agriculture Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Late Spring Rains Save Northwest Wheat Crop Yields, But Price Still Down

By Anna King August 10, 2020

Golden wheat got a recent crew cut outside of Walla Walla, Washington. Experts say the 2020 Washington and Oregon crops look about average, saved by late-spring rains.

The latest harvest estimates say Washington ranchers will harvest nearly 153 million bushels of wheat and Oregon 44 million bushels. That’s around average for both states. A typical barge holds around 122,500 bushels of wheat — meaning 44 million bushels would be about 360 barges full of grain on the Snake and Columbia Rivers heading toward export terminals. Read More

Farmworker Safety Takes Center Stage In Race For Central Washington State House Seat

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa August 8, 2020

Eduardo Castañeda-Díaz, the Democratic challenger in the race for Washington state House in the 13th Legislative District, leads a march down Mattawa’s main street July 29, 2020. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

In the Columbia Basin, the Democratic challenger for Washington state’s 13th Legislative District house seat has focused his message on farmworker safety and called for the boycott of fruit. It’s quite a move for a candidate in a district where the economy is dominated by agriculture. Read More

Bunk Beds And Working Conditions For Washington H-2A Farmworkers Prompt Lawsuits

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa July 20, 2020

Stemilt Growers, based in Wenatchee, Wash., adopted a ladybug in its logos as part of a "Responsible Choice" campaign in 1989. Courtesy Stemilt Growers

In a lawsuit against fruit-growing giant Stemilt, workers say allegations stemmed from a change in production standards set forth in the company's guest worker contract. A separate case involved a challenge to Washington's rules on farmworker housing and sleeping quarters during the pandemic. Read More

How Absentee Landowners Keep Farmers From Protecting Water And Soil

By NPR News July 14, 2020

Prairie strips in fields of corn or soybeans can protect the soil and allow wildlife to flourish. This strip was established in a field near Traer, Iowa, in 2015. Omar de Kok-Mercado, Iowa State University

Cover crops are a vegetation that farmers can plant in the off-season to protect and enrich the soil. It's great for the environment — and in the long run, for crops, too — but it costs money upfront. Farmers who rent land, and who may not have access to that land in the long run, are reluctant to spend that money. Read More

The Economics Of Food Supply, Explained Through One Idaho Farmer’s Mountain Of Potatoes

By NPR News June 26, 2020

Potatoes scoot by on fast belts at Balcom & Moe in Pasco. The potatoes get a rinse, are sized and then put in bags destined for America’s supermarkets. The potato farmer and packer-shipper has been in business since the 1920’s. CREDIT: ANNA KING/NW NEWS NETWORK

Instead of letting his harvest rot, a farmer in Idaho came up with a creative outcome for his mountain of potatoes. Continue Reading The Economics Of Food Supply, Explained Through One Idaho Farmer’s Mountain Of Read More

Monsanto To Pay Washington State $95M Over PCB Pollution And Dangers From Weedkiller Roundup

By NWPB News June 24, 2020

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, left, speaks as Gov. Jay Inslee looks on during a news conference, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, in Seattle, where Ferguson announced a lawsuit against agrochemical giant Monsanto over pollution from PCBs.

The announcement Wednesday from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson came as Bayer, which acquired Monsanto two years ago, said it would pay $820 million to resolve PCB pollution claims and up to $10.9 billion to resolve many claims, both current and future, over contamination from or exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller. Read More

During Pandemic, Yakima Farmworkers Kept Their Jobs, Raising Risk Of Infection

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa June 13, 2020

Farmworkers in Yakima's fruit-packing industry walked off production lines in May and went on strike, demanding more protections against the coronavirus pandemic. Above, Emmanuel Anguiano-Mendoza (left) and Agustin López hold posters featuring David Cruz, a worker who died on May 30. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

Yakima County has the most COVID-19 cases per capita among West Coast states. The largely Latinx agricultural workforce helped secure the backbone of the local economy. Continue Reading During Pandemic, Yakima Farmworkers Kept Their Read More

‘More Than Cows And Cotton Candy’: Washington Fairs Cancel Events For 2020, Hoping For Big 2021

