Ajulo Othow started solar and storage company EnerWealth Solutions seven years ago to get small solar projects on farmland and other places in rural communities in the Southeast where money is tight and the phrase “green economy” is rarely spoken. In just the last year, Othow said the amount of solar her company has developed […]| Investigate Midwest
Federal immigration agents descended on California farms in early June, targeting farmworkers from blueberry fields to vegetable packing facilities. This focus on rural communities followed a burst of indiscriminate workplace raids in urban Los Angeles, causing scores of noncitizens statewide to avoid leaving home, causing a 3.1% dip in the state’s workforce, according to a […]| Investigate Midwest
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Few people outside Quaker Oats know exactly what the Cedar Rapids factory is making when a sweet, wholesome smell wafts from the plant north of downtown. Locals call it a Crunch Berry day because Quaker – the world’s largest cereal plant – makes Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries, but the aroma could […]| Investigate Midwest
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Few people outside Quaker Oats know exactly what the Cedar Rapids factory is making when a sweet, wholesome smell wafts from the plant north of downtown. Locals call it a Crunch Berry day because Quaker – the world’s largest cereal plant – makes Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries, but the aroma could […] The post Midwest oat growers want a renaissance, but it will be hard without Big Ag appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
The tariff wars waged by President Trump’s two administrations have reshaped U.S. agricultural trade with China. The first trade war, in 2018 and 2019, opened the door for South American countries to gain market share in soybean and corn sales to China. Unlike the first, this second trade war is global in scope. Its full […] The post Tariff escalations trigger another decline in US farm exports to China appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
If you live in Champaign County, odds are you’re close to soybean fields – and to the weed killers sprayed on them. A new analysis by Tufts University researchers found that 45% of the county’s residents lived near heavy 2,4-D use in 2023, nearly double the share in 2017. Statewide, farmers applied more than 2 […] The post Use of this 2,4-D weed killer is exploding in Illinois farming country appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
Corn is ubiquitous. Americans eat a lot of corn products. There’s the obvious…corn tortillas, corn flakes and corn chips just to name a few. Beyond that the manufactured food industry uses processed corn in a majority of foods served to the public. Sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup. Thickeners like corn starch. Additives like dextrose, […] The post A food battle royal is brewing appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
On Sunday, Sept. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m., Investigate Midwest invites you to join in the fun at Walker Homestead, just outside Iowa City, during our annual fundraiser, Sunset on the Farm. This year’s gathering will feature unlimited wood-fired pizza and fresh salad, live music, a silent auction, and s’mores by the fire. Guests […] The post Sunset on the Farm returns Sept. 14 to benefit Investigate Midwest appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by The New Lede. Roughly a quarter of the nation’s large cattle, dairy and hog farms are located in just 30 U.S. counties, a new satellite-mapping study has found. The research also links large farms — whether in these dense hotspots or scattered elsewhere — to elevated air pollution. The study supports […] The post Study maps factory farm hotspots as federal court tosses emissions lawsuit appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
Unyielding is a University of Missouri School of Journalism project for Investigate Midwest. With billions of dollars at stake, Bayer has gone on the offensive. Billboards along major highways. A social media offensive. Tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations in Missouri alone. And a major push in at least 11 states to change pesticide […] The post Pesticide politics: Inside the corporate push to limit liability appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
Unyielding is a University of Missouri School of Journalism project for Investigate Midwest. William Caplinger, a superintendent for a commercial construction company, runs an organic farm in Sulfur Springs, Arkansas, about one hour from Joplin, Missouri. He and his wife, Heather, raise all their food for consumption, completely chemical and pesticide-free. Caplinger has Stage 4 prostate […] The post A farmer’s fight: Cancer, chemicals and a return to organic living appeared first on I...| Investigate Midwest
Unyielding is a University of Missouri School of Journalism project for Investigate Midwest. Over the hum of blow dryers and the flurry of hairdressing shears, Bobbi Bibbs welcomed clients into Studio 119, a salon in the heart of downtown Kennett, for 19 years. As someone who worked “behind the chair,” all of her trims, dyes and […] The post A cancer fight in rural Missouri: ‘Being from a small town right now is saving my life.’ appeared first on Investigate Midwest.| Investigate Midwest
Unyielding is a University of Missouri School of Journalism project for Investigate Midwest. Missouri has nearly 27 million acres of farmland. Nearly all of it is blanketed by pesticides. Crop farming is integral to Missouri’s economy, and pesticides are meant to ease the process. But these substances also come with risks. The level of risk differs […]| Investigate Midwest
Jack Link’s has poured $2.3 million into Trump campaigns to ensure its meat snacks stay eligible for SNAP and school nutrition programs.| Investigate Midwest
