Industry analysis shows meat sales hit $112 billion in 2025, with more than 98% of American households purchasing meat for daily meals. USDA is forecasting consumption of beef, pork and chicken to rise in 2026.

“Beef remains the centerpiece of many cookouts, but record-high prices and historically tight cattle inventories continue to challenge both consumers and producers,” the Market Intel states. “Pork offers relative value and stability, supported by efficient production and strong export markets, even as producers navigate ongoing disease risks. Meanwhile, chicken stands out as the most accessible option, with steady production growth and modest prices helping it maintain its place as America’s most-consumed protein.”

USDA reports the average retail price for beef set a record in April at $9.64 per pound, up about 13% from the previous year. Beef prices remain elevated by strong demand and the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years. This is a result of years of drought, reduced income following the pandemic and elevated operating costs that have led farmers to liquidate their herds.

The average price of pork increased 2.3% from April 2025 to April 2026. Pork chops are the most popular cut. The average retail price for pork chops in U.S. cities was $4.33 per pound in April 2026, up 9 cents per pound from the same time last year. Prices reflect a balanced supply of hogs and growing consumer demand.

For chicken, USDA estimates about 42.2 billion pounds of chicken will be purchased in 2026, up 46 million pounds from 2025. The overall price of chicken fell in April by 0.7% compared to April 2025. Boneless chicken breasts in U.S. cities cost an average of $4.17 per pound in April, down a penny from the same time last year. Poultry flocks continue to recover from avian influenza, which has helped to control price increases.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “Home-grown meat continues to be a staple for America’s families. Despite higher prices at the grocery store, families trust America’s farmers and ranchers to grow the food that is put on the grill and on dinner tables across the country. We urge the administration and Congress to prioritize ranchers as they rebuild herds so they can continue to meet the needs of the nation’s families.”

For shoppers looking to save money, retailers and grocery stores generally increase promotional sales and specials as holidays draw closer.

While this is a snapshot of current meat prices, the American Farm Bureau Federation conducts annual surveys of the average cost of a full Thanksgiving dinner and a 4^th of July cookout. The 4^th of July marketbasket survey will be released on June 26, 2026.

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In response, Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, issued the following statement:

“This allocation update is disappointing. While we appreciate the Bureau’s ongoing effort to update allocations as conditions evolve, and recognize the significant operational constraints involved in balancing reservoir management, temperature requirements for fish, and the many competing demands placed on the Central Valley Project (CVP), this allocation update falls short of our growers’ water needs.

This year’s conditions underscore the continued strain on our water system. Early precipitation and full reservoirs met a record hot March, leading to an extraordinarily low snowpack. This kind of weather whiplash between wet and dry conditions has become all too familiar but demonstrates the urgent need to reprioritize our water management policies to fix an outdated and broken system.

The CVP was designed to support water supply both north and south of the Delta through reservoir operations and, particularly for south of Delta agricultural allocations, through the diversion of excess flows in the winter and spring. Instead, lack of flexibility at our reservoirs combined with constraints on capturing surplus water during high-flow conditions has produced a system that is not fully delivering on its intended purpose.

This situation is exactly why we urge the Trump Administration to continue progress implementing Executive Order 14181 and move forward on Initiative 6. We need increased investment in storage and conveyance infrastructure, along with meaningful regulatory flexibility that prioritizes the needs of Californians, including our Central Valley communities. Without it, our water system will continue to fall short for the people and the purpose it was built to serve.”

Westlands continues to work closely with the Bureau of Reclamation, federal leadership, and policymakers to develop new methods and tools that will secure increased allocations and improve operational flexibility in the future.

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“It was like a pioneer thing, because nobody was doing it,” Sparks said.

She took up the mantle after her father died 14 years ago. A lot has changed: In addition to Winters Joint Unified, she also provides oranges to the Davis Joint Unified and Fairfield-Suisun Unified school districts, shipping around 50,000 pounds of her citrus from January to March.

Now a bigger change—one that extends beyond her own farm—has begun to bear fruit as well.

