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Water enters futures market, allowing buyers to lock in prices

Sep 18, 2020
As water becomes increasingly scarce, buying futures contracts may help businesses reliant on water keep prices down.
Carrot fields are watered in Kern County, California. Selling water in the state can be tricky due to water rights.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Iowa farmers struggling after storms "flattened all of our crops"

Aug 27, 2020
Iowa corn and soybean farmer April Hemmes says that for many farmers, "it's like they lost their job and their house all in one day."
Damaged grain bins in Luther, Iowa, on Aug. 11. The state is also suffering a drought.
Daniel Acker/Getty Images

Apple season waits for no pandemic on a Washington farm

Aug 26, 2020
"Every year throws a new challenge at us," says Patrick Smith of Loftus Ranches, who is 10 days in to his harvest
Apple farmers have a lot on their hands.
Tatiana Domarieva. iStock/Getty Images Plus

USDA pandemic food box program extended

Jul 28, 2020
The USDA program is designed to help people facing food insecurity.
Volunteers in Virginia organize food distribution to families in need.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Pandemic forces small farmers in Mexico to adapt

Jul 21, 2020
Some farmers are trying to reinvent their businesses by selling in new ways.
Esteban de Jesús Durán is part of Plantas y Flores de Xochimilco, a community of decorative plant growers based south of Mexico City.
Rodrigo Cervantes

Farmers grapple with stress and depression as they try to keep their operations afloat

Jun 11, 2020
One Minnesota program offers free mental health care through the state agriculture department.
A farmer looks over his field in Texas. COVID-19 is adding stress to already strained farmers.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

COVID-19 is likely leading more U.S. farmers to file for bankruptcy

May 20, 2020
American farmers were struggling because of the U.S.-China trade war long before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
A farmer walks through his soy fields in Illinois. Eighty percent of farm assets are tied up in land values, which have been declining for the past few years.
Nova Safo/AFP via Getty Images

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Northwest growers grapple with COVID-19 as spring harvests start to come in

May 15, 2020
Workers can stay distanced in the fields, but they work in close quarters in areas where the harvest is processed.
Jim Middleton farms asparagus north of Pasco, Wash. He says he’s worried about keeping his workers healthy, especially ones in tighter quarters in his operation’s vegetable packing shed.
Anna King/NW News Network

USDA announces food distribution program, but will it help farmers?

May 11, 2020
The Farmers to Families Food Box Program will begin distributing $1.2 billion in surplus food to communities across the country.
A food bank worker distributes goods. A Marketplace-Edison poll found that 44% of Americans over 18 fear being unable to afford food.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Land O'Lakes CEO on why some farmers are dumping milk

May 6, 2020
With a disrupted supply chain and drops in agriculture prices, Land O'Lakes CEO said it's a tough time for dairy farmers.
Cows eat before being milked on a Wisconsin dairy farm. Cows still produce despite farmers having fewer buyers.
Scott Olson/Getty Images