By Nicholas Deshais June 11, 2020

The Benton-Franklin Fair and Rodeo won't take place in 2020, but it hopes to return bigger and stronger in 2021. It's just one of 65 county and state fairs in Washington to have called off events this year. Courtesy of Benton-Franklin Fair and Rodeo

The Spokane Interstate Fair and Benton-Franklin Fair and Rodeo joined more than 40 others that have canceled this year. In all, Washington has 65 state and county fairs every summer and fall. Continue Reading Read More

Northwest Cherries Are Almost Here, But There Will Be Less Fruit Than Usual

By Anna King May 23, 2020

An example of how so-called "little cherry disease" affects their growth and presentation on trees. Courtesy of Washington State University Extension

From The Dalles, Oregon to Brewster, Washington, Northwest cherry growers are checking their orchards now, just before harvest. Infected trees have to be cut down. And the disease can spread like wildfire from tree to tree until an entire orchard is just stumps. Read More

‘Are Their Apples Worth More Than Our Lives?’ Yakima Valley Fruit Workers Strike For Protections, Pay

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa May 21, 2020

Perla Torres, a fruit packer at Jack Frost Fruit, poses for a photograph wearing a mask she says she bought from a supervisor. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

So far this month, more than 400 Yakima Valley fruit packing workers have gone on strike, according to Familias Unidas Por La Justicia. The farmworker advocacy group, based in Skagit County, is helping these workers organize committees, negotiate with employers and seek legal advice. Read More

What’s Driving The High Rate Of COVID-19 In Yakima County

By NWPB News May 20, 2020

In this photo taken Oct. 15, 2019, workers sort Granny Smith apples to ready them for shipping in a packing plant in Yakima, Wash. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

Yakima County has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections among counties on the West Coast. That means a larger portion of the county's population has tested positive for the coronavirus compared to other counties. Continue Reading What’s Driving Read More

Tyson’s Largest Pork Plant Reopens As Tests Show Surge In Coronavirus Cases

By NPR News May 8, 2020

Vehicles sit in a near empty parking lot outside the Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa, on May 1. CREDIT: Charlie Neibergall/AP

The Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa, reopened Thursday after a coronavirus outbreak there. Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson says he'd support a second shutdown if the changes aren't enough. Continue Reading Tyson’s Read More

Shipping Woes, Weather Foes Mean Higher Prices And Smiles For Northwest Asparagus Farmers

By Anna King May 8, 2020

For the last decade, the Northwest asparagus industry has been challenged by lower-cost imports, labor shortages and increased farming costs. But this year, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the foreign asparagus supply, increasing sales for the Northwest’s crop. Read More

I Said Hay, What’s Going On? Supply Chain Breakdown Hurting Big Northwest Ag Exports

By Anna King May 2, 2020

File photo. Central Washington is a hay growing and exporting powerhouse. But supply chain disruptions have caused slowdowns at West Coast and East Coast ports.

An unprecedented number of ships have canceled their calls to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. So far this year, there have been 32 canceled international sailings since January 1. That has created the shortage of shipping containers at those Northwest ports. Read More

COVID-19 Considerations Sprout Confusion, Uncertainty To Northwest Family Farms

By NWPB News April 30, 2020

Liepold Farms in Boring, Ore., on Friday, April 3, 2020.

Across the Northwest, small and mid-sized farms are grappling with a range of challenges brought about by coronavirus. Continue Reading COVID-19 Considerations Sprout Confusion, Uncertainty To Northwest Family FarmsRead More

10 Pioneer-Era Apple Types Thought Extinct Found In The Northwest

By NWPB News April 20, 2020

Apples collected by amateur botanists David Benscoter and EJ Brandt of the Lost Apple Project near Genesee, Idaho.

A team of retirees that scours the remote ravines and windswept plains of the Pacific Northwest for long-forgotten pioneer orchards has rediscovered 10 apple varieties that were believed to be extinct — the largest number ever unearthed in a single season by the non-profit Lost Apple Project. Read More

Immigrant Farmworkers Face Unique Challenges As Coronavirus Continues To Spread

By Monica Samayoa April 12, 2020

Migrant farmer Martin Zavala-Martinez prunes a pear tree at Avalon Orchards in Parkdale, Ore., Thursday, April 2, 2020. People needing H-2A work visas are facing delays at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

One of the most vulnerable groups currently working through the coronavirus pandemic is made up of immigrant farmworkers. As this population works through some of the unique challenges they face due to the coronavirus, one Tri-Cities radio station is trying to help. Read More

White House Seeks To Lower Foreign Guest Farmworker Pay To Help U.S. Farm Owners

By NPR News April 10, 2020

Farmworkers work at a winery in Clarksburg, Calif., on March 24. Farms continue to operate as essential businesses even as the coronavirus has hurt the agriculture industry. CREDIT: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is working with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to see how wage rates for immigrant farmworkers can be reduced. Critics say it will hurt all workers. Continue Reading White House Seeks Read More

Water, Water (Most) Everywhere, As Northwest Snowpack Is Good. But Some Areas Are Low

By Courtney Flatt April 10, 2020

A snow-machine rider takes a snowpack reading as part of Community Snow Observations, a NASA-sponsored citizen science project. CREDIT: Oregon State University/Flickr

For much of the Northwest, snowpack is above normal. That’s a good sign this time of year, when snowpack usually reaches its peak. Having enough snowpack is critical for spring and summer runoff that will supply water for irrigation and salmon runs. But that doesn’t mean everywhere has that much snow. Read More

Tale Of Two Crops: Pandemic Yields Different Realities For Northwest Potato And Apple Growers

By Anna King April 7, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic continues to make its presence known in all facets of daily life, including agriculture. That extends to some supply and demand economics lessons for Northwest apple and potato growers. Continue Read More

Stumbling Toward Spring: Northwest Growers Scramble To Start During Coronavirus Crisis

By Anna King April 3, 2020

Freshly planted furrows span out across the Columbia Basin as farmers get ready for the coming season as worries of COVID-19 spread in central and eastern Washington.

Spring work starts up, ready or not. And Northwest growers are scrambling to figure out how to work around the global coronavirus pandemic and still bring in the coming harvest. Continue Reading Stumbling Toward Spring: Read More

‘Essential’ Status Means Jobs For Farmworkers, But Greater Virus Risk

By NPR News March 28, 2020

Farmworkers pick organic strawberries at Stehly Farms Organics in Valley Center, Calif., on March 25. CREDIT: Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty Images

Farmworkers are still working during the coronavirus epidemic. They're essential. But they're also at greater risk of infection. Continue Reading ‘Essential’ Status Means Jobs For Farmworkers, But Greater Virus RiskRead More

Washington Lawmakers Stop Short Of Banning Pesticide Linked To Neurological Problems

By Courtney Flatt March 14, 2020

File photo. A sign at the property of Eric and Mari Perez in Qunicy, Washington, where houses are surrounded by apple orchards. Some people don't want the pesticide chlorpyrifos drifting from orchards to their property. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

Washington regulators must soon consider rules to limit the use of a controversial pesticide that can cause neurological and health problems, especially in young children. A bill passed by state lawmakers this session didn’t outright ban the pesticide, as health and farmworker activists had proposed. Read More

Climate Stewardship Connects Eastern Washington Faith And Farming To Legislative Action In Olympia

By Courtney Flatt March 5, 2020

Church members at Richland’s Shalom United Church of Christ sing environmental hymns during a service on Feb. 9, 2020, that addressed environmental issues, such as climate change. CREDIT: Courtney Flatt/NWPB

Climate change isn’t a new topic for progressive churches like Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland. But it is perhaps tinged with new urgency. Survey results from the Pew Research Center show that congregations are delving into environmental awareness recently. And so are farmers. Read More

An Airbnb For Cropland Hits A Snag, As Farmers Raise Data Privacy Concerns

By NPR News February 24, 2020

A mix of barley, peas and flax grows in a field at Casey Bailey's farm near Fort Benton, Mont. Bailey sells this crop to Montana dairy farmer Nate Brown, who has been feeding it to his goats.