“Many of my peers here are selling their food to school districts, where 10 years ago that wasn’t happening,” Sparks said.California Bountiful

During the past few years, efforts such as California’s Universal Meals Program have offered funding to improve access and quality of food served to students. And last year, state legislators passed a law requiring schools to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals. That includes foods with high levels of sugar, sodium and saturated fats, as well as additives such as thickeners and non-nutritive sweeteners.

Some school districts started the transition before the law was passed. Among them is Western Placer Unified, where the district’s food service director, Christina Lawson, said they started making changes with the help of the nonprofit Eat Real in 2023. She said working with local farmers has been a big part of the transition, especially in helping change the “mystery meat” narrative sometimes associated with school cafeteria food.

“This isn’t some random thing that came out of a box that somehow is ending up on your kid’s tray,” Lawson said. “We really want our community to know how much effort and work that we’re putting into sourcing the food for our students.”

Mattea Kelly, director of marketing for Eat Real, said a transition away from processed foods can often encourage partnerships with local farmers.

“Sometimes the best pathway isn’t just going through and trying to remove the ingredients, but it’s just bringing in whole foods, right?” Kelly said. “Helping these districts to source from more local farmers can sometimes be one of the lightest pathways to be able to do that, because you don’t have to remove an ingredient if it never had it.”

Some school districts begin those partnerships by working with food hubs that distribute regional produce from farmers in their network.

San Diego County grower Andrew Dickinson runs Dickinson Family Farms, which also operates as a hub that packs and ships produce to customers. At his own farm, he grows mostly tree crops such as avocados and passion fruit.

He said he started working with school districts in 2023. Now, about half the produce distributed by his hub goes to schools.

As he’s provided more fresh produce to schools, he’s seen the impact. Dickinson said one school district serving frozen blueberries to students began offering fresh blueberries after partnering with the hub. Since then, he said the district’s blueberry order has increased as students demand more of the fruit.

“That’s when I really feel like we’ve won a great victory in terms of having the kids anticipate it before it even gets there,” he said.

In another district, Dickinson said he got a request to send carrots with the tops still attached so that students could better understand where the food was coming from.

“It might look a little different than what you see on the grocery store shelf, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad food,” Dickinson said. “A carrot with the top on it looks different, but it tastes incredible because it came right out of the ground.”

There’s also a benefit for the farmers supplying school districts. Dickson said schools have a dedicated population that needs food daily, making them reliable customers that add some consistency to his schedule.

Eric Walker, co-owner of Farmboy Organics in Solano and Yolo counties, said this consistency encouraged his farm’s budding relationship with the Vacaville Unified School District. He said they’re still nailing down the details, but his farm will likely begin supplying the district with produce starting this fall.

While about 75% of Farmboy Organics’ sales come from farmers markets, Walker said he’s working to scale up his farm to grow more produce. But that requires reliable customers to take what’s grown. He said a school district, especially one prioritizing local food, is a good candidate because they’ll buy large quantities.

“It allows us to expand the farm and build it sustainably without having to run 10 different directions to find outlets taking small amounts,” Walker said.

However, school district staff said transforming student meals can be tricky. Michael Jochner, student nutrition director at Morgan Hill Unified, said they often must balance improving food quality with staying on budget.

That means making strategic choices. For example, he said rather than selling a less expensive but more processed burger throughout the month, he might decide to offer a more healthful burger loaded with local ingredients less frequently.

“Then we pair that burger, or we pair that more expensive item, with a vegetarian dish or something that doesn’t necessarily cost as much as the burger patty,” he said.

When working with farmers, Jochner said fresh produce is not the only benefit. He said he tries to bring farmers to the district’s elementary schools monthly to talk to students about the produce they’re supplying that month.

Dickinson said he makes similar efforts with districts he works with—planning classroom visits and disseminating flyers that help students better understand their food and where it comes from. On a flyer about kumquats, for example, he describes the fruit as “sour candy” and tells students how to eat it.

“We feel like this farm-to-school project with the schools is a great way to train students to be aware and to support a local agricultural community by knowing their seasons,” Dickinson said.

Sparks said it’s the relationship with students that’s fueled her passion for working with schools. After years of delivering oranges to schools, she said students in Winters sometimes recognize her as “the orange lady.”

