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For Farmland Conservation, It Comes Down To Who Owns It

Lin Warfel puts farmland owners in central Illinois into two categories: Those with a deep connection and desire to preserve their land, and those obsessed with short-term money. The 80-year-old still owns the land that’s been in his family since his great-grandfather arrived in Champaign County in the 1800’s. After farming it for decades, he now rents the corn and soybean operation to his neighbors down the road. It’s a crop-share arrangement. Warfel provides the land and pays the taxes. His...

After Meatpacking Outbreaks, Questions Loom Around Protecting Workers In The Future

World’s Biggest Meat Processor Says It’s Nearly Overcome A Cyberattack That Shut Down Its Plants

Coalition To Federal Judge: Stop Missouri From Enforcing New Meat-Labeling Law

By Frank Morris • Oct 31, 2018

The coalition behind a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s new meat-labeling law asked a federal judge this week to stop the state from enforcing it.

President Trump Signs Water Infrastructure Bill

By Madelyn Beck • Oct 26, 2018

Amy Mayer / Harvest Public Media file photo

President Donald Trump signed America's Water Infrastructure Act on Tuesday, which authorizes work on many projects around the U.S., ranging from water treatment to mitigating invasive species to transportation.

Groups, Organizations From 35 States Vie For USDA Employees

By Madelyn Beck • Oct 24, 2018

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to send hundreds of its employees out of Washington, D.C., to areas closer to stakeholders like farmers and with lower costs of living. As it turns out, there are a lot of people who think their town fits the bill.

Costco Becomes First Retailer To Control Its Entire Chicken Supply Chain

By Grant Gerlock • Oct 23, 2018

The first set of barns for the Costco project was recently completed near the town of Hooper, Nebraska. Approximately 20,000 breeding hens will be raised here. — Fred Knapp / NET News Nebraska file photo

A handful of companies — think Tyson and Perdue — all but control poultry production in the U.S. They’ll soon be joined by a retailer known more for selling rotisserie chickens: Costco, which is building a farm-to-table system based in Nebraska to supply itself.

Canada’s Legal Marijuana Attracts Some U.S. Cannabis Companies

By Esther Honig • Oct 19, 2018

After nearly a century of prohibition, Canada became the first major economy this week to legalize recreational marijuana (though Uruguay was the first in 2013), and it has U.S. companies lining up.

Rural Americans Are Now The Largest Slice Of Federal Food Aid Recipients

By Peggy Lowe • Oct 17, 2018

On a busy football Saturday, fans on both sides of the Iowa-Nebraska line streamed into a tiny grocery store to pick up hamburger, soda and chips.

Store manager Nick Johnson, a third-generation store owner in far southwest Iowa, has long had a front-row seat to the local economy. Times have been tough since the recession, with lots of people losing their manufacturing jobs, though he says that it looks like some of those are coming back.

And similar to the rest of the country, farm income is down thanks to low crop prices.

Handing Off: The Reality Of Land Transfer Between Older, Younger Farmers

By Madelyn Beck • Oct 17, 2018

As life expectancy increases, farmers are staying in the business, but there’s still a need to plan for what happens when they die. At the same time, young farmers who come from non-farming backgrounds are looking for the space to grow their own careers.

A land transfer may seem simple, but challenges abound: How do retiring farmers connect with beginning farmers? When does a farmer confront death? How can smaller farm organizations fit into the ever-growing 1,000-acre farm scene?

Farmers Cheer Year-Round E15, But Impact Won't Be Immediate

By Grant Gerlock • Oct 10, 2018

The EPA plans to propose allowing E15 to be sold year-round. — Grant Gerlock / Harvest Public Media file photo

President Donald Trump’s administration will “unleash the power of E15,” allowing the 15 percent gasoline-ethanol blend to be sold year-round.

The announcement, made public this week at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, is being welcomed by corn growers and biofuel groups. But it may take longer for farmers like Kelly Nieuwenhuis of Primghar, Iowa, to feel the positive impact of E15 than they would like.

Despite A Ban, Arkansas Farmers Are Still Spraying Controversial Weedkiller

By Dan Charles • Oct 9, 2018

The fields and back roads of eastern Arkansas were a crime scene this past summer. State inspectors stopped alongside fields to pick up dying weeds. They tested the liquids in farmers' pesticide sprayers. In many cases, they found evidence that farmers were using a banned pesticide. Dozens of farmers could face thousands of dollars in fines.

Illinois farmers put rare pig back on the dinner table to save it from extinction

By Shahla Farzan • Oct 8, 2018

Josh Davis likes to name his pigs after flowers: Petunia, Iris, Violet and Daisy.

That’s not the only thing that sets him apart as a hog farmer.

For the past three years, Davis and his wife, Alicia, have been raising one of the rarest pig breeds in the world on their farm in Pocahontas, Illinois. The American mulefoot hog was a popular breed in the Midwest in the early 1900s, but now, there are only a few hundred left. The Davises are among a small group of farmers hoping to revive the breed by putting it back on the menu.

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