editor NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Bryan Thompson is a reporter for Kansas Public Radio . NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Bryan Thompson Sat, 11 Sep 2021 07:03:03 +0000 https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Bryan Thompson A brick building that was the only grocery store in St. John, Kansas, sits vacant, its glass doors covered with paper since it closed early last year. St. John is the county seat of Stafford County in south-central Kansas, but it’s home to fewer than 1,300 people. Today, the closest grocery store is 12 miles away, in Stafford. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/kansas-town-tries-new-blueprint-replace-rural-grocery-store 363 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Tue, 05 Sep 2017 09:53:00 +0000 Kansas Town Tries New Blueprint To Replace Rural Grocery Store Bryan Thompson The social and health effects of isolation on some rural Kansas residents spurred three Catholic nuns to convert a storefront in Concordia, Kansas, into a drop-in center where women can find support and resources. Seven years after the center opened, two dozen women on average come through each day in the town of about 5,000 to socialize, do laundry, get a cooking lesson, or simply connect with others. Sister Pat McLennon, who helped launch Neighbor to Neighbor in Concordia and still serves as its co-director, says the center started as a place for women in the community to teach skills to young mothers in poverty while providing enrichment activities like reading and music to their kids. But it quickly drew women of all ages, including some helping as volunteers and others fulfilling mandated community service. McLennon says Neighbor to Neighbor serves as a complement to social service agencies that provide utilities or food assistance. The women who visit the center have come to look https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/drop-centers-rural-kansas-aim-address-dangers-isolation 348 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Wed, 02 Aug 2017 20:52:12 +0000 Drop-In Centers In Rural Kansas Aim To Address Dangers Of Isolation Bryan Thompson As a group of visiting scientists prepared to board a plane in Hawaii that would take them back home to China, U.S. customs agents found rice seeds in their luggage. Those seeds are likely to land at least one scientist in federal prison. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/worry-fields-about-growing-threat-agricultural-espionage 320 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 01 Jun 2017 21:38:21 +0000 Worry In The Fields About The 'Growing Threat' Of Agricultural Espionage Bryan Thompson Farmers in western Kansas are worried a spring blizzard that dumped as much as two feet of snow destroyed much of this year’s wheat crop. Kansas is the No. 1 wheat state in the country. About 20 percent of the nation’s wheat crop last year was grown by Kansas farmers. The heavy snow and cold temperatures delivered a one-two punch to a crop that had been in good shape. Rick Horton, who farms 3,000-4,000 acres of wheat in southwest Kansas near Leoti, says he’s expecting massive losses. “I would say it’s, like, 80 percent gone,” Horton says. “Until we get the snow off and see if any of it’s going to come back up, that’s not a for sure deal—but right now it looks really bad.” If the weather damage is as extensive as feared, Horton says many farmers will probably opt to collect crop insurance, destroy the wheat, and plant something else, rather than continue to invest in raising a damaged crop. “This is going to be a really tough call,” Horton says. “Nobody’s going to go spray anything to https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/kansas-farmers-fear-their-wheat-crop-after-blizzard 304 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Mon, 01 May 2017 23:19:04 +0000 Kansas Farmers Fear For Their Wheat Crop After Blizzard Bryan Thompson Gena Kirk did not realize the largest wildfire in Kansas history was closing in on the Kirk Ranch on March 6 until she got a call from her brother-in-law. After realizing that her herd was in danger, she jumped into her pickup and sped up the hill where several of her cattle were grazing. As she herded her cattle onto a green wheat field that would not burn as easily as nearby dry grassland, winds gusting to 60 miles an hour fanned the flames quickly in her direction. Weeks later, she drove in a diesel pickup truck to the spot where she realized the only road leading out of the ranch was blocked. “When I turned the corner up here I could see flames going across the whole road,” Kirk says. “So I’m sitting right here thinking, ‘What in the world am I going to do?’” The only option, Kirk says, was to drive through heavy smoke across a mile of pasture. About halfway to the highway, her pickup got stuck in deep sand. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kirk says. “It was throwing fireballs. