USDA

All students received free school meals during the pandemic. That ended after the 2021-22 school year, but several states in the Midwest have expanded access to school meals this school year.

When silent films ruled the silver screen, pipe organs were used to enhance the drama of an otherwise quite medium. Now a Lee's Summit musician is bringing back that tradition. Plus: There's more federal dollars behind the push to get locally grown food into school cafeterias.

The Farm-to-School movement is out to revolutionize the humble school lunch with food grown on local farms. But the path from cropland to cafeteria is full of complicated twists and turns. A new wave of federal funding is trying to smooth the way.

A new report from the Environmental Working Group found targeting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's conservation funding to the Mississippi River region would have huge benefits to water quality and the climate.

After the end of pandemic-era free meals, schools are reporting rising school meal debt and fewer kids in their free and reduced price programs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a new rule that would change the requirements of meat, poultry and egg labels that say “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” to better align with what consumers understand the claim to mean.

Genetically modified foods have been on supermarket shelves since the 1990s, but they’ve only required a label for the last year. The USDA says implementation and compliance with the program have been “successful,” while experts suggest consumers aren’t noticing the labels.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reinforced oversight on organic certification and enforcement to prevent mislabeled products, in what advocates are calling the biggest update in decades.

Federal funding for agriculture research has fallen by a third over the past two decades, sinking to 1970s-era levels. Researchers worry that could hinder the country’s ability to maintain the domestic food supply in the midst of climate change.

As part of a massive investment in sustainable farming, the university’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture will help farmers across Missouri adapt methods like cover crops, agroforestry and grazing.

The Census of Agriculture produces the clearest snapshot of agriculture in the U.S. as it exists. The USDA will begin mailing questionnaires to all known agricultural producers this month.

A new report from the USDA shows that rural areas are continuing to see growth among people over 65 while the working age population continues to decline.