Agriculture
Area crop artist’s latest work celebrates U.S.-Mexico ties
Kansas soil, cleared of vegetation to reveal a rich brownish mauve, forms the indigenous woman’s skin. Sand, mulch, woodchips, and compost are layered and sculpted to form the rest of the portrait titled “Young Woman of Mexico.” Stan Herd has sculpted similar images for more than 30 years in places like Brazil, China, and Cuba….
The End of the Pesticide Arms Race?
To spray or not to spray, that’s the question for farmers. Pests can be the make-or-break factor for a season’s harvest. Between 20% to 40% of global crop production is lost to pests annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Conventional chemical pesticides have traditionally addressed this challenge, but their…
Rural communities rely on this USDA agency. Trump’s cuts threaten that
USDA Rural Development is Washington’s chief tool to promote economic growth in rural counties — providing funding for everything from renovating old hospitals to providing faster internet service. Sometimes the agency sweeps in to clean up an urgent mess. For instance, last year in Dunklin County, in Missouri’s Bootheel, a sewer system failure sent raw…
Cultivating History Pt. 3: Business Success Breeds Resentment
Junius Groves had built a potato empire by 1907, when educator Booker T. Washington showcased his success in his book, “The Negro in Business.” Groves then was shipping potatoes across North America while also importing what Washington called “fancy seed potatoes” from distant states. “He would get seed potatoes from Idaho and other places, and…
Cultivating History Pt. 2: ‘Potato King’ Thrives Amid Racism
While Kansas would prove friendly to potato growers like Junius Groves, it would not be quite the “free state” envisioned by Exodusters, the African Americans who, following the end of Reconstruction, considered their prospects more promising in the North. “It was about the same time when the Exodusters arrived in Kansas that the state Legislature…
Cultivating History Pt. 1: ‘Potato King’ Earning New Renown
Junius G. Groves is having a moment. Community knowledge of the African American potato farmer, who died 100 years ago this August, is growing after largely having vanished from the collective memory of Kansas, where he arrived carrying 90 cents in 1879. A new documentary, “The Potato King,” directed by filmmaker Jacob Handy, premiers Thursday…
‘Time for a Reckoning.’ Kansas Farmers Brace for Water Cuts to Save Ogallala Aquifer
After decades of local inaction, Kansas lawmakers are pushing for big changes in irrigation to conserve water and save the Ogallala Aquifer.
Do We Have a Bid? Auctions Sell Produce by the Lot
Produce auctions in Missouri and Kansas allow wholesale buyers to shop local, offering a key link in the food distribution chain.
Nurturing the Sweet Nectar of Urban Beekeeping
Kansas City businesses seeking locally sourced honey are embracing urban beekeeping. Meet some who seek to shorten the food chain and support the environment.
Jonny Bakes Bread, Nourishes Community and Looks to Expand
Jon Szajnuk pursued a passion for baking sourdough bread during the pandemic. Now his home-based business, Jonny Bakes, is looking to expand.