Investigate Midwest The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

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Climate Change

‘Temperatures continue to rise and farmworkers continue to be at risk’

By Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest | October 21, 2021

At least 65 farmworkers have died from heat-related causes since 2002, according to an Investigate Midwest analysis of OSHA data. The Biden administration has promised to address the dangers of extreme heat in workplaces.

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billion-dollar events

GRAPHIC: With about three months remaining, 2021 has already seen the second-most billion-dollar weather disasters
By Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest | October 20, 2021
Since 1980, the frequency and intensity of the events have been steadily increasing.
Graphic of the Week

GRAPHIC: For family farms, most income comes from far afield
By Amanda Perez Pintado, Investigate Midwest/Report for America | October 14, 2021
Off-farm income contributed an average of 82% of total income for family farms in 2019, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis. Almost all farm households in 2019 derived some income from off-farm sources, such as pensions, investment income, or wages and salary from an off-farm job. But small family farms — defined in […]
Environment

Conservationists See Rare Nature Sanctuaries. Black Farmers See a Legacy Bought Out From Under Them.
By Tony Briscoe, ProPublica | October 14, 2021
In Pembroke, the well-intended efforts of mostly white nature conservationists overlook one thing: The township’s Black farming community has never fully supported them. Now, a generations-old way of life is threatened by the push for conservation.
coronavirus

The pandemic disrupted Americans’ access to food. Minorities suffered the most.
By Amanda Perez Pintado, Investigate Midwest/Report for America, and Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | October 14, 2021
New USDA data shows the overall food insecurity rate remained the same in 2020 compared to 2019. However, the rate increased for Black and Hispanic Americans. Researchers say more investigation is needed to understand the data.
cyber attack

FBI says ransomware attacks on food and agriculture industry are increasing
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | October 13, 2021
In the past year, there have been at least eight hacks of companies in the industry, including the international meatpacking company JBS.
Agribusiness

The Iowa Farm Bureau is a small nonprofit. It’s sitting on a huge business empire.
By Sky Chadde and Eli Hoff, Investigate Midwest; Mark Ossolinski, Watchdog Writers Group | October 7, 2021
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, the country’s most profitable farm bureau, influences most aspects of agricultural policy in the state. One profitable loan underscores how large and complex the organization has become.
covid-19

USDA study shows working conditions in meatpacking plants likely drove coronavirus outbreaks
By Amanda Perez Pintado, Investigate Midwest/Report for America, and Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | October 6, 2021
The analysis supports what many meatpacking workers and advocates suspected during the early months of the pandemic — working shoulder-to-shoulder coupled with high line speeds contributed to the virus’ spread.
Agribusiness

TOP TAKEAWAYS: Three things to know from our Seaboard Foods investigation
By Investigate Midwest | September 30, 2021
Here are the most important things to know from our investigation into a major pork processing plant.
Español

DOLOR IGNORADO: En una de las empacadoras de carne más grandes del país, los trabajadores denuncian que sus lesiones fueron ignoradas
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | September 30, 2021
Los trabajadores manifestaron haber sido informados que sus lesiones eran a causa del "dolor de adaptación”, mismo que proviene de ajustarse a la vida en una planta empacadora de carne. Pero algunas lesiones eran lo suficientemente graves como para justificar pruebas y tratamientos adicionales. En un caso, un empleado fue obligado a trabajar con lo que resultó ser una vértebra fracturada.
Agribusiness

PAIN DENIED: At one of the country’s largest meatpacking plants, workers say their injuries were ignored
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | September 30, 2021
Workers were told their injuries were “break-in pain,” soreness that comes from adjusting to life in a meatpacking plant. But some injuries were severe enough to warrant additional testing and treatment. In one case, a man was pushed to work with what turned out to be a fractured vertebrae.
Graphic of the Week

GRAPHIC: Looking at regulatory restrictions over time in agriculture
By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest | September 29, 2021
A Washington D.C. think tank has developed a way to quantify the number of restrictions on specific industries. Agriculture has seen an increase since 1970, but so has every other industry.
Government

Seresto flea collar adverse incidents climb after company submits 11,000 more reports to EPA
By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest | September 24, 2021
The maker of a popular flea and tick collar did not report thousands of adverse incidents to federal authorities as required until after an investigation by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting (Investigate Midwest) and USA TODAY was published.
Labor

Human trafficking has long haunted agriculture. Experts fear it flourished during the pandemic.
By Amanda Perez Pintado, Investigate Midwest/Report for America | September 23, 2021
At times, the H-2A visa program that brings non-citizen farmworkers to the U.S. has been used to facilitate human trafficking, experts and activisits said. But the number of people trafficked through the program appears to have increased.
Graphic of the Week

GRAPHIC: Meat prices increasing faster than other goods, government data shows
By Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest | September 22, 2021
Pork prices have increased by nearly 8% since July 2020, more than any other food item.
Agribusiness

‘Women in the industry have to work that much harder’
By Mary Hennigan, Investigate Midwest | September 16, 2021
The male-dominated industry of American agriculture has challenged women both on the field and in the industry. They have had their knowledge doubted, been passed over for promotions and have been told starting a family would complicate their success.