American farmers spend about $32 billion each year to rent land, and Tillable CEO Corbett Kull thinks his company could be farmland's AirBnB or Zillow. "This is one of the beauties of digital marketplaces, where you can bring two parties together that otherwise might never meet," he says. Read More

In Washington’s Skagit Valley, Elk Raise Tensions Between Tribal Members And Farmers

By Eilís O'Neill January 28, 2020

Elk graze in Skagit Valley, populated for centuries by Native Americans and, more recently, by farmers. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

In Washington Skagit Valley, a conflict is unfolding between the Upper Skagit Tribe and farmers as elk are making a comeback there. Continue Reading In Washington’s Skagit Valley, Elk Raise Tensions Between Tribal Read More

What Is The Toll Of Trade Wars On U.S. Agriculture?

By PBS Newshour January 27, 2020

Larry McMillan drives a combine as he harvests barley Friday, Aug. 24, 2007, near Moscow, Idaho. The region's warm and dry weather has provided optimal conditions for the continued harvest season. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The recently signed Phase 1 U.S.-China deal promises some relief. Details remain unclear, but the United States government’s interpretation of this deal is that China will purchase $40 billion of agricultural goods in 2020. Some analysts have questioned how realistic those estimates are, given that the highest level of farm products the United States has ever exported to Read More

Labor Shortage And Fall Weather Stack Up To Leave Apples Rotting In Orchards

By Anna King January 15, 2020

Apples remain unpicked in December 2019 in an orchard near Wallula, Washington. CREDIT: Mike Denny

For the love of Johnny Appleseed! Why are so many apples left hanging (and rotting) on trees in Northwest orchards after the fall harvest? Industry experts and growers says it’s a combination of factors – but really not due to tariffs, as some people think. Read More

Dams Vs. Salmon: Workshops Aim To Get Past ‘My Study Can Beat Up Your Study’ On Snake River

By Courtney Flatt January 8, 2020

Protesters call for the removal of dams on the Snake River to help salmon spawn — and consequently feed Puget Sound orcas. The protest came outside a meeting of the governor’s orca task force in Wenatchee on Tuesday. CREDIT: ELLIS O'NEILL/KUOW/EARTHFIX

More than 300 people showed up to hear speakers talk about why it’s important to either keep or alter the dams. The panel stems from a Washington state study that will guide the state’s position on dam removal. Continue Read More

In 2019 Farmers Got $22 Billion In Federal Subsidies — Mostly Without Congressional Approval

By NPR News January 2, 2020

A farmer operates a combine to harvest soybeans in Wyanet, Ill. Farmers got more than $22 billion in government payments in 2019. It's the highest level of farm subsidies in 14 years. CREDIT: Bloomberg via Getty Images

In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in fourteen years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress. Read More

U.S. House Passes Bipartisan Bill For Relief To Undocumented Farmworkers, Farmers Short On Labor

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa December 13, 2019

Sarbanand Farms farmworkers demonstrate after coworker's death in August 2017.

The possible impeachment of President Donald Trump is not the only thing moving through the U.S. House of Representatives. On Wednesday, the House passed a bipartisan bill that could give undocumented farmworkers a path to legal residence and relief to farmers short on labor. Read More

Nature’s ‘Brita Filter’ Is Dying And Nobody Knows Why

By NPR News December 8, 2019

A recently dead pheasantshell mussel is rotting in its shell. Snails, crawfish and other river inhabitants will eat the flesh. "Nothing goes to waste," says Virginia biologist Tim Lane. CREDIT: Nathan Rott/NPR

A mysterious die-off of freshwater mussels has scientists scrambling to find a cause. Freshwater mussels clean water and provide habitat to countless other species. Continue Reading Nature’s ‘Brita Filter’ Is Dying And Nobody Knows WhyRead More

Suspicious Haystack Fires In Central Washington Means Major Export Is Up In Smoke

By Anna King December 3, 2019

A haystack on fire in Franklin County, north of Pasco, Washington, on Saturday, Nov. 30. CREDIT: Mike Harris / Franklin County Fire District 3

More than a dozen haystacks have been burned under suspicious circumstances in central Washington since early October. It’s concerning to the hay industry and law enforcement. Continue Reading Suspicious Haystack Fires In Read More

