Agriculture

Farmer Alex Millershaski watches the wind blow a handful of dry, sandy soil across one of his wheat fields. His county in southwest Kansas just experienced its driest October on record.

Here’s How This Year’s Drought has Battered the Midwest — and What it Might Mean for Next Year

From deadly wildfires to choking dust storms to decimated crop harvests, this year’s drought has left its mark across the country. For the hardest hit areas, such as the Great Plains, recovering from the far-reaching impacts of this historically dry year won’t be easy.

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woman in gray shirt and glasses points to squash in a wooden farm stand.

Lunch Tray Education and Local Economics

Missouri’s Farm to School program allows producers big and small to partner with local schools. It helps the farmer have a reliable buyer, and it helps schools to provide fresh, local produce to students.

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Shoppers at the Overland Park Farmers Market.

Best in the US: Overland Park Farmers Market Tops List

The Overland Park Farmers Market has been named “America’s Favorite Market” in a contest sponsored by the American Farmland Trust and the Farmers Market Coalition.

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Many cornfields in western Kansas, like this one just outside of Garden City, have been parched by the drought. Estimates predict that Kansas corn farmers will harvest 122 million fewer bushels this year than they did last year.

How the Drought Killing Kansas Corn Crops Could Make You Pay More for Gas and Beef

Drought is taking its toll on western Kansas cornfields this year. And all that dead corn could mean higher prices for ethanol-infused gasoline and corn-fed beef.

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Jordan Welch talks to her grandfather Charlie Payne on July 20 in Concordia.

With Corn Belt Inching North, Farm Diversification Gains Momentum

Climate change is redrawing the agricultural map of the United States. As corn becomes less economically viable with changing Midwestern weather patterns, farmers look to a more diverse future.

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