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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...

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Ag Secretary, Kansas' U.S. Senators Say Trade War Can Be Avoided And Farm Bill Can Pass

By Stephen Koranda • May 30, 2018

Two of the nation’s most influential players in agriculture policy, at a meeting in the heart of the country’s Grain Belt on Wednesday, tried to ease worries about the pending farm bill and a budding trade war with China.

Lawsuits Over Animal Manure Wafting Toward Meat Companies, Away From Farmers

By Madelyn Beck • May 30, 2018

There’s a new strategy when it comes to combating the smells and air quality concerns that arise from large-scale animal feeding operations: Blame the company, not the farmer.

And if a recent federal case against the largest pork producer in the U.S. is any indication, it’s a model that could benefit contract growers — people who don’t own the livestock they raise but own the property and the barns.

Supreme Court Decision May Limit Ag Workers’ Ability To Fight For Unfairly Withheld Wages

By Esther Honig • May 24, 2018

Esther Honig / Harvest Public Media file photo

Employers can force workers to settle disputes outside of court, the U.S. Supreme Court said this week, which could negatively affect agricultural workers and employees who earn low wages.

Sugar Beet Farmers Caught In GMO Debate, Wait For USDA Labeling Decision

By Esther Honig • May 18, 2018

Colorado farmer Steve Kelly brushes aside a small mound of dry yellow dirt to reveal a sugar beet seed that’s no larger than a peppercorn. It seems insignificant, but the seed is different from what he planted more than 20 years ago.

“The quality of the beet wasn’t as good and yield and everything that way wasn’t as good either,” he said.

Now all but 5 percent of sugar beet seeds in the U.S. are genetically modified, or GMO.

Republicans To Regroup After Farm Bill Fails In US House

By Amy Mayer • May 18, 2018

Some conservative House Republicans made it clear Friday in voting down the 2018 farm bill: They’re not interested in a farm bill without working on immigration first.

Thirty Republicans and every Democrat voted against the farm bill, which failed 198-213 in the full House.

Farmers Milking For What It's Worth (Not Much), Unsure What Comes Next

By Nicole Erwin & Ohio Valley ReSource • May 17, 2018

Dairy farmer Gary Rock sits in his milking parlor, overlooking what is left of his 95-cow operation in LaRue County, Kentucky.

“Three hundred years of history is something that a lot of people in our country cannot even talk about,” Rock said. That’s how long the farm has been in his family.

USDA Unveils GMO Label Prototypes, Still Deciding Which Products Make The List

By Grant Gerlock • May 11, 2018

Courtesy the Agriculture Marketing Service / USDA

Though it’s not yet clear which highly processed ingredients will be labeled as genetically modified foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released possible designs for those labels.

The labels fulfill a law passed in 2016 that gives food companies three options to disclose GMO ingredients: a line of text, a scannable QR code, or a symbol. It is meant to be an impartial notice to shoppers, and the labels avoid the polarizing term “GMO.”

Yet, one of the label designs released this month is a smiling orange and green sun with the letters “b-e” standing for “bioengineered,” which is the word used in the law.

Rural Lawyer Shortage Spurs Affordable Option: A La Carte Services

By Amy Mayer • May 11, 2018

At The Law Shop in Van Meter, Iowa, attorney Amy Skogerson untied a piece of blue yarn from around a bunch of craft sticks.

Each stick had a word or short phrase stamped on it, and she read from them as she placed them on her desk: “negotiate, court representation, research law, draft documents.”

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