Skyler Rossi
Editor, Harvest Public MediaAs an editor at Harvest Public Media, I work with reporters across the Midwest and Great Plains to tell the stories shaping our region’s food systems, farms and rural areas. My goal is to help explain how the climate is impacting agriculture, as well as how agriculture affects our environment, and what all this means for our food supply, farmers and rural communities.
I began my career telling stories about startup founders and small business owners, focusing on people tackling hard-to-solve challenges in the middle of the U.S. Most recently, I was an editor at Missouri Business Alert, where I covered and edited state business news and trained journalism students at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
I have degrees in journalism and English and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia
You can reach me at skylerrossi@kcur.org.
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People are flocking to backyard chickens this year, in part due to the sky-high cost of eggs at the grocery store. Some first-timers have turned to chicken rentals to try out ownership for a few months. -
The cancellation of two programs will affect more than $1 billion in expected funding this year. Food advocates worry the cuts are coming when other federal food programs are at risk. -
The Soybean Innovation Lab based at the University of Illinois has laid off 30 employees and expects to shut down in the spring if funding isn't restored. Lab leaders at other Land Grant universities say they have avoided layoffs, but that could change. -
Bird flu has killed millions of hens in recent weeks, shrinking the supply of eggs and hiking up prices at grocery stores. -
The new strategy aims to pinpoint where bird flu exists in the U.S. and halt its spread. There have been hundreds of cases in cattle and dozens in humans. -
Missouri's 2025 state budget includes less than a third of the federal funding the state received for Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program grants. More than a dozen producers with selected projects are without funding for now. -
Raw milk continues to grow in popularity, despite bird flu in dairy cattle bringing increased scrutiny from health experts. -
Congress ended mandatory labeling for pork and beef in 2015. Now some livestock groups want to see labeling requirements included in the upcoming farm bill that would make it clear where livestock was born, raised and slaughtered. -
It’s been an above-average spring for tornadoes and other severe storms in the Midwest and Great Plains. Experts say a big reason is that weather conditions were ripe for tornado-forming storms. -
After voters legalized recreational marijuana in November 2022, dispensaries licensed to sell medical products began selling to anyone over the age of 21 in February 2023. The state also rolled out the first round of a new social equity license program, which has posed some hurdles.
