farmworkers

Efforts to open silica mines in southeast Missouri are bringing back memories of toxic lead mining that scarred the region centuries ago. Plus, a Midwest "rite of passage" that was predominantly done by teenagers has changed as seed companies shift jobs to migrant workers.

For decades, corn detasseling was a customary summer job for teenagers in Nebraska and the rest of the Corn Belt. In recent years, however, agriculture companies are relying more on migrant labor to do this work through a visa program meant to supplement the local workforce.

Preserving mental health through farming challenges is a real concern; one study shows farmers die by suicide at a higher rate than other professions.

The U.S. is on track to admit more agricultural guest workers than ever before, according to the Department of Labor. Most Midwestern states are on a similar trajectory.