agriculture
Opinion: Has White House farm policy soured producers?
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With the mid-term elections less than a week away we ask are these pragmatic farmers optimistic about the direction of all things ag over the past year.
Opinion
Opinion: China ready, willing and able to go head-to-head with U.S. in trade war
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As Dave Dickey writes, U.S. grain and oilseed farmers, specialty crop growers and pork producers are hoping that China and U.S. leadership pull back their reins on the potential for a full-blown trade war that could cripple U.S. gross domestic product.
Serious criminal immigration convictions still infrequent under Trump
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The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during November 2017 the government reported 4,758 new immigration convictions.
According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, this number is down 5.3 percent over the previous month.
Environment
Report spotlights nitrate contamination in drinking water across the U.S.
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A new report from the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization, indicates that more than 1,700 water districts across the U.S. recorded nitrate levels that averaged 5 ppm or more in 2014-2015. The vast majority — 1,683 of the water districts — were rural systems serving no more than 25,000 people and generally located in farming areas where fertilizer and manure in cropland runoff can seep into the public water supply. Included in those rural districts were 118 systems that matched or exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limit of 10 ppm.
Original Investigation
Help us investigate the growing number of pesticide drift complaints
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The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting found that the number of alleged pesticide misuse complaints in Illinois this year is already more than the previous three years combined. States across the Midwest have reported a similar spike. Experts say this sharp increase is due in large part to new formulations of the weed killer dicamba. Many farmers and homeowners are reporting damage to their non-dicamba-resistant plants, raising questions about how easily the product can drift off target, even when applied according to the directions on the label. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting has been following the story, and we want to hear from you (regardless of whether you filed a formal complaint).
Climate Change
Brazil’s thriving soy industry threatens its forests and global climate targets | The Conversation
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Why are Brazil's soybean farmers turning profits while the country's economy is on the brink of collapse?
farmworkers
Blighted Housing: Visa program requires housing inspections for non-U.S. farmworkers
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Hundreds of migrant workers come to the United States from Mexico and other countries with special H-2A farm visas, but they make up only a fraction of the total number of migrant farmworkers.
China
Opinion: China – the tail that wags the dog
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Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting columnist Dave Dickey gives his thoughts on China's slumping economy.
Food for thought
Opinion: New vaccine for pigs could help relieve prices at the grocery store
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It has been a tough couple of years for U.S. livestock producers. Columnist Dave Dickey looks at the challenges the industry faces.
Agribusiness
Opinion: DuPont, Dow Chemical prepare for merger
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Two of the United States’ most storied corporations – DuPont and Dow Chemical – want to merge in the second half of 2016 in a deal worth an estimated $120 billion.