farm workers

Immigration enforcement targeted western Kansas with sweeping actions over the last week, leaving people with and without legal status reeling. The beef industry that employs thousands in the area is working to get back on track.

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.

Flock Safety cameras have sparked bipartisan uproar with many worried that the cameras, which scan license plates, infringe on privacy. Misuse of the cameras and their data has been documented across Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Also, more farmers are fixing up their decades-old equipment rather than buying new.

Kansas has a fast-growing dairy industry, but milking cows isn’t easy and it’s hard to find workers. Industry groups say immigrants are critical and those workers say they’re needed to feed Kansas families.

When Congress allowed Affordable Care Act tax credits to lapse, healthcare premiums spiked for millions of Americans — especially self-employed farmers and ranchers. That added cost is multiplying the stress on their already stretched balance sheets.

Extreme heat combined with high humidity is becoming more common as the climate warms, making it harder for people to cool their bodies.

The Trump administration is trying to ease a farm worker shortage in part by cutting mandatory wages for foreign guest workers. But both immigration hardliners and labor advocates are pushing back. Plus: More urban schools in Missouri are finding value in teaching their students about the farming process.

Guest farm workers holding H-2A visas are more important than ever for agriculture, especially after President Trump’s immigration crackdown. But efforts to expand the program are opposed by groups across the political spectrum.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority promised free bus rides for those who need it, as it brings back fares this June. But riders and nonprofits are still waiting to see how that will work. Plus: Missouri cattle farmers who contract red meat allergies from alpha-gal syndrome are suddenly put at risk by their livelihood.

Managing alpha-gal syndrome, a tickborne allergy to mammalian products like red meat and dairy, can be hard for anyone. But for Missouri farmers who are in close contact with cattle, the allergy can be ruinous and possibly deadly.

American agriculture relies on foreign workers, and that workforce is already stretched thin. With Trump’s immigration crackdown set to expand next year, some farmers fear that workers will be even harder to find, and they want Trump to do something about it.

Through Kansas City’s land bank program, Jameson Hubbard bought 16 small lots along Highland Avenue and turned them into farmland. He sells produce at the Overland Park Farmers' Market and through a CSA program.