“They’re all happy to see me,” she said. “They know it’s coming fresh from my orchard to their plate, and they love it.”

Manola Secaira is a staff writer for Ag Alert. She can be reached at msecaira@cfbf.com.

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“We always look forward to welcoming the community to the California Antique Farm Equipment Show,” said Wally Roeben, International Agri-Center Show Operations Manager. “With so much to see and do, it’s a great opportunity for families to come out and enjoy.”

The show kicks off Friday, April 17 at the International Agri-Center® showgrounds in Tulare, CA. The event features a wide variety of attractions, including antique tractors, trucks, and equipment displays, barrel races, tractor pulls, a swap meet, food vendors, and more. The Local Loop Vendor Market, by It’s a Neighborhood Thing, will feature a variety of local vendors inside Building C.

Family-friendly activities will take place throughout the weekend, including tractor rides, a petting zoo, a pedal pull competition, and the always-popular tractor parade. The parade will roll down Median Street at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Saturday evening will feature a steak dinner accompanied by live music from the Josh Day Band. Social hour begins at 5:00 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the Farm Credit Dairy and Livestock Center. Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased by calling (559) 688-1030.

For a full schedule of events and attractions, please visit antiquefarmshow.org.

Show hours are Friday, April 17th, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, April 18th, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the gate each day for $10, or $20 for a weekend pass. Children 12 and under are free.

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Jim Morehead is a lifelong member of the San Joaquin Valley agricultural community and a second‑generation California farmer whose roots run deep in Pixley, California. His family came to California shortly after World War II, relocating from the Texas Panhandle to begin farming in the fertile San Joaquin Valley.

Raised in Pixley, Jim has spent more than 72 years in the community alongside his wife, Betty, where they raised their family, having two boys, Jason and Justin, and established multigenerational ties to the region.

Jim graduated from Fresno State University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business, a foundation that helped guide his lifelong career in farming and community leadership. He farmed cotton, corn, wheat, milo and alfalfa with his father, Vaughn, and brother David through the late 1980s. Jim continued the family business on his own beginning in 1990 and began transitioning out of field crops and into almond production in the late 1990s. Today, he continues that legacy, farming alongside his son, Jason, as part of a proud multi generational family farming operation.

Beyond agriculture, Jim has devoted decades to serving and giving back to his community. He served 20 years on the Board of the Pixley Unified School District, helping guide educational priorities and community development. For 25 years, he has been active with The Pixley Foundation—supporting efforts such as the local library, food pantry, and internet connectivity to strengthen community resources. Jim also served 45 years on the board of the Pixley United Brethren Church and as President of Pixley-Tipton Youth Baseball while his boys were growing up.

Within the agricultural sector, Jim has held numerous board, leadership, and volunteer roles that reflect his expertise and commitment to advancing farming in California and Tulare County. His service includes:

• World Ag Expo Orange Jacket Volunteer – Finance Committee
• Tri City Growers Cotton Cooperative – Board Member
• California Cotton Alliance – Board Member
• Central Valley Almond Association – Current Board Member
• Pixley Irrigation District – Groundwater Sustainability Agency – Current Committee Member

Jim takes great pride in living in the community where he works and providing jobs to those in the area. Jim and Betty’s two sons, their wives, and eleven grandchildren all reside in the San Joaquin Valley.

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This year we’re beginning with a 15% water allocation, which is pretty low, driven by weather complicating operations. We hope the allocation will continue to climb, but there’s no assurance. So, we have to kind of blindly plan out how our spring will completely look when we’re finished.

The uncertainty of water supply causes some concern because we’re starting low. Even though these recent rains are helpful, they haven’t changed the modeling or produced a more robust allocation.

That puts in jeopardy going forward how much we can farm. It’s not just surface water delivery that’s lighter. We also have groundwater management. Those two together can cap our supplies without any sense that the number will go higher.

