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Author Archives: Dave DickeyColumnist

dave.dickey@investigatemidwest.org

David Dickey always wanted to be a journalist.

After serving tours in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, Dickey enrolled at Rock Valley Junior College in Rockford, Ill., where he was first news editor and then editor in chief of the school newspaper, The Valley Forge.

A 1988 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Media, he spent the next 28 years at the University of Illinois NPR member station WILL-AM 580. There, Dickey reported on sports, news, and hosted Saturday programming including "Weekend Edition" for more than a decade.

During the last 13 years of his career at WILL, he served as the station's director of agricultural programming. He developed the station’s first podcasts, established a syndicated WILL-Ag Radio Network partnering with commercial radio stations, and established an ag newsletter.

He started contributing on a free-lance basis to Investigate Midwest in and as of December 2022 had written more than 230 columns. His focus is on national agricultural issues that often cross over into state agricultural or local agricultural policy. A few examples include state attempts to pass ag-gag laws, the plight in recent years for cash-strapped farmers, the development of CRISPR and lab cultured meat, and the debate over glyphosate and dicamba.

Awards: During his radio career, Dickey won a dozen Associated Press awards for his reporting and he is a recipient of a Peabody for his reporting on dental issues in Illinois.

Professional memberships: As an opinion writer, Dickey avoids professional memberships.

dave.dickey@investigatemidwest.org

Location

Poplar Grove, Ill.

Languages Spoken

English

Areas of Expertise

Impact of ag policy at state and local level

Posted inOpinion

Wake up and sound the plastic alarm

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey March 23, 2023March 23, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest

Plasticulture is becoming a threat to the environment.  Did you say plasticulture? Never heard of it. You are not alone. It’s simply not in the public conscience. Here’s a crash course. Plasticulture is the ever expanding use of plastics, specifically in agriculture. And damage created from agricultural plastic use might be even more devastating than […]

A farm field southwest of Bondville, IL, owned by Augusta Farms, a company based in Brazil on Monday, June 3, 2019.
Posted inOpinion

New provisions of the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act require prudence

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey March 9, 2023March 14, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

The Iowa SNAP misdirection game

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey March 2, 2023March 13, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

South Dakota CAFOs may soon bid adieu to most all nuisance lawsuits

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey February 13, 2023March 13, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

Proposed independent contractor rule could turn the Big Poultry tournament system on its tail feathers

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey February 6, 2023March 13, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

Column: Are you in the mood for some lab-grown chicken?

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey February 1, 2023March 13, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

Opinion: It’s time to break up FDA

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey January 18, 2023January 23, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized

Column: Blazin’ Five farm predictions for 2023

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey January 12, 2023January 23, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

Opinion: Advice for reporting in a post-truth world

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey December 16, 2016January 23, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest
Posted inOpinion

Opinion: Is our atmosphere a public trust?

Avatar photo by Dave Dickey December 14, 2016January 23, 2023 Why you can trust Investigate Midwest

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About Us

Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Learn More »

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Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.

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