Rachel Cramer
Reporter, Iowa Public RadioI cover agriculture, rural communities and environmental issues for Harvest Public Media, and I cover news from north-central Iowa as the Ames-based reporter for Iowa Public Radio.
Before returning to my home state, I was a reporter for Yellowstone Public Radio in Bozeman, Montana. Some of my favorite stories involved riding in pick-up trucks with farmers, hiking behind ecologists and chatting with Main Street business owners.
I learned how to cut tape and write for radio as a newscaster/reporter for Montana Public Radio and produced stories across the U.S. as a Crossing the Divide fellow with the GroundTruth Project in 2017.
I grew up on a small farm outside Guthrie Center, Iowa, and hold degrees from Iowa State University and the University of Montana.
You can reach me at rcramer@iowapublicradio.org.
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Often described as the Nobel of food and agriculture, the $500,000 prize this year shines a light on the role of seed banks and their stewards, including some in the Midwest.
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The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is the core of a major flyway for migrating birds and one of the most visited refuges in the U.S. Anglers and outdoor enthusiasts saved it from being drained 100 years ago, but the next century brings new challenges.
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Decades of data show nitrate levels in rivers often drop during dry years and spike when rain returns. Experts say more conservation practices in and around farm fields could help smooth out the sharp peaks to protect drinking water and downstream impacts.
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While corn and soybeans dominate the Midwestern landscape today, some farmers are integrating strips of native prairie back into their fields. This conservation practice has expanded to more than a dozen states.
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Iowa recently gave the greenlight for what could become the largest carbon capture and sequestration project in the world. But regulatory hurdles, lawsuits and questions remain there and in neighboring states.
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Restoring oxbow wetlands is gaining momentum in the Midwest. While it started largely to support a federally endangered fish, conservation experts say these floodplain habitats offer a host of benefits, including cleaner water downstream.
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Over the last two years, several large pork packers have closed plants in California, Minnesota and most recently Iowa. For some pork producers, this means additional miles and more money to deliver hogs on top of tough economic times.
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With bird flu spilling into dairies across the U.S., several Midwestern states have ramped up efforts to curb the virus. Few have expanded testing requirements like Iowa.
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Sheep producers in the Midwest say wool prices have been dismal for decades, but in recent years they’ve plummeted. Now producers are looking for new ways to add value to this fiber or drop it all together.
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Gray foxes, the only canine species in North America that can climb trees, are found across much of the U.S. But over the last two decades, populations in the Midwest have plummeted and multiple state agencies are trying to find out the reasons behind their shrinking numbers.