Farmers feeling the effects as drought slows shipping on the Mississippi

Nov 9, 2022
Since the river isn't as deep as it normally is, some barges have had to lighten their loads.
Barges stranded by low water sit at the Port of Rosedale along the Mississippi River on Oct. 20, 2022.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Despite drought, this Iowa farmer had a record harvest

Nov 8, 2022
April Hemmes was in the "Goldilocks spot" when it came to weather.
April Hemmes on her farm in 2019. This year, she had a record soybean harvest despite a drought earlier in the year.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Drought in South Texas has farmers worried about their crops

Oct 17, 2022
In South Texas, two reservoirs supply water to both sides of the border. For the past few years, they’ve struggled to remain half-full.
Above, a cotton field post-harvest near Waxahachie, Texas, on Sep. 19. Farmers across south Texas are grappling with historically dry conditions.
Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images

Nevada farmers shake up traditional water rights with a new way to fight scarcity

Sep 23, 2022
Growers agreed to a plan that requires all irrigators to reduce their water use over time, instead of using a senior water rights strategy.
Marty Plaskett, a hay farmer in Diamond Valley, Nevada, stands near one of the irrigation pivots that waters his alfalfa field.
Kaleb Roedel/Mountain West News Bureau

Fall is prime time for apple picking

Sep 22, 2022
“We'd like to think that we're responsible for high demand but it's really the weather," says Al Rose of Red Apple Farm.
Nancy and Al Rose of Red Apple Farms in Massachusetts. "COVID made us stronger," Al Rose says.
Courtesy Rose

Farm tourism puts vacationers to work — and they love it

Sep 5, 2022
On a Minnesota egg farm, visitors embrace a more intimate agritourism experience — in which they sleep and even work on the farm.
This small outbuilding at the Locally Laid Egg Farm in Wrenshall, Minnesota, is one-third chicken coop, two-thirds vacation rental — separated only by panes of glass.
Dan Kraker

Why aren't mulberries sold at grocery stores?

Jul 22, 2022
The trees are easy to grow, but the berries are fragile and have a shorter shelf life compared to other fruits.
Mulberries are ripe when they fall off the tree.
altanakin/iStock/Getty Images Plus

For public good, not for profit.

Strong dollar is squeezing profits from this Washington farmer's exports

Jul 21, 2022
Patrick Smith, CEO of Loftus Ranches, is fighting inflation as well. Some fertilizer materials have nearly doubled in a year or two, he says.
"Beer is still good business," says Patrick Smith, CEO of Loftus Ranches in Yakima, Washington. Above, fresh hops from a California farm.
Katherine Garrova/Marketplace

Farmers in the Midwest are behind on planting. That could mean lower yields come harvest.

May 19, 2022
Iowa corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes is "at least two and a half weeks" behind due to wet weather.
"That's farming, buddy!" says April Hemmes, a corn and soybean farmer, in the face of drought in her home state of Iowa.
Ben Hethcoat/Marketplace

Native agricultural coalition takes up priorities for the next farm bill

Dec 6, 2021
Tribal agricultural leaders say they would like to see more lending to agricultural producers and more autonomous control over federal funds.
Native farmers and ranchers haven’t had equal access to federal support, one expert said. Above, corn and soybeans grow in Iowa.
Scott Olson via Getty Images