K-State in the news

Recent news highlights

Read some of today's top stories mentioning Kansas State University. See more K-State faculty, staff and students in the news in the clip archives.

Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026

National/International

Here's How To Tell If You’re Buying American Meat
09/05/26 Forbes
Agricultural economists have said relaxing tariffs on beef will have a negligible impact on what consumers pay at checkout. Glynn Tonsor, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, said it will help some with supply but that he thinks the Trump administration is overstating how much the imports will help pricing.

What Happens If The Ogallala Aquifer Runs Dry
09/07/26 World Atlas
Because the High Plains grows a huge share of the nation's crops and cattle feed, a long decline in irrigation ripples outward into higher food costs and a strained regional economy worth tens of billions of dollars. The sharpest effects land on the small towns whose entire existence was built on irrigated agriculture. As farms shrink, those communities must dig deeper municipal wells, buy water rights, or simply get smaller, a slow thinning already visible across the emptiest counties of the plains. Yet even here, the picture is not hopeless. A Kansas State University study found that the well-being of these communities does not automatically collapse when irrigation fades, suggesting that with the right choices, towns can adapt and endure rather than vanish.

Diesel prices soar as U.S. farmers preparing for harvest continue to feel squeezed
09/07/26 KNAU-FM
Near-record-high diesel prices are increasing shipping and construction costs. They're making it a lot more expensive to farm. As Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports, the diesel price spike comes at a bad time for farmers. The price will vary significantly from farm to farm. All big farming operations need lots of diesel. But Jennifer Ifft, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, says farmers with relatively low debt and lots of land can better afford to just eat high fuel prices.