Shockingly Chewable: Farmers Are Using Food Waste To Make Electricity

By NPR News November 30, 2019

Peter Melnik, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, owns Bar-Way Farm, Inc. in Deerfield, Mass. He has an anaerobic digester on his farm that converts food waste into renewable energy. CREDIT: Allison Aubrey/NPR

Dairy farmers in Massachusetts are using food waste to create renewable energy. Each farm produces enough to power about 1,500 homes. This helps prevent the release of methane, a greenhouse gas. Continue Reading Shockingly Chewable: Farmers Read More

Like Your Hummus Wet? Then You Want Dry Beans. So Do Palouse Farmers Who Grow Garbanzos

By Anna King November 14, 2019

Kyle Hinrichs helps run the family business outside of Pullman, Wash. Right now the company is drying beans as fast as possible with several machines, but it’s an around the clock job. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

Heavy rains and even an early fall snow in October matted down the garbanzo bean plants tight to the land. That means Palouse-region farmers are scrambling to dry out beans to get them to silos and co-ops. It's on top of already depressed prices due to international trade wars. Read More

Farm Bankruptcies On The Rise Nationally, Most Pronounced For Northwest Families

By NWPB News November 5, 2019

A tractor plows soil where a failed wheat crop once stood on Matt Isgar's ranch and farm in Hesperus, Colo. Isgar is hoping the soil will get enough moisture in coming months so he can plant pinto beans next season. CREDIT: Kami Engstrom/Courtesy of Matt Isgar

The number of family farms seeking bankruptcy protection grew 24% over the last year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of recent federal court data. The analysis found family farm bankruptcies are rising fastest in the Northwest. Read More

Washington Ag Workers Are Exempt From Overtime. A State Supreme Court Case Could Change That

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa October 25, 2019

Maria Cuevas, a farmworker and community activist in Yakima, has marched in every Yakima May Day gathering since 1986, including with Cesar Chavez. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

A class-action lawsuit argued in the Washington State Supreme Court Thursday is challenging the exemption of agricultural workers from earning overtime pay, alleging that it results in racial discrimination against the largely Latino workforce. Read More

Diversifying Crops Is Good For The Planet. But Can It Be Good For Farmers’ Wallets?

By NPR News October 23, 2019

Fertilizer runoff is fueling the toxic algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico. Farmers could help by growing crops in rotation to reduce the need for fertilizer. But it's unclear who will buy them. Continue Reading Diversifying Crops Read More

As The Climate Warms, Companies Scramble To Calculate The Risk To Their Profits

By NPR News October 16, 2019

Companies are increasingly concerned about how Earth's changing climate might affect their businesses, such as crop failures from drought, heat and storms. Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Image

Companies are trying to figure out the risks to their profits from a warming planet. Some of them are turning to high-tech tools of climate science. Continue Reading As The Climate Warms, Companies Scramble To Calculate The Risk Read More

Join Us! Plowing Fresh Ground: A Discussion Of Women In Agriculture, Oct. 2 In Palouse

By Scott Leadingham October 1, 2019

Join Northwest Public Broadcasting’s Gillian Coldsnow and Anna King and the American Association of University Women Palouse-Garfield Branch for a lively discussion of women in agriculture and STEM fields. WHEN:… Continue Read More

‘You Have To Remain An Optimist.’ Northwest Farmers Wrap Wheat Harvest As Prices Depress

By Anna King August 20, 2019

Roger Hsieh and Daniel Berg walk toward a pickup truck in the Horse Heave Hills of south central Washington during wheat harvest this year. CREDIT: NICOLE BERG

Right now, Northwest wheat farmers are wrapping up their harvest in many areas. But across the country, farmers are losing money on every load of that golden grain. Continue Reading ‘You Have To Remain An Optimist.’ Read More

Economists Say Federal Government Is Over-Paying Farmers For Trade Losses

By NPR News July 25, 2019

A worker at the port in Nantong, in China's eastern Jiangsu province, displays soybeans imported from Ukraine. Imports of soybeans from the U.S., once China's biggest supplier, have dropped massively since a trade war between the US and China began in 2018. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Lots of American companies have lost sales since the Trump administration and China embarked on the current cycle of tariff-raising and retaliation. Few, if any, have been compensated as handsomely as farmers. Continue Reading Read More