Opinion: A new federal lawsuit aims to block Prop 12, threatening California’s landmark animal welfare law and raising stakes for farmers and consumers alike.| Investigate Midwest
This week, swaths of the U.S. are dealing with high temperatures and warnings of heat stroke, a potentially deadly condition. The heat wave comes just as federal regulators have convened public hearings on a Biden-era proposal aimed at preventing deaths related to heat illness among U.S. workers. Farmworkers are among those most at-risk, according to […]| Investigate Midwest
Over 500,000 immigrants lost work authorization, causing labor shortages and a projected 14.5% rise in food prices by 2028.| Investigate Midwest
Investigate Midwest: OSHA found ADM’s grain dust prevention systems were inadequate during a July 2024 explosion at its Decatur plant.| Investigate Midwest
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Iowa — A few years ago, Holly Jones started studying the micro-climate and the topography on her family farm in Crawfordsville, Iowa, about 40 miles south of Iowa City. Jones said learning more about the landscape of her fifth generation flower farm helped her recognize some of the ways weather and climate change could […]| Investigate Midwest
Six months into her tenure, Brooke Rollins has reduced USDA staff, sidelined science, shifted agency culture, and expanded DOGE’s influence.| Investigate Midwest
Immigration tracker covers the latest enforcement in the ag sector, including policy shifts, raids, and labor impacts on the food system.| Investigate Midwest
Nothing beats ice cream on a hot summer afternoon. But while you’re savoring that frozen treat, it’s worth asking: how much of what you paid actually reaches the farmer who produced the milk? The answer might surprise you: Dairy farmers earn a far smaller share from ice cream than from butter. That’s because milk undergoes […]| Investigate Midwest
The writing is on the wall. Should John Deere choose to defend itself in court rather than attempt to reach a settlement, it very much may be handed a massive spanking by the Justice Department, which alleges the company’s repair restrictions violate federal and state antitrust laws. See here, here and here. In a nutshell, […]| Investigate Midwest
If you live in a small town, you probably have fewer grocery stores than you did 30 years ago — and fewer choices inside them. Independent grocers have disappeared, replaced by big national chains that now decide what’s on the shelves, how much it costs, and who gets to profit. In 1990, the top four […]| Investigate Midwest
It’s fair to say Big Ag in general, and in particular, pesticide producers — most notably those that manufacture chlorpyrifos and glyphosate — have been freaking out over a Making America Healthy Again Commission strategy report due out later this summer. On the surface, the concerns certainly seem justified. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary […]| Investigate Midwest
Marlen, a 35-year-old mother from Mexico, knows what farmworkers like her are supposed to do if they’re sexually harassed on the job: Tell the harasser to stop, document it, then report it to company leadership. If none of that works, get legal help. This could mean filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity […]| Investigate Midwest
On June 10, dozens of masked federal agents filed into the Glenn Valley Foods meatpacking plant in South Omaha, presenting a warrant to company officials to conduct an immigration raid. As agents entered the production floor, stunned workers in hard hats and hair nets were told in Spanish to raise their hands. “Manos arriba!” The […]| Investigate Midwest
The Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies have led to workplace raids, public protests and disruptions within the agriculture industry. Here’s the latest: More on immigration and ag: July 3, 2025 Trump pushes program for undocumented farm workers During a rally in Iowa, President Trump continued to say he wants to allow undocumented workers to remain […]| Investigate Midwest
As Jill Trapp steered her pickup truck down the red dirt roads of southeast Oklahoma, she raised a hand to greet a passing neighbor — a calf roper who once made it to the National Finals Rodeo. She drove on, passing a modest cowboy church where Sunday sermons share space with country music and the […]| Investigate Midwest
All across the nation, states are busy writing laws banning the sale and or manufacture of cultivated meat produced directly from animal cells grown in bioreactors. In 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration greenlighted two companies — UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat — to sell cultivated chicken. The following year, USDA’s Food and Inspection […]| Investigate Midwest
Every year, hundreds of thousands of foreign workers come to the U.S. to fill temporary agricultural labor shortages through the H-2A program — a system first introduced in 1986 to address shortages in farmwork. From 2011 to 2024, the use of the program grew more than 400%, with nearly 90% of visas going to workers […]| Investigate Midwest
A new report linking pesticide overuse to children’s health issues has ignited a battle within President Donald Trump’s circle of support, pitting powerful agrichemical giants against some organic food advocates. Last month, the Make America Healthy Again commission, chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., published a report on declining childhood […]| Investigate Midwest
This summer, Investigate Midwest has welcomed two interns who bring fresh eyes and sharp skills to our work covering food, agriculture, and rural America. Our interns are supported with generous funding from David Jackson via the Gary Marx Journalism Fund. Melissa Dai is Investigate Midwest’s 2025 summer reporting intern. She’s a rising senior at Northwestern […]| Investigate Midwest