Cannery tomatoes are somewhat in surplus, so marketing and pricing may be challenging. We’re hoping it’s on the higher side. We also grow garbanzos, but we’re not growing any this year because that market is in surplus. We grow some pima cotton; that is also in surplus. When I say surplus, it may be more lack of demand. Pima has been dramatically lower than it has been in the past. I think turmoil has a lot to do with that. We hope trade deals get done so markets can find firm footing.

January was a dry period going into the first part of February, and then it got wet. The challenge is that a lighter hydrological year also caused delays in getting our ground prepped. We’re now finally able to get ground worked out. But again, we’re not sure where our allocation goes, so we’re not pushing too fast yet until we know more.

The post From the Fields: Dan Errotabere, Fresno County farmer appeared first on Valley Voice.

The report details another year of high agricultural production, where farmers produced more than 50 high-quality crops using some of the most advanced water-efficient practices in the world. From almonds, pistachios, and tomatoes to lettuce, garlic, onions, and melons, District farms supply grocery stores, food processors, and restaurants year-round.

Facing an unreliable water supply year over year, Westlands growers continue to lead in conservation and efficiency. Advanced irrigation systems, soil moisture monitoring, and precision agriculture technologies allow farmers to maximize every acre-foot of water delivered.

Some interesting trends include:

• Agave nearly doubled from 2024 to 2025 as farmers explore the highly versatile and drought resistant crop that produces syrup and spirits like tequila and mezcal.
• Basil, broccoli, cherries, grapefruit, and hemp increased while wine grapes, tangerines, pistachios, and peaches all saw slight declines
• Over 242,000 acres of land was fallowed in 2025 as a result of our unreliable water supply

“Water reliability directly translates to food reliability,” said Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District. “When Westlands growers have access to essential water supplies delivered through the CVP that power agriculture, they produce the fruits, vegetables, and nuts Americans depend on every day. Agriculture in our District supports thousands of families, small businesses, and essential public services, while also providing the nutritious food that helps keep communities healthy.”

A recent report found the District’s supported agriculture generated $3.6 billion in total economic activity and supported nearly 28,000 jobs from data in 2022, reinforcing agriculture’s position as a cornerstone of the San Joaquin Valley economy. Westlands growers produce 3.3% of the nation’s fruit and nut crops and 2.8% of the nation’s vegetables and melons.

Beyond the fields, Westlands agriculture supports a broad economic ecosystem that includes food processing, transportation, equipment manufacturing, and agricultural services.

Our new 2025 Crop Report fact sheet is available here.

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In addition to causing sharp increases in fuel and fertilizer costs, the war has disrupted access to key export markets.

“As the largest exporting state, California and our exporters and producers are bearing the brunt of these market and export impacts,” Jay Van Rein, acting director of public affairs at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said in a statement.

Van Rein said growers and handlers had reported canceled shipments and orders, delayed or diverted deliveries, and skyrocketing shipping costs.

“We are in our peak shipping period for commodities like tree nuts going to this growing market region,” he said.

Since the war began on Feb. 28, Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is normally transported. The Middle Eastern nation has also used missiles and drones to paralyze commercial ports in nearby countries that host U.S. military bases.

“Everybody is afraid of going through the Persian Gulf,” said Jock O’Connell, international trade adviser at Beacon Economics. “It’s going to be more difficult to get goods to markets.”

Nut exports 

The disruption has been especially painful for exporters of California almonds, walnuts and pistachios. All three crops rank among the state’s top agricultural export commodities, and in the past decade an increasing share of them have been purchased by buyers in the Gulf.

Robert Verloop, CEO of the California Walnut Board and Commission, said the trade group was in the midst of a Middle East advertising blitz, marketing the nutrient-rich nuts to observers of Ramadan, which began Feb. 19, when the war broke out.

“Ramadan is a is a very key consumption time for California walnuts,” Verloop said. “When the conflict started, we knew there were a lot of loads on the water.”

Last week, the walnut commission estimated 70,000 tons of walnuts, or about 10% of the billion-dollar sector’s yearly production, were either en route to the Middle East or scheduled to be shipped there this month.

“That certainly is at risk,” Verloop said. “It is possible that the impact of this will be negligible, but the short-term numbers are such that it is very concerning to us.”

