Rural Affairs

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

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

By John McCracken, Investigate Midwest | May 14, 2024

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

Bruce Graham, former head of the Renewable Energy Department at Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kansas, stands in front of a wind turbine.

Kansas Farmer Brings Renewable Energy Future to Concordia

By Haines Eason | April 3, 2024

A Kansas farmer has built a renewable energy program at Cloud County Community College, embracing sustainability workforce training to confront climate change.

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

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

By John McCracken, Investigate Midwest | March 18, 2024

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

General Manager Brian Horak walks down an aisle at Post 60 Market in Emerson, Neb.

‘Lifeblood of the Community’: States Invest to Save Rural Grocery Stores

By Kevin Hardy, Stateline | March 8, 2024

In Kansas, 1 in 5 rural grocery stores closed between 2008 and 2018. No new store has opened in half of the 105 communities that lost grocers over that time.

A man in a camouflage coat and a brown hat stands in front of a red barn in a blizzard.

Harvesting Change | Advocating for Family Farms

By Cami Koons | February 29, 2024

Patchwork Family Farms provides vital links in the local food chain, relieving farmers from the stress of processing, packaging and marketing to customers.