These 17 charts tell the story of the US food system in 2025

Investigate Midwest is a data-centric newsroom. Our weekly Data Harvests aim to visualize key agricultural statistics, and our investigative stories are often rooted in original data analysis.

Of the dozens of charts and maps we published in 2025, here are 17 that give a closer look at the state of the nation’s agriculture industry and food system.

America’s changing cattle industry

The U.S.’s cattle herd has shrunk in recent years, largely due to climate-change-fueled droughts, along with with other market disruptions.

This chart shows cattle loss in the nation’s largest beef-producing states.

In recent years, drought conditions have hit the top cattle counties hardest.

As the nation’s cattle herd shrinks, more beef is being imported, especially from Brazil.

Worker safety

Nearly half of all child labor violations in the agriculture industry since 1995 have occurred in grain, fruit and vegetable farming, according to a review of Department of Labor data.

Investigate Midwest compiled more than two decades of Department of Labor violations data into a searchable database, which you can find here.

As part of an investigation into grain dust explosions, this map shows known incidents at Archer Daniels Midland plants.

Bailouts and farm income

President Trump recently announced plans for a $12 billion bailout for U.S. farmers hurt by his tariff hikes and the responding trade war. When he issued billions to farmers during his first term, some criticized the uneven distribution. This chart shows how various producers fared during Trump’s last farmer bailout.

Due to rising production costs, low crop prices and the effects of the trade war, economists project that growers could see roughly $44 billion in net cash income losses from their 2025–26 crops. This chart shows the projected loss facing corn, wheat and soybean farmers.

This chart shows the rising costs of farming essentials like fertilizer, seed and fuel.

Black farmers, immigrants and diversity programs

While the total number of farms has decreased over the past hundred years, Black farmers have suffered disproportionately. This chart shows that in 1920, Black-owned farms made up about 15% of all operations. In 2022, the figure was 1.5%.

While the number of farms in America has long been on a steady decline, 13 of the nation’s 30 largest cities have added farming operations, based on county-level data. The data indicate that much of the growth is from small urban farming operations, as shown in this map.

Trump’s rollback of DEI initiatives has cast uncertainty over USDA programs vital to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. From 2019 to 2023, the U.S Department of Agriculture provided $2 billion in critical financial support to these farmers and ranchers – those of color, women, and other underserved groups – in Midwestern states to support farming operations and farmland development, according to USDA data.

The Trump administration ended work permits for more than 530,000 immigrants through a humanitarian parole program, a move that could have far-reaching economic consequences for the country’s agricultural sector. This chart showed which industries these immigrant workers were employed in.

The rural economy

Independent grocery stores are disappearing as the number of large national chains grows, especially in rural communities, as this chart shows.

While the national food insecurity rate has dropped slightly over the last decade, farming-dependent counties have seen an 11.7% increase, as shown in these two graphics.

Climate change

Dust storms have become increasingly common in the U.S., according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. But the increase has been especially sharp in key agricultural states, as this chart shows.

Less than half of residents in farming-dependent counties say they are worried about climate change, well below the 63% national average. But in farming counties that have faced some of the most extreme weather events, concern is often greater, as seen in this chart.