While nearly the same amount of corn and soybean acres have been planted every year since the mid-1990s, the use of pesticides in Illinois has increased exponentially, according to USDA data.

An outcropping is seen along an ADA fishing trail at Lake Darling State Park in Brighton, Iowa, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. photo by Jim Slosiarek, The Gazette When Kim Hagemann moved to Iowa in the ...

Late 2025 marked the most severe three-month stretch in more than a decade for the gap between what agriculture producers pay to operate and what they receive in return, according to an analysis of ...

An Oklahoma rancher pouring out sack feed to his Angus and Charolais mix cattle in a pasture of dead grass caused by drought. photo from iStock * More intense droughts have led to less pasture land, ...

As a federal appeals court considers whether President Trump’s tariffs over trade deficits are legally justified, the latest USDA data offers context for the fight: the U.S. is headed for its largest ...

On Jan. 27, 2025, the town advised residents that nitrate levels were too high in the tap water and it was unsafe to drink. They noted to especially avoid using the water to mix formula for babies ...

After a year defined by tariff-driven trade tensions, farmers’ confidence in tariffs as a tool to strengthen the farm economy appears to be slipping, according to the latest Ag Economy Barometer ...

Every state in the country has seen an increase in temporary agricultural visa workers since 2018. These workers enter the country on H-2A visas, which allow companies and farms to hire seasonal labor ...

Investigate Midwest is participating in an audience research project led by Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Accelerator and Press Forward Chicago. Your input helps shape how we report and ...

Investigate Midwest, in collaboration with the Arkansas Times and the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, will host a free, live virtual panel at noon on Feb. 19, examining how China’s global ...

CONESVILLE, Iowa — The deductions frustrated him. “You earn money faster” in the U.S. than in Mexico, the man said in Spanish. But the deductions in every paycheck slowed his earnings, and he and his ...

Soybeans sit in storage, farm bankruptcies are rising, and total farm debt continues to climb. By nearly every measure, American farmers are struggling. Experts say financial pressures are expected to ...