He said the walnut commission halted its monthlong promotion in the region because the nuts were stuck at sea or being rerouted to ports around the world.

“Any ships that were on the water have been held to the east of the Strait of Hormuz, just like you see on the news with oil tankers being held,” Verloop said. “Everyone in the freight-forwarding business is scrambling to figure out what product is on the water and where we can take it.”

Bikram Hundal, vice president of operations for Earlimart-based Sequoia Nut Company/Custom Almonds LLC in Tulare County, said the company had about 300 tons of almonds, walnuts and pistachios that departed the Port of Long Beach a few weeks ago and were bound for the United Arab Emirates in 15 different shipping containers on various vessels.

“They will not get there,” Hundal said. “That’s for sure.”

With cargo ships unable to reach Dubai’s Port of Jebel Ali, a major regional hub, one of Hundal’s nut shipments was diverted to the Netherlands; another was rerouted to Algeria. His only realistic option, he said, is to find new buyers for the nuts and most likely sell them at a discount.

“It’s going to be a loss,” Hundal said.

Matthew Viohl, federal policy director for the California Farm Bureau, said trade disruptions often highlight how intertwined supply chains have become.

“California agriculture relies heavily on international markets, and increased volatility makes planning and contracting much more difficult in both the short and long term,” Viohl said.

Meanwhile, costs have mounted for exporters as shipping companies began imposing surcharges to cover increased fuel prices and added risks, in some cases more than doubling container rates.

Verloop said that in the event port access is restored in the Gulf, the extra charges could cost the walnut sector an additional $15 million next month to deliver its products to the region.

“It’s expected this would have some kind of downward pressure on the final payments that growers could receive,” Verloop said. “It’s a devastating situation.”

Hundal said the added cost and risk of shipping cargo, and the cancellation of new shipments from California to the Middle East, was causing inventory to build up and overall nut prices to drop.

“Now, we have all this extra product,” he said. “It puts pressure on other markets.”

Verloop said the walnut commission was appealing to the state and federal governments for “some kind of restitution or way to cover some of those costs.”

In addition to tree nut exports, Van Rein said CDFA had gathered information on impacts to growers and handlers of olives, wild rice, blueberries and other commodities.

“We have heard from many segments of the industry,” he said.

Perishable cargo

The war has also impacted the movement of air freight and refrigerated containers used to ship produce from California to the Middle East and elsewhere.

In 2024, California exported billions of dollars’ worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, with premium products and highly perishable crops such as cherries and strawberries shipped by air freight.

“Many agricultural products by their nature have to fly on air cargo, and a lot of them transit through that region,” said Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association.

Fried said the presence of major airline hubs in Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi means the Gulf plays an outsized role in the transport of air cargo. According to a recent analysis by WorldACD, about 21% of all air cargo flows through the Middle East.

“Planes are just avoiding that area,” Fried said, adding that shipping capacity at some airports in the Gulf dropped by nearly half since the war began.

Chris Connell, president at California-based Commodity Forwarders Inc., which transports perishable food products worldwide, said orders from California to the Middle East for the coming weeks were down by more than 70%, affecting the shipment of strawberries and fresh dairy products such as sour cream and cheese.

“Right now, we’re servicing at a very minimal scale,” Connell said.

He added that because most California fruits are not yet in season, and more are shipped to East Asia than the Middle East, the biggest economic blow could come from the potential impact of increased freight rates in the coming months.

“The longer this situation continues, where the strait is closed and there’s a war feeling in the air, that impacts not just what we do in the Middle East but also in Europe and Asia,” Connell said. “That is the largest concern.”

Fried said that in addition to surcharges for increased jet fuel costs and war risks, the disruption to ocean routes has driven up demand for air freight space, causing a further jump in rates.

“Capacity is at a premium,” he said.

Tracey Chow, federal government affairs director for the Western Growers Association, said California vegetable growers lost business in Asia in recent years due to a decline in shipping reliability.

“Obviously, this doesn’t make it any better,” Chow said, adding that shipping disruptions could impact not only immediate sales but result in the long-term loss of market share in affected regions.

Fuel and fertilizer 

Industry experts said that while export market disruptions are significant, the most direct impact of the war for farmers has likely been the soaring cost of inputs.

