May 11 Agriculture Drowning In Milk: Dairy Farmers Look For Lifelines In Flooded Market LaRue County, Kentucky, dairy farmer Gary Rock sits in his milking parlor, overlooking what is left of his 95 cow operation. “Three hundred years of history is something that a lot of people in our country cannot even talk about,” Rock said. That’s how long the farm has been in his family. While the land […] By Nicole Erwin May 11 Agriculture Drowning In Milk: Dairy Farmers Look For Lifelines In Flooded Market Nicole Erwin
Apr 5 Agriculture Trade War Fears Have Ohio Valley Soy Growers Nervous China buys more than half of the soybeans grown in the Ohio Valley. So China’s threat this week to place a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soy means farmers would be caught in the crosshairs of a trade war. Even though tariffs haven’t taken effect, markets are already showing signs that commodities traders are growing […] By Nicole Erwin Apr 5 Agriculture Trade War Fears Have Ohio Valley Soy Growers Nervous Nicole Erwin
Mar 6 Agriculture Farmers Face Tough Choice On Controversial Weedkiller Jeff McGrew stood in line with about 30 other west Kentucky farmers awaiting certification that they’ve been trained to apply the herbicide Dicamba. The two hour session explained the Environmental Protection Agency’s new restrictions on use of the controversial herbicide. The session left McGrew uncertain about whether to use the spray. “I’m undecided right now […] By Nicole Erwin Mar 6 Agriculture Farmers Face Tough Choice On Controversial Weedkiller Nicole Erwin
Jan 30 Agriculture Feds Deny Poultry Industry Request To Increase Work Speed The U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied a petition by the National Chicken Council to remove the speed limit on work at some slaughterhouses, a move that food safety advocates are calling a victory for workers and consumers. As the Ohio Valley ReSource reported in October, the National Chicken Council proposal could have increased the […] By Nicole Erwin Jan 30 Agriculture Feds Deny Poultry Industry Request To Increase Work Speed Nicole Erwin
Jan 26 Agriculture Farmers Fond of Trump But Growing Nervous About Trade When President Trump spoke to the American Farm Bureau annual convention this month he focused on the regulatory rollbacks and tax cuts that motivated many farmers to help vote him into office. “We are doing a job for you,” Trump told an auditorium filled with farmers. “You’re seeing it like nobody else: regulation, death tax, […] By Nicole Erwin Jan 26 Agriculture Farmers Fond of Trump But Growing Nervous About Trade Nicole Erwin
Nov 20 Agriculture Serving Those Who Served: Veterans Pantry Program Reaches Out To Hungry Napoleon famously said that an army marches on its stomach; troops must be fed in order to fight. But what happens when that army faces hunger after marching back home? Federal statistics show tens of thousands of U.S. military veterans struggle with homelessness, hunger and food insecurity. As the holiday season approaches, a pilot […] By Nicole Erwin Nov 20 Agriculture Serving Those Who Served: Veterans Pantry Program Reaches Out To Hungry Nicole Erwin
Nov 17 Agriculture Gutting Guest Worker Rights: Migrant Labor Bill Cuts Protections Roberto Gonzales and six other workers came from Nayarit, Mexico, to work on a Garrard County, Kentucky, tobacco farm using a guest worker program called the H-2A visa. The Department of Labor program guarantees a wage in Kentucky of $10.92 an hour. But Gonzales said the workers were only getting between $3 and $8 per […] By Nicole Erwin Nov 17 Agriculture Gutting Guest Worker Rights: Migrant Labor Bill Cuts Protections Nicole Erwin
Nov 7 Agriculture Striking Migrant Farm Workers Win Settlement After about three weeks on strike, a group of migrant workers employed at a tobacco farm in Gerrard County, Kentucky have reached a settlement with the farm’s owner. The workers came from Mexico under the H2A visa program, which allows foreign nationals to enter the U.S. for temporary or seasonal farm work. The Department of […] By Benny Becker Nov 7 Agriculture Striking Migrant Farm Workers Win Settlement Benny Becker
Nov 1 Agriculture A BOOn From Bats: Naturalists Aim To Help Bats Fight Deadly Disease Bats have a bit of an image problem. You probably saw some Halloween decorations this week featuring flying, fanged creatures of the night. But conservationists say bats are actually very helpful animals, saving farmers in the Ohio Valley region alone hundreds of millions of dollars simply by eating harmful insects. Now bats need some humans […] By Nicole Erwin Nov 1 Agriculture A BOOn From Bats: Naturalists Aim To Help Bats Fight Deadly Disease Nicole Erwin