Agriculture
A Battle Over Bringing Local Renewables To Rural Electric Co-ops
In the 1930s, rural electric cooperatives brought electricity to the country’s most far-flung communities, transforming rural economies. In Western Colorado, one of these co-ops is again trying to spur economic development, partly by generating more of their electricity locally from renewable resources, like water in irrigation ditches and the sun. Local leaders say that’ll be…
Low Wheat Prices Could Hit Kansas Rural Economy Hard
This year was a very good year for growing wheat, but that means it could be a very bad year for wheat farmers. There’s a glut on the global wheat market and prices for winter wheat – which is grown all up and down the Great Plains, from Texas to North Dakota– wheat prices this…
In The Face Of An Uncertain Future, Ag Industry Titans Pair Up
Like most farmers, Mark Nelson, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat near Louisburg, Kansas, is getting squeezed. He’s paying three times more for seed than he used to, while his corn sells for less than half what it brought four years ago. “It’s a – that’s a challenge,” Nelson says. “You’re not going to be…
Watching Our Water | Researching New Ways Farmers Can Fight Gulf’s ‘Dead Zone’
Farming in the fertile Midwest is tied to an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But scientists are studying new ways to lessen the Midwest’s environmental impact and improve water quality. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts the so-called “dead zone,” an area of sea without enough oxygen to support most marine…
Watching Our Water | Cities Cope with Polluted Ag Runoff, Create Their Own Pollution, Too
Standing on a platform above the eastern bank of the Missouri River at the Kansas City, Missouri, Water Services’ intake plant is like being on the deck of a large ship. Electric turbines create a vibration along the blue railing, where David Greene, laboratory manager for Kansas City Water Services, looks out across the river….
Watching Our Water | Farmers Dabble in Voluntary Measures to Stop Harmful Runoff
On a gray day, just as the rain begins to fall, Roger Zylstra stops his red GMC Sierra pick-up truck on the side of the road and hops down into a ditch in Jasper County, Iowa. It takes two such stops before he unearths amid the tall weeds and grasses what he’s looking for. “Here…
Watching Our Water | Farmers Feel Pressure to Fight Agriculture Water Pollution
Living in the Platte River Valley in central Nebraska means understanding that the water in your well may contain high levels of nitrates and may not be safe to drink. “When our first son was born in 1980, we actually put a distiller in for our drinking water here in the house,” says Ken Seim,…
Despite Changing Gender Roles, It’s Still Often Sons Who Inherit Midwest Farms
Growing up on a family farm in West Bend, Iowa, Haley Banwart and her brother were like other farm kids. They did chores, participated in 4-H, and even raised cattle together. “My brother and I have had the same amount of responsibilities. I can drive a tractor, I can bale square hay,” Banwart says. “But…
What Are The Benefits Of Urban Agriculture In Kansas City?
Urban farms and gardens are popping up in cities all over the country, often touted as the key to a sustainable lifestyle, as creating healthy vibrant communities and promoting economic development. A new study by the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future , however, says urban agriculture advocates need to be careful about overselling…
This Midwest Lab Breeds Pest-Killing Bugs
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is killing pests dead, without the aid of chemicals. Halfway down a dead-end road in the small farming town of Palisade, Colorado, is the research facility known as “The Insectary.” Scientists at the lab develop “biocontrol insects,” insects adapted to attacking bugs and plants harmful to agriculture. Colorado’s Insectary is…