provides growers with a baseline to estimate their own costs, which can help when applying for production loans, projecting labor costs, securing market arrangements, or understanding costs associated with water and nutrient management and regulatory programs.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Farm progress

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Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University
Jacob Schmiess, Purdue University

“Survey Tallies Consumer Attitudes Toward Lab-Grown Meat Alternatives”

By: Phys.org – April 11, 2024

"We see similar results when evaluating consumers' willingness to try conventional and cultivated meats in a restaurant setting. For common meats, such as beef, chicken and pork, the researchers found that about 90% or more of consumers are willing to try conventional or non-cultivated meats.”

“The results showed that fewer consumers are willing to try exotic meats, though around 50% say they are willing to try professionally prepared octopus, shark and ostrich. Again, we see a willingness to try cultivated versions of these meats drop significantly.”

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Read more on: Phys.org

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Dale Manning, Colorado State University

“Colorado Bats Are in Trouble. That’s Bad News For the State’s Mosquito Season”

By: Colorado Sun – April 15, 2024

 “This is an example of how this natural population, sort of natural ecology, supports the economy that we depend on for jobs, food and income. The largest impacts were to corn and soy production before land rental rates dropped. As your costs go up and your yield yields go down, there are higher costs and lower revenues. That willingness to pay for land is falling. So as a result, when the demand for something falls, its price falls and so that’s what we found in areas that lose these healthy bat populations.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Colorado Sun

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Travis Smith, University of Georgia

“Diet Quality Goes Up When Kids Eat School Lunches”

By: Health Reporter – April 16, 2024

“It was very clear that across the board that the overall quality of kids’ diets improves when they eat a school meal. We found that if all children were to eat a school meal versus an at-home meal, the disparity in their Healthy Eating Index goes away.”

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Read more on: Health Reporter

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Jennifer Ifft, Kansas State University
Joe Parcell, Kansas State University

“Report: Kansas Farm Income Outlook Comparable to 2023, Say K-State Economists”

By: Salina Post – April 18, 2024

“Combining factors weighing on crop and livestock production, we expect net farm income to increase 21%, but net cash income to decrease by 14%. Economists often focus on net farm income because that measure reflects the totality of the producer’s income in a given year. Net farm income includes income as well as changes to materials and inventory. And so if we’re talking about a return to normal crop yields this year, producers are going to have more crops; they are going to have higher inventories at the end of 2024.”

“The big question in the cattle market is how fast can cow-calf producers rebuild the herd that they sold off last year as a result of high prices and the drought. The other thing we see is that feed yards have been extremely resilient. Compared to five years ago, (feed yards) are spending $1,000 more per head in costs. If you take $1,000 for every 1,000 animals, that’s $1 million more they are putting through that feed yard.

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Read more on: Salina Post

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Members in the News: April 15, 2024

 

Maria Kalaitzandonakes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“What’s a Good Egg? Learn What Free Range, Cage Free Really Mean on Labels”

By: Chicago Sun Times – April 2, 2024

“Some labels don't mean anything. “Natural" don't have any requirements associated with it, and cartons touting no hormones "is not a useful label as hormones are not given to egg laying hens. The American Egg Board, a Chicago-based industry group, says "farm fresh" is another description that means very little, as all eggs are farm fresh with "eggs typically reaching the store shelf within 72 hours of being laid.”

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

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Amitrajeet Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology

“Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, China, Will Get All the Growth From AI if Other Regions Don’t Invest Now to Compete”

By: The Conversation – April 9, 2024

“The 21st century has witnessed an unprecedented surge in technological advancements, with artificial intelligence emerging as a worldwide transformative force across the economy. The integration of AI-based technologies into regional economies through the manufacturing and design of goods such as smartphones and smart speakers has sparked significant changes, leading to increased efficiency, innovation and economic growth.”

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

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Andrew Stevens, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“Too sweet? Why Rising Cocoa Prices Are Driving Up the Cost of Chocolate”

By: Chanel 3000 – April 8, 2024

“Dr. Andrew Stevens joins News 3 Now Live at Four to discuss the rising price of chocolate.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Chanel 3000

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Lauren Chenarides, Colorado State University

“Are All 99 Cent Stores Closing? A look at the Family Dollar, 99 Cents Only Stores closures”

By: USA Today – April 6, 2024

“I think we’ll continue to see dollar stores expand. We're not necessarily going to see those expansion plans stop.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: USA Today

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James Mintert, Purdue University

“Farmer Sentiment Improves As Interest Rate Expectations Shift”

By: KPC News – April 6, 2024

“Producers’ expectations for interest rate changes have shifted, which could help explain why producers look for financial conditions to improve. Factors contributing to this optimism included non-farm investor demand, inflation expectations and strong cash flows. An improved interest rate outlook might have been a factor as well, although producers didn’t point to that explicitly in this month’s survey.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: KPC News

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Amy Hagerman, Oklahoma State University

“Chickens and Cattle Hit With Massive Bird Flu Outbreak”

By: KX News – April 7, 2024

“We would expect to see some increase in prices because you’re rapidly pulling a large number of potential eggs out of the market for the next 30 to 60 days. Under normal circumstances, egg prices would usually be dropping after the Easter holiday, when demand is high. She doesn’t expect that to be the case this year.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: KX News or The Hill, Fox 59

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Brittney Goodrich, University of California, Davis

“New UC Study Estimates Costs for Growing Strawberries on the Central Coast”

By: Morning Ag Clips – April 8, 2024

“This study provides growers with a baseline to estimate their own costs, which can help when applying for production loans, projecting labor costs, securing market arrangements, or understanding costs associated with water and nutrient management and regulatory programs.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: Morning Ag Clips

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Sandy Dall'Erba, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“How Global Supply Chains Shape Air Quality”

By: AZO Cleantech - April 9, 2024

“Our study is unique in combining atmospheric transport of air pollution with supply chain analysis as it tells us where the pollution is coming from and who is ultimately responsible for it. There is a direct link between a country’s level of production and how much air pollution is emitted. But production may be driven by demand from consumers in other countries. We use supply chain analysis to quantify the links between production and consumption. This helps us to understand how production in one country is linked to domestic and foreign demand.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: AZO Cleantech or Bioengineer

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Stephen Devadoss, Texas Tech University

"Immigration Reform Can’t Pass Congress. Here’s How That’s Hurting Kansas, Missouri Farmers"

By: Union-Bulletin - April 10, 2024

"The program is mostly used by fruit and vegetable farmers for seasonal harvests, not the row crops like corn, wheat, soybeans and sorghum that are common in Kansas and Missouri."

(Continued...)
Read more on: Union-Bulletin

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David Ortega, Michigan State University

“Why Are Foreign Investors Buying Land in Illinois, And What Does It Mean For the State?”

By: The Chicago Council – April 11, 2024

“It’s hard to visualize how big Illinois’ 795,000 acres of foreign-held land really is. The state has more than 29 million acres of privately held agricultural land, so we are only talking of 2.7% of that land being foreign-held. Nationwide, about 3.1% of the country’s privately held agricultural land is fully or partly foreign-owned. I would say it does not represent a sizable portion of total agricultural land in the state,” he added, while also pointing out that there was also a decrease in foreign-held land in the state in 2022.”

(Continued...)
Read more on: The Chicago Council

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Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University

“Groceries And Gas Still Squeezing US Consumers As Inflation Lingers”
By: WDSU News – April 10, 2024

“Survey Tallies Consumer Attitudes on Lab-Grown Meat Alternatives”
By: Ag Daily or Phys.org – April 10, 2024