5 days ago · Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.

2 days ago · President Donald Trump’s order to freeze most federal grants and loans has created panic and uncertainty within the agriculture sector, which relies on billions of dollars in direct government assistance for loans, disaster relief and conservation practices. On Monday, the White House issued a memo ordering a freeze on most federal grants and loans for […]

5 days ago · Investigate Midwest (previously The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting) is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public as a watchdog over influential corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Started in 2009 by journalist Mike Sherry, Investigate Midwest provides training and education for students, professional ...

3 days ago · Investigative / Enterprise: Agribusiness Millions of livestock die each year while being transported. Those cases are rarely investigated by the USDA.

Jan 21, 2025 · Georgia, the nation’s leading chicken producer, has suspended all poultry sales after detecting its first case of bird flu in a commercial flock. This development adds to the list of states impacted by the ongoing bird flu crisis, including Iowa, …

Jan 24, 2025 · President Donald Trump’s pledge to enact mass deportations has spread fear and panic across Iowa’s immigrant communities, especially in parts of the state where immigrants are a large part of the agriculture and meatpacking workforce. Community organizations and religious leaders have been inundated with frantic phone calls as warnings spread over social media. Some posts […]

Jan 23, 2025 · Note: This story was updated as 10:23 a.m. Jan. 27, 2025. Nestled along the curves of the Illinois River just outside the town of Hennepin is the country’s largest dry-mill ethanol plant, where a network of pipes, grain elevators and exhaust towers rise like a mini-city. Surrounding the plant are hundreds of acres of corn, the state’s top crop often used to make ethanol fuel. The plant’s ...

Oct 28, 2024 · Our collaborative series with the Flatwater Free Press on Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen’s global hog enterprise, water quality issues surrounding his operations, and his political influence over agricultural policy has won first place in Explanatory Reporting from the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). Judges praised the series, co-written by senior reporter Sky Chadde and Flatwater ...

Feb 16, 2024 · Zemua Baptista had dreamed his whole life of becoming a farmer. In late 2019, while still in college, he was able to get a contract and a beginning farmer loan to build eight chicken houses to raise broiler chickens. Eventually, the first-generation farmer’s birds are sold as rotisserie chickens at Costco stores. Now, he keeps […]

Dec 1, 2022 · Investigate Midwest is pleased to be a member of the Trust Project and to support efforts to increase transparency and trust in journalism. As part of this commitment, here is a summary of our editorial standards and practices and policies on ethics, diversity, corrections, unnamed sources and fact-checking, plus information about our staffing and funding. Mission statement Investigate […]