Farm economy

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.

The Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council has faced several challenges in recent years, but the community it serves is coming together to find trust and hope for the future in each other. Learn how Ivanhoe is inspiring the next generation. Plus: how dairy workers and owners are navigating the second Trump presidency.

President Trump said that he is standing up for skilled workers and farmers by slapping tariffs on imports but farmers aren't happy. "It is being economically drawn and quartered," one Kansas farmer said.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said earlier this month that economic aid payments Congress approved late last year are on the way. But with days left before the deadline, some farmers are anxiously waiting.

The Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council in Kansas City recently learned its three-year, $165,000 grant from the USDA to expand its farmers market had been revoked because of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting diversity and environmental justice programs.

The head of the U.S. Postal Service is stepping down, but rural communities in Missouri and Kansas are worried about operations getting even worse. Plus: A Kansas congressional delegation is working hard to revive a gutted foreign aid program that farmers say they can’t live without.

Although it's now on hold, The Trump Administration's move to stop foreign food aid shut off a market that farmers have relied on for 70 years. It has triggered a Republican push to resurrect the "Food for Peace" program.

Meet the aronia berry. It's native to North America, easy to grow in the Midwest and full of antioxidants: So why don’t more U.S. consumers know about it?

Christmas Ranch Tree Farm in Excelsior Springs has been a destination for generations of families in the Kansas City area every holiday season — but it takes a lot of work. Plus: It's now a lot easier to find out what your Kansas City neighborhood looked like in 1940, thanks to the public library.

Hundreds of families come to Christmas Ranch Tree Farm in Excelsior Springs every year to decorate their homes for Christmas. Owners Carol and Roy Freeman make sure visitors have everything they need, including tree trimming and homemade hot chocolate for the journey.

Some Missouri farmers are growing perennial crops like elderberries that are good for the soil and require less labor. But getting those berries into the hands of consumers can take a lot of work. Plus: Farmers are increasingly working jobs away from the farm in order to stay afloat.

Farmers are increasingly relying on off-farm jobs to supplement their farm income. Today about 84% of farm families rely on another part-time or even full-time job to stay in business.