About half the global supply of urea, the most common nitrogen fertilizer used on farms, is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the war started, prices had increased 25%, according to an analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

AFBF economist Faith Parum said shocks to the fertilizer supply chain could impact planted acreage and crop yields.

Meanwhile, as of Monday, U.S. gasoline prices had risen more than 25% from a month prior, according to data from the AAA motor club.

Tulare County farmer Tom Barcellos, who owns a dairy, a trucking company and an excavator company, said increased fuel costs were an almost immediate financial hit for farmers.

“It’s not fun,” Barcellos said.

The Tipton-based farmer uses his heavy equipment to haul feed, clean irrigation reservoirs and provide other services for farms in the nation’s top dairy-producing county. He said last week that the moment he needs to refill his tanks at a higher price the cost of those services will increase.

“Of course, on the farming operation, I can’t pass anything on,” Barcellos said. “I’ve got to eat that just like every other farmer does.”

Caleb Hampton is an editor at Ag Alert. He can be reached at champton@cfbf.com.

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“Things are looking OK, but we won’t really know until the end of bloom,” said Ryan Burris, California State Beekeepers Association president and a Palo Cedro beekeeper and queen breeder. “It sounds like the numbers are better, but some people still lost a lot of bees.”

Beekeepers nationwide made headlines in the 2024-25 winter when they reported an average of 62% colony losses. With increasing production costs and depressed honey prices, many beekeepers said the current situation is not sustainable economically.

“It’s very, very difficult,” Burris said. “The thing that makes it unsustainable is just the cost that goes into the business and the fact that the honey price is so low when it should be much higher.”

An average beekeeper spends about $350 per hive annually to keep it going, he said. Almond pollination rates average about $200 per hive. To make up the difference, Burris said producers rely on honey sales.

Demand for honey in the U.S. has historically exceeded supply, so some foreign product is imported.

More recently, he said, countries such as India have priced their honey as low as 80 cents per pound when U.S. producers need about $2 per pound to be profitable. The cheaper imports have driven down domestic prices, Burris said.

February traditionally kicks off the pollination season as beekeepers from throughout the nation converge on California for the six-week-long almond bloom. The almond industry needs about 2.4 million hives to pollinate the crop, but there are only about 840,000 resident colonies.

In 2025, nearly 1.7 million hives crossed border inspection stations into the state, according to figures from Matt Beekman, a Hughson-area commercial beekeeper and CSBA executive board member.

Arriving bee shipments have steadily declined from 2021, when more than 2 million entered California.

Beekman attributed the decrease to mounting pressures on the industry, including rising costs, ongoing colony stress and long-term attrition among commercial beekeepers.

Nevertheless, Charleen Carroll, a Manteca-area bee broker and owner of Pollination Contractors Inc. for 47 years, said she didn’t experience hive shortages this season. Carroll sources bees from coast to coast through long-term relationships she’s developed with beekeepers.

“Last year was really horrible,” she said. “This year, 99% of our beekeepers are doing great. Next year is like Russian roulette.”

As with many agricultural commodities, Carroll said beekeepers in one part of the country may have strong hives while those in another region may have weaker production due to different environmental conditions.

Fredy Valenzuela, owner of Golden State Honeybees in Paradise, is a smallish commercial beekeeper who offers pollination, honey and queens. He described his colony health this season as about the same as last year, when he didn’t experience significant losses.

“We’re not a big outfit, so we can manage them fairly well and stay on top of things,” Valenzuela said.

Buzz Landon, owner of Buzz’s Bees in Oroville, rents out more than 6,000 hives for pollination. He and his wife also produce honey, breed queens and sell packaged bees.

This year, he described his colony health as “good,” compared to last year, which he said was “really good.”

“They survived the die-off,” Landon said. “It’s learning how to use these new materials.”

He was referring to a handful of new miticides that have been registered for use in California and federally during the past year.

Caleb Absher and his older brother, Cash, run Absher Honeybees, a Stanislaus County operation that offers pollination services and honey. Like many commercial beekeepers, Caleb Absher said they experienced substantial losses during the 2024-25 winter. But this winter, “it looks 100 times better than last year.”

