Food & Agriculture
Lawsuit Against a Small Wisconsin Town Poses Critical Test for CAFO Regulations
The state’s biggest business lobby helps two residents challenge a Polk County town’s restrictions on livestock feeding operations

J.D. Vance’s Populist Charade
Thoughts on a dangerous vice presidential candidate as President Biden steps aside

Driftless Water Defenders Go on the Offensive in Iowa
New group mobilizes citizens to protect Iowa’s “last island of ecological integrity”

Harvesting Destruction
Reflections of a lifelong Montana rancher on the corporate takeover of our food system and what it means for the future of our nation and planet

Canceled Documentary Screening Raises Questions about Farm Bureau Ties to North Carolina’s Largest Health Insurer
Blue Cross of North Carolina counts the Farm Bureau, a champion of industrial hog farms, as a major customer

Will Senate Democrats Defend Child Labor Protections in the Farm Bill?
The Senate Republican farm bill framework fails the farms and families of rural America

The Book That Made the ‘Hog Barons’ Squeal
A Q&A with author Austin Frerick on how the “barons” responded to his book and what consolidation in the food industry means for Main Street

Six Takeaways from the GOP’s Farm Bill Draft
Austerity budgets, SNAP cuts, fuzzy math, nostalgia for “Bipartisanship” and more

House Ag Committee Passes Farm Bill Draft Protecting Key Republican Priorities
After hours of contentious debate over nutrition, conservation, the definition of “cuts” and the meaning of “bipartisanship,” the Republican-led committee passed a bill that crossed several of Democrats’ “red lines”

Here Is What the New Hardiness Zone Map Means for Your Garden
Changes in the new USDA map provides evidence of a warming planet

Partisan Clash or ‘Grand Bargain’? Dueling Proposals Set the Stage for the Farm Bill’s Uncertain Future
Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress appeal for support for their vision of the farm bill, yet a deep impasse looms ahead of an expected May 23 markup in the House

Farmers Tell FTC Chair to Block Koch Industries’ $3.6 Billion Acquisition of Iowa Fertilizer Plant
“We’re looking for intervention,” say farmers as ag industry consolidation fuels calls for antitrust action
