Harvest Public Media

President Donald Trump’s "Big, Beautiful Bill" shifts more Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program costs to states. Lawmakers and officials in support of the new measure say it will cut down on waste and fraud, but food advocates warn it could mean fewer people receiving the benefit.

Hydropower accounts for nearly 30% of utility-scale renewable energy in the U.S., but federal hurdles may prevent older hydroelectric plants from staying online and new projects from getting off the ground.

Destructive tornadoes have hit states such as Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana this season as activity shifts east. Meanwhile, scientists say dry and hot weather in the Great Plains brought on by climate change could be slowing the number of tornadoes there.

The CyberTractor Challenge is a weeklong event for university students to learn about cybersecurity for agricultural equipment. Experts say the threats are evolving and becoming more complex.

Specialty producers exporting to China have been hit just as hard as soybeans and beef. But they often have fewer alternative markets for their crops, worsening the impact of retaliatory tariffs.

The Trump administration wants Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to raid worksites in the agriculture and hospitality industries, despite an initial reprieve this month. Experts say the policy could hurt businesses that rely on immigrant workers.

Across much of the Midwest, the atmosphere is becoming warmer and retaining more water, leading to heavier downpours. A two-crop system called relay intercropping could help farmers buffer weather whiplash and boost profits.

The United States government promised the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation about 1,280 acres of Illinois reservation in an 1829 treaty. Instead, the U.S sold all of it illegally to white settlers. The Prairie Band is now the latest tribe in the Midwest and Great Plains to get some of their ancestral home back.

The Trump administration cut off nearly all funding for food and agricultural research at universities across the country as part of the Feed the Future Initiative. While some hope Congress will restore the funding, the global research continues on a much smaller scale, funded by private donors and individual universities.

After the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, THC products made from the plant have grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Now, more state and federal lawmakers are working to limit or ban the products.