More Bad Buzz For Bees: Record Numbers Of Honey Bee Colonies Died Last Winter

By NPR News June 19, 2019

Honey bee hives stand on a field at the Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Beltsville, Maryland. CREDIT: OLIVIA FALCIGNO/NPR

Bee colony death continues to rise. According to the Bee Informed Partnership's latest survey, released this week, U.S. beekeepers lost nearly 40% of their honey bee colonies last winter — the greatest reported winter hive loss since the partnership started its surveys 13 years ago. Read More

Oregon State University Gets Hemp Research Center Amid Surge In Farmer Interest

By Tom Banse June 14, 2019

Industrial hemp seedlings grow at an Oregon State University research plot near Aurora, Oregon. CREDIT: OSU

Oregon State University has established what it considers to be the nation's largest hemp research center. This comes amid a surge of farmer interest in the Northwest to grow the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana. Continue Read More

‘American Soil’ Farmland Is Increasingly Foreign Owned

By NPR News May 28, 2019

After being stalled in negotiations for months, mostly around disputes over SNAP, the farm bill the conference report has been released. CREDIT: BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

American soil. Those are two words that are commonly used to stir up patriotic feelings. They are also words that can't be be taken for granted, because today nearly 30 million acres of U.S. farmland are held by foreign investors. That number has doubled in the past two decades, which is raising alarm bells in farming communities. Read More

Critics Say USDA Plan To Move Agricultural Agencies Could Hurt Research Vital For Farmers

By NPR News May 18, 2019

File photo. Ripe ears of wheat lit by the morning sunlight. CREDIT: WSU News

A couple of federal agencies you probably haven't heard of keep track of what farmers grow, what Americans eat and how the country's entire food system operates. And the Trump administration wants them out of Washington, D.C. Read More

‘On The Tipping Point’ Of The Spear: U.S. Asparagus Farmers Worry As Import Competition Grows

By Anna King April 24, 2019

Washington asparagus is just starting to be cut, but farmers worry if their industry will hold on for the long haul. Cheaper imports from Mexico and Peru are putting pressure on Washington, California and Michigan farmers. ANNA KING / NW NEWS NETWORK

Growers in Washington, California and Michigan raise the majority of the nation’s domestic asparagus -- and Washington’s season is on. But business in U.S. spears is noticeably dwindling due to cheaper competition from foreign markets. That’s because there’s increasing amounts of cheaper asparagus from Peru and Mexico coming in: fresh, canned and frozen. And that’s Read More

Farmers Nervous As Major Northwest Crops Are Weeks Late In Planting

By Anna King April 10, 2019

Grain silos outside of Connell, Wash. reflect in the mud puddles left by heavy spring rains. CREDIT: ANNA KING/N3

Several major crops in Oregon and Washington are significantly delayed from foul winter weather and a cool spring. Wheat farmers are having trouble planting in the wet ground. Potatoes are still being planted a month late. And fruit tree buds are developing slowly. Read More

Study Says Growing Corn Is A Major Contributor To Air Pollution

By NPR News April 1, 2019

An aerial view of a combine harvesting corn in a field near Jarrettsville, Md. A new study ties an estimated 4,300 premature deaths a year to the air pollution caused by corn production in the U.S. CREDIT: Edwin Remsburg/Getty Images

Researchers found that corn production accounts for 4,300 premature deaths related to air pollution every year. Ammonia from fertilizer application was by far the largest contributor to corn's air pollution footprint. Continue Reading Study Says Read More

Market Saturation: Why So Many Farmers Markets Are Failing

By NPR News March 17, 2019

Nationwide, there are too few farmers to populate market stalls and too few customers filling their canvas bags with fresh produce at each market. Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

Farmers aren't producing enough to keep up with the number of smaller markets that keep popping up, often in close proximity to others. This results in fewer customers, unsold food and maybe closure. Continue Reading Market Saturation: Why So Many Read More