Food + Environment
A wide angle shot of a tractor on acres of farmland. June 2021
GRAPHIC: Acres in federal conservation program have decreased steadily in past decade

06.14.2021
by Ignacio Calderon
LITTLETON, MA - MAY 13: A SpringDell Farm employee carries out flats of cabbage that are ready to be planted in the field in Littleton, MA on May 13, 2020. June 2021
New research attempts to pinpoint “Why do small farms matter?” Critics say that’s not the right question.
LITTLETON, MA - MAY 13: A SpringDell Farm employee carries out flats of cabbage that are ready to be planted in the field in Littleton, MA on May 13, 2020. June 2021
06.04.2021
by Lela Nargi
Eva Dawn Burk stands on the bank of the Tanana River in late April in her home village of Nenana, Alaska. Burk is a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, who is developing biomass-heated greenhouses for rural Native communities.
Will a Native-led initiative spur an agricultural revolution in rural Alaska?
Eva Dawn Burk stands on the bank of the Tanana River in late April in her home village of Nenana, Alaska. Burk is a graduate student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, who is developing biomass-heated greenhouses for rural Native communities.
06.03.2021
by Max Graham/High Country News
A cow stands in the dry grass at Megan Brown’s Oroville ranch on April 22, 2021. Brown had to sell off much of her herd earlier this year when she realized there wouldn’t be enough grass to feed them. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
Running out of water and time: How unprepared is California for 2021’s drought?
A cow stands in the dry grass at Megan Brown’s Oroville ranch on April 22, 2021. Brown had to sell off much of her herd earlier this year when she realized there wouldn’t be enough grass to feed them. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
05.24.2021
by Julie Cart + Rachel Becker
Wheat diversity. May 2021
How biodiversity conservation can help manage future pandemics—for plants and for humans
Wheat diversity. May 2021
05.21.2021
by Simran Sethi
Aerial view of wheat fields along the shores of Klamath Lake - Oregon, United States of America. May 2021
Tensions rise in the Klamath Basin as feds further reduce water allotments to farmers
Aerial view of wheat fields along the shores of Klamath Lake - Oregon, United States of America. May 2021
05.21.2021
by Jessica Fu
Holstein cows graze in a field next to Richmond Road in Kirbyville Friday afternoon October 2, 2020. May 2021
GRAPHIC: Americans are drinking less cow milk and more plant-based alternatives
Holstein cows graze in a field next to Richmond Road in Kirbyville Friday afternoon October 2, 2020. May 2021
05.14.2021
by Ignacio Calderon
A woman shops in a grocery store in the refrigerator aisle. May 2021
As EPA phases out climate-damaging commercial refrigerants, supermarkets will need to overhaul their entire refrigeration systems
A woman shops in a grocery store in the refrigerator aisle. May 2021
05.07.2021
by Jessica McKenzie
Jeff Lamont next to a creek just where it empties into Green Bay/Lake Michigan. This creek is the most highly PFAS contaminated of all the tributaries that empty into the lake based on a recent study funded by The Sea Grant Institute (a PhD student at UW Madison). They sampled all significant tributaries from the north end of Door County (eastern shores of Green Bay) to Escanaba, MI (the northernmost tributaries along the west side of Green Bay) on Friday, April 16, 2021.
“The middle of a massive contamination”: Residents of Wisconsin region struggle with aftereffects of PFAS
Jeff Lamont next to a creek just where it empties into Green Bay/Lake Michigan. This creek is the most highly PFAS contaminated of all the tributaries that empty into the lake based on a recent study funded by The Sea Grant Institute (a PhD student at UW Madison). They sampled all significant tributaries from the north end of Door County (eastern shores of Green Bay) to Escanaba, MI (the northernmost tributaries along the west side of Green Bay) on Friday, April 16, 2021.
05.05.2021
by John McCracken, for the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting