agriculture

According to AAA, Missouri diesel hit $5.91 a gallon last month, which is $2.50 more than a year ago. Those record prices are squeezing Missouri farmers, testing the state's cattle-and-crop economy and raising concerns about fertilizer costs.

After the USDA admitted in 1997 that its programs had routinely discriminated against Black farmers, tens of thousands of them sued the federal government. A judge ultimately ruled in their favor, and farmers were promised nearly $2.2 billion in compensation. But all of these years later, some victims — including in the historic town of Nicodemus, Kansas — still haven’t received anything.

More farmers are showing interest in sorghum, a drought-tolerant grain. The crop is poised to expand in the U.S. – especially if Americans start consuming it.

Federal scientists are still scrambling to find new jobs or relocate across the country as Maryland’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center’s last days of operation approach. Even as their personal lives upend, employees are concerned that BARC’s legacy of impactful research will be left behind.

After more than a century, the American Royal not only has its own home, but a whole campus near the Legends in Kansas City, Kansas. It boasts multiple barns, more than 1,500 horse stalls and eight arenas.

At East High School in Kansas City, students help care for row farms, flowering plants and herds of goats, chickens, turkeys and more. It’s the only program of its kind in a Missouri public school, with one in five students participating.

Corn and soybean harvests are starting just as the fuel farmers need to reap is shooting up in price. Plus, older Americans on fixed incomes are hit especially hard when food costs spike.

After trade talks between the countries fell apart last month, the Trump administration and Canada's leaders have rolled out new tariffs on everything from dairy products to machinery. Experts say farmers will likely feel the squeeze on both ends.

There’s a chance your next bowl of cereal or protein shake will include milk that came from Kansas. Dairy production in the state has quadrupled over the last couple decades, and that growth rests on the shoulders of immigrant workers in rural Kansas.

Birdwatchers in Kansas might notice tiny, yellow birds in their backyards, a songbird that only recently started breeding in Kansas. Plus: Midwest prairies are turning into woodland. Ranchers are trying to stop this change, but it’s an uphill battle.

Midwest lawmakers have tried and failed to ban paraquat, a toxic weedkiller that’s been tied to Parkinson’s disease. One state senator plans to keep fighting. Plus: The federal government has released new rules controlling how farmers can use the controversial herbicide dicamba.

More farmers are opting to repair old tractors, combines and other machinery instead of buying new upgrades. A tough farm economy and historically-high equipment prices are at least partly to blame.