Business & Economy

Farm Bill’s Fate Hangs in the Balance as Congress Returns

Seth Millstein / Sentient Media Jan 7, 2025 Here’s what to expect as lawmakers try to hash out a new farm bill. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Trump Wants Small Farmers to Clear Out for the Big Guys

Jim Hightower / OtherWords Nov 5, 2019 As corporations essentially steal dairy products and farms, the Trump administration says it's natural for the big to devour the small. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Trump Is Betraying America’s Ranchers With NAFTA 2.0

Jim Hightower / OtherWords Aug 18, 2019 The new trade deal gives multinational meatpackers an incentive to turn their backs on family ranchers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Silicon Valley’s Farm Bot Is as Dystopian as It Sounds

Jim Hightower / OtherWords Mar 18, 2019 A tech start up is building robots to siphon farm profits out of local communities and into the pockets of rich investors. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

How the Army Corps’ Hesitation Nearly Destroyed a City

Lisa Song and Patrick Michels / Reveal Sep 6, 2018 There was a plan to save Cairo, Ill., from flooding. But when the rains came, so did hesitance. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

U.S. Announces Billions to Help Farmers Hurt by Trump Tariffs

KEN THOMAS, PAUL WISEMAN and LISA MASCARO / The Associated Press Jul 24, 2018 The plan for $12 billion in emergency relief is quickly dismissed by some farm-state Republicans, who say farmers want markets for their crops, not government payoffs. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Who Would Lose in a Trade War

PAUL WISEMAN and STEVE KARNOWSKI / The Associated Press Jun 1, 2018 Cheesemakers in Wisconsin, farmers in the Great Plains, distillers in Kentucky and employees of such iconic American brands as Harley-Davidson and Levi Strauss are all standing in the line of fire. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

McConnell Looks to Complete Hemp’s Comeback as a Crop

BRUCE SCHREINER / The Associated Press Mar 27, 2018 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants a full pardon for hemp: He's previewing legislation to free the plant from its ties to marijuana so it can be legalized as an agricultural commodity. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Despite Heated Rhetoric, Little Change on U.S.-Mexico Border

ELLIOT SPAGAT / The Associated Press Mar 12, 2018 The daily commute from Mexico to California farms is the same as it was before Donald Trump became president. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Trump Woos ‘God’s Country’ With Broadband Internet Promises

ZEKE MILLER / The Associated Press Jan 8, 2018 Addressing a farm organization, the president hails his tax plan and pitches a vision of better Internet technology in the heartland. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Rising Temperatures Cut Economic Output

Kieran Cooke Sep 7, 2017 A new study shows that increasing heat will affect the health and productivity of workers in Europe as well as in the world’s hottest regions. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Climate Change Will Make American Farmers’ Lives More Difficult

By Tim Radford / Climate News Network Apr 9, 2017 New research indicates that weather patterns are becoming more volatile and extreme, so farmers must find new ways to adapt. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )