The American Rescue Plan promised $4 billion in debt relief to “socially disadvantaged farmers.” But a swarm of lawsuits from banks and white farmers alleging discrimination has put the aid on hold. Barbara Norman remembers exactly how she felt when she first opened the letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was a cold,
Installing fiber-optic internet in sparsely populated places like western Kansas is extremely expensive, even with government subsidies. But some smaller, local broadband providers are finding ways to make it work where the big national companies have not. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s8/audio/2022/05/050222-dc-sk-ruralbroadband-webmix.mp3 HAYS, Kansas — With a family of five and a farming operation to run, Clay Scott’s home
For the first time, researchers have assigned a value to the Black-owned farmland lost over the past century. Throughout the 20th century, Black farmers in the U.S. were forced to give up millions of acres of farmland. A new study puts a number to that loss — $326 billion. Discriminatory lending practices at the federal
The 1913 CASE 30-60 is one of just five that still exist, making the model highly sought after by antique tractor enthusiasts. A century-year-old tractor just became the most expensive tractor ever sold. The 1913 CASE 30-60 model tractor sold at an auction house in Illinois for a whopping $1.47 million. It’s one of only
This story was produced in partnership with the Food & Environment Reporting Network Climate change is not a big concern for Lin Warfel. Sure, he’s noticed the increasing rainfall over the 60 odd years he’s been farming corn and soybeans in central Illinois — especially when ponds form in his soybean fields. But he’s pretty
For some Midwesterners, farmers markets are a quintessential summertime tradition touting local, healthy food and laid-back community gathering spaces. But people of color say many markets aren’t designed with them in mind, and in fact, systematically exclude them from participating. That’s why the Farmers Market Coalition gathered a group of experts to design an anti-racist
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,”
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
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
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,
URBANA — A new study suggests the notion of clean, country air might be misleading. Traditionally, air quality has been measured by the size of pollution particles or, more scientifically, particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. Considered that way, urban air tends to be more polluted than rural air because the
HOUSTON, Mo. — A town of 1,000 people feels like a rural place to someone from Chicago. To a person living in a town of 200 people, that population of 1,000 feels almost urban. But what the government defines as rural determines tens of billions of dollars a year in spending aimed at propping up
Clogged supply chains and budget-busting food prices have food banks scrambling to stock pantry shelves. That crunch comes as food banks see increased demand from families struggling to afford meals. Food banks saw a huge increase in demand at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while that’s leveled off somewhat, demand remains higher than