farming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expecting a strong corn and soybean harvest this year. But low crop prices, high input costs and international trade uncertainty could hurt farmers.

Scientists and seed companies are working on shrinking corn. The subtle difference in height has led to some big changes in how shorter corn can be planted and managed in the Corn Belt.

Kansas farmers are hurting after China’s retaliatory tariffs on the United States closed a major market for the state’s biggest crop. Despite a productive year, farmers across Kansas may not break even.

Quick-growing blooms of bacteria and algae have long been a hazard in lakes and rivers, because of the toxins they produce. Fueled in part by agricultural runoff, these blooms are also threatening public water systems, making water temporarily unusable, and forcing some cities and towns to take costly preventive measures.

As part of the “Food Routes” series, Harvest Public Media explores three big factors that affect produce prices in the Midwest and Great Plains.

Weeds are a challenge for every farmer. The annual Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day showcases solutions beyond herbicides.

There’s a community of collectors, artists and kids keeping the marble culture alive in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Plus: A lucky pig in eastern Kansas managed to cheat death after jumping off a truck transporting it to a feedlot.

More than 50 wagyu beef farms in Missouri are listed with the American Wagyu Association. Because Japan stopped exporting genetically pure wagyu cattle in 1997, most American farmers crossbreed the cattle with Angus beef cows.

A piglet being transported to a feeding lot, where he would've been fattened up for the slaughterhouse, fell off the truck that was carrying him and ended up at a Missouri-based rescue instead. Animal advocates say it's not uncommon.

The massive legislation extends tax cuts and increases safety nets for farmers who grow commodities, like corn, wheat and rice. But deep cuts to federal food assistance spending could hurt specialty growers who benefit from programs like Double Up Food Bucks.

In western Kansas, rural hospitals have been closing or are perpetually understaffed, leaving residents to drive anywhere from an hour to multiple hours for doctors appointments. Plus: Scientists are working on a new framework that factors climate trends into how we think about drought.

The agriculture industry has been among the hardest hit by President Trump's tariff agenda. Still, Rep. Sam Graves, a farmer and the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 6th Congressional District said he thinks farmers support the president's actions.