Rural America

Cafeteria workers at Lockerman Middle School work in an assembly line to pack bags filled with three days of meals. (Photo credit: Colin Marshall)

Hunger Doesn’t Take a Summer Break. Neither Do School Food Professionals.

July 29, 2024

On the ground with districts and nonprofits who are embracing recent policy changes to feed children in their communities.

Republican Plans for Ag Policy May Bring Big Changes to Farm Country

By Lisa Held

July 22, 2024

A drone photograph of a corn field in Madison County, Ohio, with a grain silo in the background. (Photo credit: Hal Bergman, Getty Images)

An Iowa Fertilizer Plant Purchase Spurs Antitrust Concerns

By Nina Elkadi

April 8, 2024

an iowa fertilizer factory in sunset. (photo credit: lynngrae on getty images)

Op-ed: How Federal Dollars Can Help Ease the Rural Water Crisis

By Michael Prado and Celina Mahabir

May 16, 2023

A resident of Porterville, California, carries a case of bottled water for use at home. (Photo credit: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

The Rush for Solar Farms Could Make It Harder for Young Farmers to Access Land

By Anne Marshall-Chalmers

April 12, 2023

Sheep grazing under an agrivoltaic solar panel system. (Photo courtesy of Julie Bishop, Solar Sheep LLC)

Could This Mobile, Solar-Powered Livestock Barn Reshape the Corn Belt?

By Twilight Greenaway

February 13, 2023

Black Farmers in Arkansas Still Seek Justice a Century After the Elaine Massacre

By Wesley Brown

July 27, 2022

From Farmland to Frac Sand

By Lisa Held

July 19, 2022

$An overhead view of US Silica's frac sand mine in La Salle County, Illinois. This mine is in front of Diane and Phil Gassman's home. (Photo courtesy of Ted Auch)$

Venison Was An Important Protein Source for Food Banks. Now It May Be Too Dangerous to Eat.

By Lela Nargi

June 21, 2022

US Farmland Increasingly Controlled by Foreign Investment

By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest

April 22, 2022

On the Rural Immigrant Experience: ‘We Come With a Culture, Our Own History, and We’re Here to Help’

By Naomi Starkman

April 14, 2022

As Dollar Stores Proliferate, Some Communities Push Back

By Wesley Brown

April 13, 2022

Lays potato chips are displayed at a Dollar General store in Vallejo, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

What Will the Rise of Giant Indoor Farms Mean for Appalachian Kentucky?

By Twilight Greenaway

April 6, 2022

An Appharvest employee harvesting tomatoes in Morehead, Kentucky. (Photo courtesy of Appharvest)

Can Nature Reclaim Iowa?

By Stephen Robert Miller, Sierra Magazine

March 25, 2022

Scenic view of an agriculture field against prairie in Madison County Iowa

‘Right to Repair’ Advocates Petition the FTC to Investigate John Deere

By Grey Moran

March 3, 2022

A Woman is trying to repair her John Deere tractor

Op-ed: What I Learned from White Oak Pastures—and What Other Farms Can, Too

By Beth Hoffman

February 24, 2022

Bulls and sheep grazing near a creek at Will Harris's regenerative farm, White Oak Pastures.

Op-ed: The New York Times Took on the Food System. Here’s What They Missed.

By Sophia Murphy and Ben Lilliston

February 17, 2022

a screenshot from the new york times video about big ag and farm consolidation

Can Farmers Help Each Other Navigate Mental Health Crises?

By Lela Nargi

February 1, 2022

Rear view of a couple working in the field of a family owned farm. They are walking along the rows, separated by a row of vegetable plants, looking at each other and conversing. He is a mature man in his 40s. She is an Hispanic woman in her 30s.

Black Farmers Are Rebuilding Agriculture in Coal Country

By Natalie Peart, YES! Magazine

January 24, 2022

Veteran Farmers Jason Tartt and Sky Edwards inside one of the high tunnels they procured with the help of USDA NRCS. (Photo credit: Rebecca Haddix, USDA)

A Return to Native Agriculture

By Anna McNulty, & the West

January 21, 2022

A tribal bison herd moving to their summer pasture in northern Montana. Bison were reintroduced to the Blackfeet Nation starting in the 1990s. (Photo credit: Latrice Tatsey)

The Field Report: Can Lawsuits Right Historic Wrongs for Black Farmers?

By Lisa Held

January 19, 2022

A National Black Farmers Association protest in front of the USDA office in 2002.

Farmworkers Bear the Brunt of California’s Housing Crisis

By Gosia Wozniacka

January 18, 2022

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 17: Lourdes Cardenas, a farm worker originally from Culiacán, Mexico, tends to recently washed clothes on May 17, 2021 in Fresno, California. Cardenas has been a farm worker for 18 years after coming to the U.S. from Culiacán, Mexico. The clothing worn for work are washed daily due to the pesticides used in the farms. Since November 2019, there have been three bills introduced in Congress that would give undocumented food and farm workers as well as unauthorized immigrants, a path to citizenship or legal residency status. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives in March with bipartisan support after first being introduced in November 2019, would give undocumented farm workers a path to legal residency and protection against detention and deportation. The passage of the bill comes after months of negotiations between members of both parties, United Farm Workers, UFW Foundation, Farmworker Justice, and various national growers organizations. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Beginning Farmers, Farmers of Color Outbid as Farmland Prices Soar

By Grey Moran

January 3, 2022

Betting Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on the Cattle Market and Losing

By Lee Van der Voo, High Country News

December 16, 2021

illustration of beef cattle and financial figures

Delta Fresh Foods Is Bringing Food Security to Northern Mississippi

By Nadra Nittle

October 27, 2021

Rural America

Hunger Doesn’t Take a Summer Break. Neither Do School Food Professionals.

Republican Plans for Ag Policy May Bring Big Changes to Farm Country

An Iowa Fertilizer Plant Purchase Spurs Antitrust Concerns

Op-ed: How Federal Dollars Can Help Ease the Rural Water Crisis

The Rush for Solar Farms Could Make It Harder for Young Farmers to Access Land

We’ll bring the news to you.

Could This Mobile, Solar-Powered Livestock Barn Reshape the Corn Belt?

Black Farmers in Arkansas Still Seek Justice a Century After the Elaine Massacre

From Farmland to Frac Sand

Venison Was An Important Protein Source for Food Banks. Now It May Be Too Dangerous to Eat.

US Farmland Increasingly Controlled by Foreign Investment

On the Rural Immigrant Experience: ‘We Come With a Culture, Our Own History, and We’re Here to Help’

As Dollar Stores Proliferate, Some Communities Push Back

What Will the Rise of Giant Indoor Farms Mean for Appalachian Kentucky?

Can Nature Reclaim Iowa?

‘Right to Repair’ Advocates Petition the FTC to Investigate John Deere

Thank you for being a loyal reader.

Op-ed: What I Learned from White Oak Pastures—and What Other Farms Can, Too

Op-ed: The New York Times Took on the Food System. Here’s What They Missed.

Can Farmers Help Each Other Navigate Mental Health Crises?

Black Farmers Are Rebuilding Agriculture in Coal Country

A Return to Native Agriculture

The Field Report: Can Lawsuits Right Historic Wrongs for Black Farmers?

Farmworkers Bear the Brunt of California’s Housing Crisis

Beginning Farmers, Farmers of Color Outbid as Farmland Prices Soar

Betting Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on the Cattle Market and Losing

Delta Fresh Foods Is Bringing Food Security to Northern Mississippi