KLEVENVILLE, Wis. — Two piglets jostled in the barnyard as Jess D’Souza stepped outside. Neither youngster seemed to be winning their morning game of tug-of-war over an empty feed bag. Jess approached the chicken coop. She swung open the weathered door. The flood of fowl scampered up a hill to a cluster of empty food […]| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by The New Lede. Agricultural operations across Iowa are a leading cause of significant water pollution problems in the state, posing dire risks to public and environmental health, according to a new scientific report that is sparking heated debate in the key US farm state. The 227-page “Central Iowa Source Water Research […]| Investigate Midwest
Most U.S. states have experienced a decline in the number of households using the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, over the last decade. Only 14 states have seen an increase in the number of households using the food assistance program, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data for fiscal years 2015 to […]| Investigate Midwest
It’s Fourth of July week, which means we’ve officially entered the second half of the year. At Investigate Midwest, we began 2025 with a renewed focus on covering the incoming Trump administration, including his appointments that have the greatest impact on the nation’s food system. One story investigated efforts by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President […]| Investigate Midwest
Last month, Investigate Midwest’s Monica Cordero explored why President Donald Trump’s second trade war could hit U.S. farmers harder than his first. Her story reported on the various financial challenges farmers face. Here are four charts from that story that highlight those challenges: Net farm income declined for two consecutive years after peaking in 2022. […]| Investigate Midwest
The April posting in the Federal Register by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was a bombshell. The feds are proposing to eliminate the regulatory Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm.” Full stop. The ESA declares that it is illegal to “take” any member of a protected species […]| Investigate Midwest
BELZONI, Miss. — For Pepper Roberts, running a successful farm comes down to managing risk and planning for potential challenges. While other farmers sold their crops last fall, Roberts used grain bins to store half of his corn harvest, betting that he’d get a better price once corn supplies grew scarce. In January, Roberts sold […]| Investigate Midwest
For April Hemmes, a fourth-generation farmer on land her family has worked for almost 125 years in north-central Iowa, life is guided by a simple philosophy: “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” It’s a mindset that has helped her navigate extreme weather, market shocks and trade disputes. But this year, Hemmes said, […]| Investigate Midwest
On May 16, 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts swept across central Illinois, developing into a dust storm near Bloomington and Champaign, which reduced visibility to zero, damaged some soy and corn crops, and knocked over trees. As the dust storm moved north, a warning was issued for Chicago and northwest Indiana. It had been 40 years since […]| Investigate Midwest
In early May, after some equivocation, President Donald Trump briefly endorsed the idea to hike taxes on the wealthiest Americans in his budget proposal to Congress. Economists were quick to point out the meager impact a new millionaire tax bracket would have on the ultra-rich, particularly in the context of other proposed tax cuts that […]| Investigate Midwest
Despite rising child labor violations and new Senate demands to investigate the nation’s largest meat processor, the U.S. Department of Labor remains silent on whether it has the staff to conduct future probes amidst a major reduction in its workforce. At a May 22 congressional hearing, newly appointed Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said 2,700 department […]| Investigate Midwest
Tomatoes, found in everything from tacos to soups, are suddenly at the center of a new cost concern, not because of crop failure, but because of tariffs. The Trump administration’s plan to impose steep levies on fresh Mexico-grown tomatoes, which supply most of the U.S. market, could drive up prices for restaurants, grocers, and families […]| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by Grist. Two years ago this week, the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. the Environmental Protection Agency significantly limited the agency’s ability to use the 1972 Clean Water Act to safeguard the nation’s wetlands from pollution and destruction. The decision determined that wetlands — waterlogged habitats that help filter […]| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by The Sentient. At the end of their studies at San Carlos University in Guatemala City, Fredy Alvarado Contreras, Sergio Escobar Gonzalez and Dennis Najera Barillas were recruited to participate in a special opportunity: a year-long internship at a swine operation, where they would learn from experts, partake in American […]| Investigate Midwest
LA MOTTE, Iowa — Ray Bickel spent over a decade driving a truck through giant corn and soybean fields in Clinton County, Iowa, applying pesticides. He says it was good work, while it lasted. In 2017, he had a heart attack. The doctors ran tests to find out what caused it and found something else. […]| Investigate Midwest
Around 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve in 2022, flames ripped through the bowels of an industrial facility in Fremont, Nebraska. Elevators were scorched. Conveyor belts collapsed. Metal doors melted. As smoke filled the sky, employees scrambled to escape. One dialed 911. “The plant’s on fire,” he hurriedly breathed. “Is everybody out of there?” The dispatcher […]| Investigate Midwest
ST. LOUIS, Mich. — As a boy, Gary Smith would ride his bike with friends down a dirt road to a pit used by a chemical company to incinerate hazardous waste. “It was a place to throw stuff, look around,” he said on an overcast May afternoon overlooking the pit site. “I know a few […]| Investigate Midwest
