-
Students are learning about aquaponics and hydroponics at Ranken Technical College in Troy, Missouri. Nearly double-digit growth is expected in the indoor farming industry over the next decade, but high energy costs remain a challenge.
-
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report found “socially disadvantaged producers,” especially Black farmers, operate at a higher risk level compared to their white counterparts and are less likely to receive government payments.
-
The USDA has access to thousands more weather stations now than in the past. That, combined with 30 years of new data, led to big changes in its hardiness map of cold winter temperatures in Kansas.
-
Kansas City’s Genesis School taught at-risk students for years, then it nearly lost its charter. The near-miss raised larger questions about what success and accountability looks like in Missouri. Plus: a USDA program gives a second chance to food that stores won’t sell — but is perfectly good to eat.
-
Over 100 billion pounds of food goes to waste every year in America. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to Food Bank is trying to cut down on that waste by connecting local farmers and food pantries, but its future depends on how much funding is included for the program in the next farm bill.
-
The Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project gives Missouri farmers and ranchers funding and technical help to make their operations more climate-smart.
-
As some states move to put stricter regulations on the meat and eggs sold within their borders, the agricultural industry and lawmakers are figuring out how to respond. That’s after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California’s law earlier this year on animal confinement for pork sold in the state.
-
Lincoln University in Jefferson City and Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla are two of the 33 campuses nationwide that will be part of a $262 million effort to recruit and train the next generation of agriculture workers.
-
Huge swaths of Missouri and Kansas have continued to be stuck in a months-long drought. But El Niño, a months-long weather pattern that typically brings warm winters and extra precipitation to the central U.S., brings hope.
-
Entomologists say insects are declining at alarming rates — one major study estimates we’re losing 2% in total insect biomass every year. Now, the National Academy of Sciences is preparing to embark on a study to understand insect trends across North America.
-
Thousands of competitors come to the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City, Missouri, each year to show their best livestock. The competition includes children as young as 7 years old, who take part in a long tradition of raising and showing their animals.
-
The leaders of both Congressional agriculture committees say federal lawmakers will move back farm bill negotiations to December. The current law expires Sept. 30, but experts say there should be little peril despite the blown deadline.