In fall 2020, Leah Shaffer ordered four chickens from a Missouri hatchery — a pandemic impulse purchase to get her two children outside, she said. “I wanted them to have a reason to go out basically into the backyard and just have some real life sort of experience with nature instead of just computer time,”…
Farmers till their land to prepare soil for planting, but a new study published in the journal “Earth’s Future” found topsoil in the Midwest is eroding on average nearly 2 millimeters per year. A few years ago, Isaac Larsen attended a wedding at a pioneer church in Minnesota. After the ceremony, he wandered around a…
Every spring Americans grumble about losing an hour of sleep to daylight saving time. This year the debate over changing the clocks is lingering, after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to end the biannual time changes and make daylight saving time permanent. Similar measures have been proposed in 27 states, including Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois…
ST. LOUIS — Mark Scott has been farming corn and soybeans on his family’s land outside of St. Louis for more than 30 years, and he has never seen fertilizer prices as high as they are now. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s60/audio/2022/03/fertz-web.mp3 “It’s doubled in price since last year,” Scott said. “I locked up all my nitrogen this morning…
PLEASANTVILLE, IA — When the pandemic first hit, Maureen Schletzbaum had to figure out how to sell her produce while avoiding human contact. Normally, she’d set up a booth at two different farmers markets near Pleasantville, Iowa, where she and her daughter operate Straw Hat Farms. But as COVID-19 continued to spread, Schletzbaum opted to…
CENTRALIA, Ill. — It was supposed to be a fun weekend getaway to celebrate Mandi Miller’s 30th birthday. She and her husband, Austin Elkins, chose an Airbnb on Lake Centralia in Illinois that was dog-friendly, a must for the suburban St. Louis couple. Just moments after arriving on an unseasonably warm September day, their beloved…
URBANA – Ripple effects from the war in Ukraine will likely be felt in all corners of the globe — especially when it comes to the food supply. The conflict is exacerbating already-existing supply chain disruptions and sky-high food prices. Not to mention, Ukraine and Russia provide nearly 30 percent of the world’s wheat and…
As Ukraine continues to fight against Russian forces, experts warned of potential fallout for the U.S. agriculture industry. On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, and Russian troops stormed into the country. Reportedly, tens of thousands have died, and about half a million people have fled their homes, according to…
Water is critical to America’s meat habit. Cows, pigs and chickens drink it. Farmers clean barns and cool animals with it. Meatpackers sanitize plants and wash their product with it. But, most importantly, water grows the crops needed to feed the millions of animals raised and slaughtered each year that end up on Americans’ tables….
Before approving new pesticides for use on crops or around homes, the Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to determine what impact they’ll have on endangered species. But, for decades, usually the only way to ensure the agency would start the process was to sue. In January, however, the EPA announced it plans to assess whether new…
Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005, mandating a certain amount of renewable fuel – namely corn ethanol – be mixed in with traditional gasoline. The goal was to minimize emissions and the country’s dependence on foreign fossil fuels. Instead, the policy caused a chain reaction of events that has likely led to even…
Al Wulfekuhle doesn’t take biosecurity lightly. The pork producer showers before he goes into a barn and again as he leaves and asks the same of his employees. He even built a truck wash at his farm shop a year ago so he doesn’t bring any possible pathogens back from the meat processing plants where…
URBANA — For more than 5-years, Dr. Robert Jones has served as Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a native of Georgia, a parent, and a grandparent. He has earned multiple advanced degrees in crop physiology. And he was a member of a Grammy award-winning vocal ensemble. On Jan. 31, Illinois Newsroom’s…
This story is a collaboration between Investigate Midwest and Watchdog Writers Group. The newsrooms are continuing to cover Farm Bureaus and their influence. Is there an aspect of the Farm Bureau you think is underreported or not getting enough attention? Please contact Sky Chadde, sky.chadde@investigatemidwest.org, or Madison McVan, madison.mcvan@investigatemidwest.org. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls itself the “Voice…
Vertical farms stack rows of plants on top of each other. Those indoor farms control the lighting, water and temperature to create ideal conditions to grow fresh produce year-round close to customers. But the industry relies on artificial lighting and has a large carbon footprint. AMES, Ia. — People who subscribe to the Ames, Iowa,…