Amy Mayer
Reporter
Amy Mayer is Harvest Public Media's reporter based at Iowa Public Radio in Ames, Iowa.
Stories by Amy Mayer
CSA farms get creative to stand out from the crowd
The local food scene has exploded in recent years, which means there’s a lot more local produce on dinner tables. It also means that during the spring season as small farms start ramping back up, they have to work a bit harder to attract new customers.
Farmers waiting, watching and weighing the options on Farm Bill ‘menu’
Across the Corn Belt, farmers are signing up for Farm Bill support programs and which ones they choose will impact the overall price tag for taxpayers. Projections for the cost of these commodity programs are blowing past the amounts originally budgeted just a year ago, when the Farm Bill was enacted, leaving the possibility that U.S….
President Obama proposes boost in funding to fight superbugs
In the budget President Obama is sending to Congress he’s asking for more than $1 billion to combat antibiotic resistance, and some of that money would focus on animal agriculture. Antibiotic resistance can make common medications ineffective, meaning sick people don’t get better and doctors have fewer options to treat bacterial infections.
How your food gets the ‘Non-GMO’ label
Demand for products that don’t contain genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, is exploding. Many food companies are seeking certification that their products don’t have any genetically modified ingredients, and not just the brands popular in the health food aisle. Even plain Cheerios, that iconic cereal from General Mills, no longer contains GMOs. “We currently are…
At USDA, Vilsack focused on rural development
The U.S. Department of Agriculture touches Americans from the field to the cafeteria, with a bevy of programs that include subsidies for farmers and for school lunches. It also has a role in supporting rural communities more generally, with things like broadband internet, telemedicine and microloans for entrepreneurs. It’s a diverse mandate, but it fits…
Technology, infrastructure cut down on food waste on the farm
On a wet, grey day in Grinnell, Iowa, the rain beats a rhythm on the metal roof of a packing shed at Grinnell Heritage Farm. Crew member Whitney Brewer picks big bunches of kale out of a washing tank, lets them drip on a drying table and then packs them into cardboard boxes. Like…
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