Harvest Public Media
Harvest Public Media is a reporting collaboration focused on issues of food, fuel and field. Based at KCUR in Kansas City, Harvest covers these agriculture-related topics through an expanding network of reporters and partner stations throughout the Midwest. Global demand for food and fuel is rising, and the push and pull for resources has serious ramifications for our country’s economic prosperity. What’s more, we all eat, so we all have a stake in how our food is produced In the Midwest, in particular, today’s emerging agenda for agriculture is headlined by climate change, food safety, biofuel production, animal welfare, water quality, and sustainability. By examining these local, regional and national issues and their implications with in-depth and unbiased reporting, Harvest is filling a critical information void. Most Harvest Public Media stories begin with radio — regular reports are aired on our member stations in the Midwest. But Harvest also explores issues through online analyses, television documentaries and features, podcasts, photography, video, blogs and social networking. We are committed to the highest journalistic standards. Click here to read our ethics policy.
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Think of this year’s drought as a sort of dress rehearsal for the drier, hotter future that scientists predict climate change has in store. Long-lasting droughts could alter the way we live. -
The Farm Bill, that sets important policy on everything from crop insurance to SNAP benefits, is up for renewal next year. But the results of the midterm elections may not shed much light on how that legislation will end up.
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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case this month over whether California overreached with an animal welfare law which regulates housing requirements for pigs if the pork will be sold in the state. Two large pork industry groups say that burdens pork producers outside of California.
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Farmers die by suicide at a higher rate than the general population. That’s leading Midwestern states to train bankers, veterinarians and agribusiness professionals to be the new front line of defense against farm stress.
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The American Rescue Plan promised $4 billion in debt relief to “socially disadvantaged farmers.” But a swarm of lawsuits from banks and white farmers alleging discrimination has put the aid on hold.
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For the first time, researchers have assigned a value to the Black-owned farmland lost over the past century.
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The perennial grain can produce an annual crop even as it stays in the ground for up to four years. Its deep root system helps pull carbon out of the air and makes it more resistant to floods and drought.
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Even with a few recent rains, much of the Great Plains are in a drought. Wildfires have swept across the grasslands and farmers are worried about how they’ll make it through the growing season.
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More than 22 million commercial and backyard birds have died or been killed to stop the spread of the latest bird flu outbreak. Most of the affected flocks are commercial, but backyard flocks are no less susceptible.
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Agriculture often gets cited as the reason daylight saving time was put in place in the U.S. more than 100 years ago...yet it turns out the time change has few benefits for farmers.
