agriculture

Black vultures have a reputation for killing newborn livestock, which can be a problem for ranchers in the Great Plains and Midwest. Legislation efforts aim to remove permit requirements for farmers to shoot or capture the birds.

Farmers continued to take on more debt through the first quarter of 2025, prolonging a trend from last year. That’s as farm incomes have shrunk over the last couple of years, and some worry President Trump’s tariffs could make economic conditions tougher.

Midwesterners typically head to the woods to find morels because the mushrooms have a lifecycle that’s hard to replicate at farms, but that could change. Plus: Why it’s so hard for the farming industry in Kansas to switch crops.

Agronomists at the University of Missouri have created a new cultivar of black walnut that grows faster and produces a better nut than the native black walnut tree. Missouri provides three-fourths of the country's native black walnuts.

People without legal status are a key part of the dairy industry's workforce. Some producers hope their economic contribution will protect farms from ICE raids and may open the conversation around policy reform.

It’s been decades since the New World Screwworm was a problem in the U.S., but the flies are now advancing northward from Panama. They could disrupt American agriculture if they gain a foothold here again.

For the last few months, transgender service members have had to wrestle with the reality that they’ve been deemed unqualified to serve in the U.S. military. Hear more from an officer stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, who is directly affected. Also, The Natural Resources Conservation Service turns 90 this year. But the agency, which sprung out of the Dust Bowl, has lost employees and could see major funding cuts.

Western Kansas is running out of the water needed to fuel irrigated agriculture. Why is it so hard for farmers to switch to alternative crops?

Supporters of the mandate say it will help to make roads safer, but some are worried about how it will impact immigrant drivers.

The Dust Bowl led to the creation of what is now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Just as it celebrates a major milestone, the agency is dealing with job losses, massive proposed budget cuts and talk of consolidation.

Scientists in Kansas, Missouri and other states were poised to start research to cut U.S. reliance on fertilizer imports, keep biofuel farming cost-competitive and tackle a potent greenhouse gas.

Despite efforts to develop markets and genetics, Missouri's industrial hemp industry is at its lowest point in years. “Most of the farmers who started with hemp — they lost money,” says a Missouri agricultural economist.