Coronavirus

‘Either I Risk It All Or Nothing At All’: Migrant Workers’ Need To Work Outweighs COVID-19 Concerns

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Since June, there have been 21 COVID-19 cases linked to the hotel where an entire crew of migrant workers are living, according to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, which tracks COVID-19 cases across Champaign County. The hotel is tied for third largest outbreak in the county, based on internal statewide public health data from July through September obtained by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

Federal government no longer communicating with public on certain issues

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Federal government officials are no longer allowed to communicate with the public and media about certain environmental issues per orders from the Trump administration, multiple news outlets reported Monday and Tuesday.

Agribusiness

Food waste weighing down U.S. food system

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Food is the largest single source of waste in the U.S. More food ends up in landfills than plastic, more than paper. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 percent of what goes into municipal landfills is food. Food waste tipped the scale at 35 million tons in 2012, the most recent year estimates are available.

Agribusiness

Slaughterhouses across the country: A collaborative map

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The meat industry has once been concentrated in cities like Chicago and Kansas City. But it had left for small towns in rural areas, which were now struggling to provide the necessary social services to the immigrants who followed. How could we begin to show those demographic changes? And what could we do about the fact that there was no readily available list of the biggest slaughterhouses? This interactive map starts to answer those questions.

Agribusiness

Expected bumper crop has price of corn dropping

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Corn farmers have seen high prices of corn in the last few years, as prices have reached nearly $8 per bushel in some places. This year though, experts predict that corn prices will drop considerably.

Agribusiness

Why farmers want new equipment

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Encouraged by a strong farm economy and healthy business tax breaks, Farmers are buying new machinery and equipment that can run anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000. And some of the new equipment -- powered by GPS and sensors that can even detect moisture in a crop -- practically run on auto-pilot.

Agribusiness

Sticker shock: it’s not just on new tractors anymore

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Farm equipment sales are booming, currently running about $20 billion annually. Surprisingly, some of the hottest-selling pieces of machinery aren't new. Used-farm equipment is becoming more desirable to some farmers, who don't want to have to run their machines with laptops.