Recent rainfall across parts of the Midwest helps, but it may not alleviate a serious drought in the region.
Tag: Farming
Posted inJustice & Safety
Following the death of an 8-year-old on a Wisconsin dairy farm, officials look to bridge law enforcement language gap
After ProPublica found that a police investigation into a child’s death was mishandled due to language barriers, officials hope to improve how police interact with non-English speakers. Meanwhile, the boy’s family has settled a suit against the farm.
Posted inEnvironment
What is the Farm Bill and why does it matter? Here’s what to know.
The next Farm Bill is scheduled to come in 2023. It will affect a wide swath of rural America and people in food assistance programs.
Posted inEnvironment
Queering the family farm: Despite obstacles, LGBTQ farmers find fertile ground in Midwest
Although they go largely unrecognized and face barriers, Midwestern LGBTQ farmers persist as they reframe the image of the family farm.
Posted inEnvironment
Listening to LGBTQ farmers helped me reconsider my place in the heartland
A reporter’s interviews challenged his stereotypes of the rural Midwest.
Posted inEnvironment
Midwest soil is eroding faster than ever. Modern farming could be to blame.
How do researchers know? Stardust.
Posted inEnvironment
A tiny Wisconsin town tried to stop pollution from factory farms. Then it got sued.
Wisconsin’s largest business lobbying group accuses Laketown officials of overstepping in passing an ordinance to limit pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations.
Posted inEnvironment
Midwest cities have plenty of vacant land. Why can’t urban farmers buy it?
Urban farmers are trying to buy vacant lots to bring fresh, healthy food and green space to their neighborhoods, but they face challenges in acquiring that land.
Posted inEnvironment
Research seeks ways to grow solar and crops together in the skeptical Corn Belt
Much Midwest land that could be used for solar power is tied up in row crops. Researchers examine how to build solar panels without taking out cropland.
Posted inEnvironment
Midwest summer nights are heating up — and that’s hurting crops and livestock
Warm nights this summer hurt farmers and ranchers in Wisconsin and across the Midwest. It’s a long-term trend that’s expected to continue.
Posted inEnvironment
How year-round crops could reduce farm pollution in the Mississippi River
“For years, Minnesota has struggled to reduce the farm pollution that runs into streams, lakes, the Mississippi River and eventually, the Gulf of Mexico. Crop breeders are working on 16 perennial and winter annual crops to suck up that nutrient pollution before it escapes.
Posted inEnvironment
‘There’s a lot to protect here’: These small Wisconsin towns want more regulations for big farms
The state’s agricultural lobby says local efforts to regulate CAFOs are illegal.