Hardly a week went by in 2018 where there wasn鈥檛 some kind of breaking agriculture, food or rural news. It was the year of the farm bill, a trade war and several food recalls.
But Harvest Public Media reporters found places to revel in some fun, too. Here are some of our favorite stories from the last 12 months.
Congress delivered after months of negotiations, one that legalized and moved some funding around for programs, but didn鈥檛 deliver on for federal food aid recipients.
(And to really understand what鈥檚 all in the bill that costs billions of dollars, listen to the from Harvest partners NET Nebraska.)
A key fight during the farm bill negotiations was over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps feed about 40 million Americans. We took into the program, looking at and how it affects everyone from to to the .
Costco aficionados clamor for the retailer鈥檚 $5 rotisserie 鈥� to the point that the company realized it鈥檇 be easier to control their supply chain from top to bottom. Harvest鈥檚 Grant Gerlock reported Costco is the first to go fully vertical with meat production, and will do that by tapping contract chicken growers in Iowa and Nebraska.
The United States鈥� farming population is aging rapidly, meaning there鈥檚 lots of land ripe to be sold to a younger generation. But it鈥檚 to match up the farmers, as Madelyn Beck found out.
Puerto Rico鈥檚 farming community was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September 2017. A year later, federal money still was only trickling in, so had to turn to a patchwork of state funds, too. Harvest鈥檚 Grant Gerlock paired with the Food & Environment Reporting Network for a for the farm bill podcast.
Harvest鈥檚 Amy Mayer followed up after a friend told her she saw someone buying 40 dozen eggs at the grocery store. Turns out, they鈥檙e .
To get to the root of the world鈥檚 dishes, Beck drove to Collinsville, Illinois 鈥� home of the International Horseradish Festival. It was 95 degrees, but the dishes were even spicier.
Immigrants from Latin American countries are increasingly filling jobs in agriculture. But the veterinarians who help take care of dairy cows and other animals usually . Harvest鈥檚 Esther Honig looked at a few schools that are looking to change the status quo.
became , and the U.S. got into a trade war with China and other countries. The fallout? A $12 billion ag that looked to help and , and some good news for farmers.
Missouri became the first state this year to crack down on meat labeling laws. That鈥檚 just the beginning, Frank Morris, found out 鈥� plant-based meats and even meat grown in a lab.
- How agricultural are revitalizing rural areas.
- The farmer who sent with his cows (via ).
- workers are in demand, but the process is costly.
- The federal law that could affect .
- 2018: The year of .
- A hands-on look at technology.
- There are roping in cattle.
Editor鈥檚 Note: This year, Harvest Public Media also shuffled its reporter lineup. While we lost Kristofor Husted鈥檚 voice in Columbia, Missouri, we gained Jonathan Ahl a couple of hours south in Rolla, Missouri. Plus, Illinois now has Madelyn Beck (based in Galesburg), and our strong Colorado reporting returned with Esther Honig in Greeley.
Follow Harvest on Twitter, , and on Facebook,
Copyright 2020 Harvest Public Media. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxNDQ2NDAxMDEyNzU2NzM2ODA3ZGI1ZA001))