Aug 24 Watch 6:58 The future of debt relief for Black farmers after decades of discrimination By John Yang, Kaisha Young According to federal data, there were about 925,000 Black farmers in 1920 in the United States. A century later, that number has declined to only about 42,000. John Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, joins… Continue watching
Jul 30 U.S. will buy regular flu shots for farmworkers to prevent bird flu from getting more dangerous By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Health officials are worried about what might happen if people are infected with bird flu and seasonal flu at the same time. It's possible the viruses could swap gene segments, in a process that scientists call reassortment. Continue reading
Jun 27 Watch 8:04 Saltwater from rising sea levels threatens future of farming along Chesapeake Bay By William Brangham, Sam Weber Near the Chesapeake Bay, farms have flourished for hundreds of years on the rich, fertile soil of coastal Maryland. But as sea levels rise, driven in part by climate change, encroaching saltwater is disrupting the livelihoods of many farmers. It's… Continue watching
Apr 04 Watch 6:37 Growing concerns about bird flu cases in U.S. farm animals and risk to humans By Courtney Norris There is growing concern about the continuing spread of the highly contagious bird flu in the U.S. While federal health officials say the risk to humans is low, the virus has now spread to dairy cattle and sickened one person. Continue watching
Mar 23 Watch 7:08 Immigrant workers face routine injuries, lack of protections on U.S. dairy farms By John Yang, Harry Zahn, Andrew Corkery Advocates of legal immigration say foreign-born workers have long been a key factor in U.S. economic growth. But are they sharing in the benefits of their contributions? For more than a year, ProPublica has been investigating the harsh realities of… Continue watching
Feb 01 2 key French farmer unions suspend protests after government offers new measures By Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press Farmers have been protesting for days across the country to denounce low wages, heavy regulation and unfair competition from abroad. Continue reading
Dec 26 Watch 7:15 Israelis volunteer on farms to save agricultural supply after migrant workers flee war By Jon Frankel When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel declared war, most foreign farm workers left the country and Palestinian workers were barred from entering Israel. Many Israelis were called to reserve duty, leaving the farming industry facing financial losses… Continue watching
Nov 19 Sugar sees global price hike after crops in Asia hit by dry weather tied to El Nino By Aniruddha Ghosal, Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press Sugar worldwide is trading at the highest prices since 2011, mainly due to lower global supplies after unusually dry weather damaged harvests in India and Thailand, the world's second- and third-largest exporters. Continue reading
Nov 12 Watch 8:04 Historically low water levels on the Mississippi River cause shipping woes By Megan Thompson, Melanie Saltzman The Mississippi River is a superhighway for American agricultural products, but a warm fall and extreme drought conditions have contributed to its water levels dropping to record lows. Special correspondent Megan Thompson reports from Missouri on what conditions along this… Continue watching
Sep 06 How gardens enable refugees and immigrants to put down roots in new communities By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang Gardening and community gardens can help immigrant and refugee communities supplement their pantries by growing their own culturally appropriate food that isn’t readily found in grocery stores while maintaining a connection with their homeland across generations. Two community garden projects… Continue reading