As Mississippi River levels swing between historic highs and lows, shipping industry grapples with how to adapt
The river has reached near-historic lows amid extreme drought in much of the basin for the second year in a row, which is slowing down shipping and driving up costs for everyone from barge companies to grain elevators. The whole industry is grappling with how to adapt to an increasingly chronic problem.
GRAPHIC: Agricultural labor costs are projected to rise by nearly 2% in 2023
Labor expenses are essential in agricultural production costs, especially for the crop production sector.
Wisconsin journalist John McCracken to cover U.S. meat industry
His work will focus on investigating the country’s vast industrial meat production and packing industry.
Michigan dairy farm housing: ‘Invisible’ workers suffer, state looks other way
Housing for immigrant workers on dairy farms is often tucked away and largely exempt from inspections. Advocates say that can lead to poor conditions. ‘You have no one to protect you,’ one worker says.
ongoing investigations
Farmworker Housing
To better understand farmworkers’ housing conditions, Investigate Midwest is obtaining inspections from dozens of states. View our map of housing inspections — including violations inspectors noted — and read our coverage.
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How Black farmers are navigating climate change with limited federal support
Some have received equipment and funding from the USDA. Many who have not are frustrated by the process.
Las deficientes salvaguardias normativas dejan a los trabajadores agrícolas asfixiados ante el aumento de las olas de calor.
Una quinta parte de las muertes de trabajadores relacionadas con el calor registradas entre el 2017 y 2022 fueron de trabajadores agrícolas, según datos de la OSHA. Académicos, especialistas en salud ocupacional y grupos de defensa llaman la atención sobre el impacto poco reportado del cambio climático en este grupo debido a las olas de calor.
Poor regulatory safeguards leave farmworkers suffocating in the face of increasing heat waves
A fifth of reported heat-related deaths between 2017 and 2022 were agricultural workers, according to OSHA data. Academics, occupational health specialists and advocacy groups are calling attention to the under-reported impact of climate change on this group from heatwaves.
Who owns Iowa farmland? In many cases, it’s not farmers.
The sense Iowa’s agricultural land is both scarce and gaining value has driven the average price to a record-setting $11,400 per acre last year. Now Iowa farmers are bidding not only against neighbors, but out-of-state investors including professional athletes, well-known billionaires and the Mormon Church.
Animal waste and agrochemicals are leading cause of fish kills in Iowa waterways
Agriculture is the lifeblood of Iowa, but it also contributes to mass die-offs of fish in the state’s waterways.
Environment
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100 attend a rainy but festive Sunset on the Farm
The annual event in Iowa City supports nonprofit investigative journalism on the ag industry.
Offering up advice for farmers, universities add to US water pollution
Formal fertilizer recommendations encourage producers to pour on more.
GRAPHIC: One in 10 households is food insecure, data shows
About 13.5 million households in the U.S. have difficulty putting food on their tables, according to federal data.
Support Iowa ag journalism through evening of pizza, wine, music on Sept. 10
Sunset on the Farm at Walker Homestead outside Iowa City supports the work of IowaWatch, the local newsroom of Investigate Midwest.
GRAPHIC: Food spending has rebounded since pandemic’s start
After dropping dramatically, Americans’ spending on food has increased, especially away from home.
Iowa skipper butterfly ‘canary in coal mine’: A warning sign of prairie loss consequences for farmers, wildlife alike
Nearly 250 million acres of the Great Plains have been converted to cropland as of 2020. Farmers and wildlife both suffer from the depletion of prairies.
Opinion
Opinion: EPA promises to look under the hood of CAFO operations
Finally. At long last the Environmental Protection Agency has recognized that maybe, just maybe, environmental groups have a point that…
