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Dairy workers on Wisconsin’s small farms are dying. Many of those deaths are never investigated.
This story was reported and published by ProPublica. On a below-freezing morning in March 2013, Israel Lepe Quezada was crushed to death while working on a dairy farm in northeast Wisconsin. The farm’s owner had found Lepe pinned between the engine compartment and hydraulic arms of a forklift-like machine.
GRAPHIC: Which states have the most organic livestock and poultry farms?
Of the roughly 17,000 certified organic farms in the United States, just one in five raise livestock and poultry. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, Indiana and Ohio have the highest number of certified organic livestock and poultry farms, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Certified organic farms and ranches...
Study finds Mississippi River basin residents concerned about environment, but largely unaware they live in the watershed
New research gives a rare look at climate attitudes of Mississippi River basin residents and the relationship they have — or don’t have — with one of the world’s most important rivers. The study, released Oct. 23, was conducted by a team of researchers led by...
Responding to conflict, Food Prize laureates call for boost in food aid and ag investment
Pointing to the growing number of conflicts globally, a group of World Food Prize laureates on in October came together to call on the United States and other countries to provide “generous funding” for foreign food and agricultural development. Eleven people who have been awarded the World Food...
Crops and solar intersect as Iowa’s first agrivoltaics project prepares to power up
AMES — On Thursday’s chilly fall morning, the Alliant Energy Solar Farm at Iowa State University looked like any other solar farm. Thousands of panels stretched toward the heavens and fanned across the landscape, welcoming any rays of sun that might escape the overcast sky above. But it’s...
Threat to sue town in Wisconsin over large farm regulations revives local control fight
This story was originally published by Wisconsin Watch. Two northwest Wisconsin residents are threatening to sue their town unless elected officials repeal rules governing the operation of large livestock farms. The town of Eureka in Polk County, Wisconsin, is the latest front in a skirmish over the boundaries of local...
GRAPHIC: Five states dominate nearly 70% of pork exports, with Iowa leading the way
The pork trade has been growing and growing. According to the most recent data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, the product’s sales to the international market brought revenues to the country of $8 billion in 2021. U.S. pork exports have experienced a remarkable...
Opinion: Big Oil could pay dearly for decades of climate change denial
In July 1977, Big Oil giant Exxon’s world was turned upside down by scientific adviser James F. Black. Speaking at a meeting of Exxon’s top executives, Black, who served in the research and engineering division, delivered stunning news — the world-wide burning of fossil fuels could eventually produce enough carbon dioxide to endanger humanity.
The ultimate price
This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. BY THE TIME THE SUN CAME UP over the rolling green hills of Harrells, North Carolina, on June 23, 2021, a charred metal platform was all that remained of the old trailer. An investigation by the local fire department determined that the fire started at the electric stove in the kitchen. From there, it climbed the cabinets, spread to the living room, and tore through the two bedrooms. Within 30 minutes, the entire structure had been consumed by flames. A photo taken of the aftermath showed a pile of blackened debris, the charred coils of a mattress the only thing that suggested people lived there.
Iowans to share ‘Discovery in Disguise’ tales in Iowa City
Identity, costumes, fashion, and more. These topics will be explored by five speakers at the Nov. 9 live storytelling event “Discovery in Disguise,” hosted by Investigate Midwest and its IowaWatch newsroom. In between stories will be trivia and a silent auction at Poindexter Coffee in the Graduate Iowa...
GRAPHIC: Two companies control more than half of the corn, soybean and cotton markets
In 2015, farmers had six companies to choose from to purchase their seeds and pesticides. But, following mergers, notably Bayer’s purchase of Monsanto in 2018, farmers had fewer choices. By 2020, just four companies controlled the markets for important cash crops of corn, soybeans and cotton. And two international...
Opinion: FDA proposes a helpful new consumer-friendly canned tuna label
One of my favorite comfort foods is tuna casserole. Easy. Versatile. Yummy hot or cold. What’s not to like?. That is as long as the tuna to noodles of your choice to veggies or what not are in the proper ratio. Especially the tuna. I’ve learned over the years that just how much tuna resides in any given can is a mystery. The can claims to hold 5 ounces. But that includes the water or vegetable oil.
Why is accurate data about Black farmers so hard to get?
This article was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative news organization based in Washington, D.C. As a third-generation Black farmer in Arkansas, Dewayne Goldmon understands the frustrations of Black farmers trying to get more aid for past injustices from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But...
Three Nebraska tribes are buying back farmland, and attempting to reverse history
WINNEBAGO, Nebraska — Aaron LaPointe sits behind a desk in the Little Priest Tribal College’s library basement, ready to speak to a class in a new program he helped develop – diversified agriculture. He’s here, on this 100-degree August day, to show these high school and college...
A rural Iowa town is the driest it has ever been. Its running low on water.
Last week, Shelby Nelson threw away around $200 worth of clothes that had been stained with splotches of brown. Her 1-year-old washer and dryer weren’t to blame. Rather, it was the murky water running through her pipes. For the past two to three years, Nelson has been combating discolored...
‘Nothing’s predictable’: Extreme weather is ruining farmers’ crops, and their finances
This story is part of a Grist series examining how climate change is destabilizing the global insurance market. It was published in partnership with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. When David Marchant looked at the weather forecast in early July, he had a bad feeling. His 50-acre farm sits in...
Farmers, Illinois officials say Spire hasn’t done enough to fix damage from STL Pipeline
GREENE COUNTY, Ill. — Foot-deep gullies scar parts of Scott Turman’s farmland where crops used to grow. The field is littered with rocks as big as hubcaps and jumbled piles of debris left from construction of the Spire STL Pipeline. Years after the pipeline began delivering gas to...
GRAPHIC: Chicken prices continue to rise, costing U.S. consumers more each year
The price of chicken products on grocery store shelves continues to rise, even as major producers close plants across the country. The cost-per-pound of a whole chicken has increased by roughly 34% from August 2021 to August 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. This translates to an additional 50 cents per pound.
Lawsuit aims to loosen CAFO waste restrictions in wisconsin. Even farmers are alarmed.
This story was originally published by the Daily Yonder. In Wisconsin, farmers are worried for statewide water quality and public health after the dairy industry filed a lawsuit to eliminate the only protection that Wisconsin has against contamination from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Some CAFOs can produce as much waste as a small city, but without comparable waste management infrastructure, rural communities face health, economic, and environmental hazards.
Opinion: Living near a CAFO is a judicial and legislative nightmare
I was going to title this column “A master’s class in how not to win a CAFO nuisance lawsuit.” But that oversimplifies how the deck is stacked against people living near concentrated animal feeding operations — or CAFOs — and having any chance of receiving court relief.
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