Tag: Investigate Midwest

Early Morning Calls. Barren Chicken Barns. Millions in Debt.

By | May 14, 2024 |

Timothy Bundren's chicken barns are all standing empty since Tyson canceled his growing contract last year.

After Tyson Foods closed four meatpacking plants in the Midwest, some contract chicken farmers faced business ruin. Here are their stories.

Droughts, Climate Change, Drive US Beef Herd to Historic Low

By | March 18, 2024 |

An Oklahoma rancher pouring out sack feed to his Angus and Charolais mix cattle in a pasture of dead grass caused by drought.

Persistent drought, complicated by climate change, have helped drive the nation’s inventory of beef cattle to a 61–year low.

Poor Regulatory Safeguards Leave Farmworkers Suffocating in the Face of Increasing Heat Waves

By | September 4, 2023 |

Farmworkers take a quick break in a field in southeastern Iowa.

A fifth of reported heat-related deaths are agricultural workers. Advocates are calling attention to the impact of climate change on this group from heat waves.

With Corn Belt Inching North, Farm Diversification Gains Momentum

By | August 23, 2022 |

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

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.