He credited part of the improvement to paying close attention to varroa mites and treatments. Absher also was able to move his bees after pollinating almonds and cantaloupe in the Central Valley to fall forage that had tarweed. A late-blooming native wildflower, tarweed is known for its pollen and nectar production when other plants are done for the season.

Still top of mind within the industry is the early 2025 disaster, when numerous beekeepers nationwide began to discover dead hives that only months earlier seemed robust. The nonprofit honeybee research organization Project Apis m. responded by conducting a survey to gauge the problem.

Beekeepers representing 68% of the nation’s hives reported average colony losses of 62%. Nationwide, the losses totaled more than 1.1 million hives over a short period.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, analyzed samples sent in from dead and dying colonies for possible causes. Scientists found unusually high levels of deformed wing virus strains A and B along with acute bee paralysis virus. Both are known to be vectored by varroa mites, pinhead-sized external parasites that feed on adult bees and developing larvae and pupae within brood cells.

The researchers also screened varroa mite samples for resistance to amitraz, a widely used miticide. All the mites were resistant.

Burris was quick to defend amitraz and said the industry shouldn’t broadly dismiss the miticide. Instead, he said beekeepers and researchers should find new ways to use it effectively.

Some beekeepers have turned to oxalic acid, a naturally occurring compound found in many foods, including spinach, to manage mites. Others have enlisted formic acid, another naturally occurring material.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Department of Pesticide Regulation recently approved increased labeled rates for Api-Bioxal, a powdered oxalic acid applied using a heat vaporizer. The label change does not apply to oxalic acid used as a dribble between hive frames.

The EPA and DPR also approved VarroxSan slow-release oxalic acid strips. Recently, they registered an RNA interference treatment, Norroa, which targets a specific protein in varroa mites, slowly halting their reproduction. But the pests can still parasitize bees and potentially spread virus as they feed.

As queen breeders, Burris, Landon and others are working with the USDA-ARS Honey Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to develop queens with the varroa sensitive hygiene trait. Bees with the attribute remove mite-infested pupae from capped worker brood. But breeding for hygiene trait is a slow process.

“It’s something that a lot of queen breeders are trying to look into,” Burris said.

As with other varroa management methods, he looks at varroa sensitive hygiene as simply another tool in beekeepers’ arsenal rather than as a silver bullet.

Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She can be reached at agalert@cfbf.com.

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Farmers, students, and ag professionals returned in large numbers for the 2026 show, where 1,179 exhibitors displayed the latest in agriculture. Attendees explored 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space displaying cutting-edge equipment, technology, services, and solutions. Many exhibitors also showcased live demonstrations, providing a hands-on experience.

Exhibitors reported quality traffic with plans to return. “After 20 years of exhibiting at World Ag Expo, 2026 still managed to blow us away,” noted Todd Blosser of Midwest Bio-Systems. “The flow of people and conversations were great! We love getting the chance to show how our Aeromaster composting equipment helps Dairies turn Manure into a real asset. It’s a must-attend event for us, and we look forward to being back in 2027.”

Throughout the three-day event, attendees participated in seminars, demonstrations, and workshops covering a variety of topics, from irrigation and dairy to livestock and professional development. Special events included the annual Prayer Breakfast and Ag Leadership breakfast, which drew strong participation and interest.

International attendance remained a highlight of the show, with visitors traveling from around the globe to connect, explore new products, and build relationships.

Ag technology and innovation were on full display throughout the three-day show. The 2026 Top-10 New Products contest winners provided a look into the latest innovations, ranging from simple solutions to tech-forward items.

“We are happy with the success of the 2026 World Ag Expo,” said Jerry Sinift, CEO of the International Agri-Center®. “It’s wonderful to see exhibitors and attendees connecting, networking, and doing business. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2027 for our 60^th World Ag Expo.”

The 60th World Ag Expo® will be held February 9-11, 2027. Space renewals are now being accepted from 2026 exhibitors. Potential exhibitors can begin requesting space on March 1, 2026 at www.worldagexpo.com.

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