Harvest Public Media

Sorghum grows in a field outside Lubbock, Texas.

This grain could be an answer to drought-prone fields – if more Americans eat it

Michael Marks

More farmers are showing interest in sorghum, a drought-tolerant grain. The crop is poised to expand in the U.S. – especially if Americans start consuming it.

Two orange train cars with the BNSF and NSF logos ride along the train tracks on the side of a road.

Railroads are charging more to ship grain. U.S. farmers may have to pick up the tab

Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval

Harvest season is nearing for many farmers. But the railroads that transport their harvested grain have raised their shipping costs with record-high diesel prices. That could mean lower grain prices for growers.

A man wearing a baseball hat sits in a green piece of farm equipment in a field of corn.

Diesel has never been more expensive. That's squeezing farmers as harvest begins

Abigail Bottar

Conflicts in Iran and Russia are causing diesel prices to spike globally. That’s especially hurting U.S. farmers as they head into harvest season, the most fuel intensive period of the agricultural year.

A blue sign reading "Beltsville Agricultural Research Center" sits at the entrance of a research campus, with a large building in the background

This USDA lab has studied threats to food and farms for decades. Now its scientists must relocate

Macy Byars

Federal scientists are still scrambling to find new jobs or relocate across the country as Maryland’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center’s last days of operation approach. Even as their personal lives upend, employees are concerned that BARC’s legacy of impactful research will be left behind.

THC-infused drinks are for sale at a Total Wine and More liquor store in Kansas City, Missouri. A federal ban will make hemp-derived products like these illegal beginning in December.

American hemp sellers prepare for a looming ban on most of their products: ‘This is devastating’

Skyler Rossi

Beginning in December, new federal restrictions will make many hemp products illegal. Businesses in the industry are getting ready to close down most or all of their operations, while advocates hope there's still time to change course before the ban begins.

Buy-Rite Foods is a red building situated in the middle of Pond Creek, Oklahoma. Inside, shoppers will see whirring refrigerators, rows of food and a hot food counter in the back.

Rural Americans feel the sting of sweeping federal food aid restrictions

Anna Pope

More than 5 million people are no longer getting food aid in the wake of a slew of cuts and changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As changes to the program continue to unfold, rural Americans face unique problems.

A strong El Nino weather pattern has climatologists expecting more precipitation in southern states like Oklahoma and Texas. The climate pattern will likely mean a mild winter in the rest of the central U.S.

A ‘super El Niño’ is on the way. What that means for fall and winter weather in the central U.S.

Emma George-Griffin

Warmer-than-normal-temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are driving what could be the strongest El Niño on record. Here’s how that’s likely to impact weather across the central U.S this year.

A monarch butterfly with orange and black wings rests on a flower with yellow blossoms.

A 'Monarch Highway' in the central U.S. stalled. But states are still planting butterfly rest stops

Rachel Cramer

A decade ago, a federal task force announced a plan to help monarch butterflies along their great migration. The six-state effort along Interstate 35 didn’t take off as expected, but some roadsides are blooming anyway.

Dairy cows can be seen through a fence in a barn

As the U.S. and Canada slap new tariffs on goods, American farmers are stuck in the middle

Hope Kirwan

After trade talks between the countries fell apart last month, the Trump administration and Canada's leaders have rolled out new tariffs on everything from dairy products to machinery. Experts say farmers will likely feel the squeeze on both ends.

A rural road in south-central Oklahoma. For years, many officials have been focused on closing the digital divide – the chasm between people who have reliable internet, technology and digital training, and those who don’t — in rural areas.

Federal delays are holding up $21 billion for rural internet projects, as states wait for guidance

Anna Pope

State officials can’t spend billions in federal funding to connect remote areas to the internet until the Trump administration provides information on how to use the money. Broadband offices are hopeful guidance is on the way – but when remains unclear.