Many Midwestern cities have a long history of resettling refugees. But fertile farmland calls to those refugees who farmed in their home countries. In response, social service agencies have worked to find availble land for urban refugees to cultivate.
As lawmakers debate the Farm Bill in Washington, millions of dollars in rural development grants and loans are at stake for small businesses across the country. With budget cuts likely, the USDA is adjusting how these funds are used. But there’s concern that a tighter belt means farmers and ranchers in small towns will be left behind.
The USDA's Rural Development Program doesn't get a lot of attention in the farm bill debate. But supporters say it is a difference-maker for job creation in small rural communities,and provides a boost those towns need.
Across rural America, one in two new neighbors is Latino, according to a recent study. Many work in the dairy industry, including west central Wisconsin.
After several deadly foodborne illness outbreaks tied to cantaloupe, melon growers in the Colorado growing region have been trying to repair their image and keep an outbreak from happening again.
For 27 years, the popular federal Conservation Reserve Program has been transforming small parcels of land, contributing to cleaner water, more habitat for migrating birds and less soil erosion. But the program has been enrolling fewer acres in recent years and it’s not just budget cuts that could make it smaller still.
Taxpayers are contributing billions more than necessary for farmers’ crop insurance, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The report raises questions as Congress debates safety net policy in the farm bill.
More than 20 years after joining the endangered species list, the pallid sturgeon is treading water. Any effort to rebuild the population in the Missouri River, though, can’t come at the expense of the vital agriculture industry.