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/great-plains-ranchers-look-rebuild-wake-massive-wildfires 291 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Tue, 04 Apr 2017 17:47:59 +0000 Great Plains Ranchers Look To Rebuild In Wake Of Massive Wildfires Bryan Thompson Wildfires that have been sweeping across the heart of cattle country since last weekend could decimate some ranchers’ herds. Fires have been reported in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. The largest of the fires spread from the Oklahoma Panhandle into southwest Kansas, and has consumed more than 800,000 acres of prime grassland. Todd Domer, of the Kansas Livestock Association, says the losses have been devastating. “Those in the hardest-hit areas have lost a considerable amount of fence, forage resources, harvested feed in terms of hay, and really an undetermined number of cattle at this point. And in addition to losing their livelihood in many of these cases, they’ve also lost their homes, outbuildings, and equipment,” says Domer. Even the cattle that survived the fast-moving fire may have been so severely injured they will have to be euthanized. “Some of those cattle are badly burned,” Domer says. “Some of them have taken in a large dose of smoke, which can have an https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/wildfires-threaten-ranchers-oklahoma-kansas-cattle-country 140 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:55:51 +0000 Wildfires Threaten Ranchers In Oklahoma, Kansas Cattle Country Bryan Thompson At a stressful time for U.S. farmers, the government’s efforts at calming the agricultural waters took center stage Thursday, when the heads of the U.S. Senate’s Agriculture Committee left Washington for the Midwest to solicit opinions on priorities for the next Farm Bill. U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts, R-KS, and Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, heard from Midwest farmers at their first field hearing on the 2018 Farm Bill at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas Association of Wheat Growers President Kenneth Wood cited the destruction of his farm near Chapman, Kansas, last year as an example of why the federal crop insurance program needs to be protected. “For most of us, crop insurance will not guarantee a good year, but it offers the promise of another year,” Wood said. The importance of crop insurance, as part of a safety net for farmers, was mentioned by several of the producers who testified. But a Farm Bill includes much more than just programs to help farmers cope with hard times. https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/field-hearing-kansas-farmers-talk-farm-bill 48 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Fri, 24 Feb 2017 15:27:00 +0000 At Field Hearing, Kansas Farmers Talk Farm Bill Bryan Thompson Low crop prices have many Midwest wheat and corn farmers looking for ways to supplement their incomes. One possibility for conventional farmers: producing food for farmers markets. “Food is a multi-billion-dollar economy in Kansas,” says Missty Lechner of the American Heart Association, who works with local governments to encourage the development of local food systems. ( PDF ) “If we can change that to increase local food sales by just 1 percent in Kansas, we’re talking multi-million-dollar impact on our local food economy.” Despite Kansas’s place as a prime farm state, just a tiny fraction of the vegetables and fruits consumed there are produced locally, Lechner says. That represents a massive opportunity for Midwest farmers. With net farm income forecast this year at roughly half of 2013 levels , are row crop farmers moving en masse into vegetables? Not so fast. Kansas State University agricultural economist Mykel Taylor says transitioning from a conventional farm setup to one that https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/some-kansas-farmers-may-turn-local-produce-search-profit 53 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:30:00 +0000 Some Kansas Farmers May Turn To Local Produce In Search Of Profit Bryan Thompson This year was a very good year for growing wheat, but that means it could be a very bad year for wheat farmers. There’s a glut on the global wheat market and prices for winter wheat – which is grown all up and down the Great Plains, from Texas to North Dakota– wheat prices this year hit their lowest levels since 2003. Coupled with lower prices for corn, sorghum, and soybeans, many are concerned about the rural economy in the Wheat Belt. First, a disclosure: Technically, I’m one of those hurting wheat farmers. I recently inherited a small patch of cropland homesteaded by my great-grandfather near McCracken, Kansas, in the north-central part of the state. I don’t farm the land myself. I rent it to Daryl North, who has farmed the land for three generations of my family. Thanks to timely rains, we got approximately 50 bushels per acre this year, which is unusually good for that piece of ground. Yields were high throughout the Midwest and much of the rest of the world, which only added to https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org/post/low-wheat-prices-could-hit-kansas-rural-economy-hard 95 as https://www.harvestpublicmedia.org Mon, 03 Oct 2016 14:24:00 +0000 Low Wheat Prices Could Hit Kansas Rural Economy Hard