Food follows production beyond the farm gate into processing, packing, distribution and retail. Coverage includes processor margins, cold chain and logistics costs, private label and supply agreements, food safety compliance, and the demand shifts that change what buyers will contract for next year. For growers selling into these channels.
Direct recall costs, lost sales, litigation, and long-term brand damage add up to billions a year across the food system, and the economics push safety investment upstream.
Gabriela Montoya · June 16, 2026
The National School Lunch Program moves billions of dollars of food a year through USDA Foods, state distributions, and district-level bids, and each door has different rules.
Gabriela Montoya · May 25, 2026
Ingredients are the smallest big line on a processed food company's income statement, and that fact explains most of what happens to retail prices.
Gabriela Montoya · May 2, 2026
February 2026 exports dropped 13 percent year over year, per USMEF data, as the smallest cattle herd in decades met firm global demand and record-high U.S. prices.
Gabriela Montoya · April 9, 2026
Some front-of-package words are defined and enforced by federal rule; others are essentially marketing. Knowing which is which protects both shoppers and farm brands.
Lena Fischer · March 17, 2026