Harvest Public Media

FOX’s “Farmer Wants a Wife” recently wrapped up its first season, and it got Harvest Public Media wondering what dating is like for farmers and ranchers. Turns out, dating in a small town isn’t always easy.

Iowa is the latest state to legalize the sale of raw milk, which comes directly from cows without any pasteurization. While nearly every Midwestern state allows such sales, some health experts caution there are health risks to drinking it.

Auctions — a marketplace for knick knacks, farm land and everything in between — are often also gathering events for rural communities. That’s changing as more auctions go online.

The trucking industry is estimated to have a shortage of nearly 80,000 drivers. While the problem is expected to get worse before it gets better, industry groups are trying to pave the way for more people to get a commercial driver’s license.

Three companies want to capture carbon dioxide from Midwestern ethanol plants, transport it by pipeline and store it underground. Many in the ethanol industry claim it’s essential to the industry’s survival. Environmentalists and even farmers argue the pipelines are a boon for the industry — not a real solution for climate change.

After the end of pandemic-era free meals, schools are reporting rising school meal debt and fewer kids in their free and reduced price programs.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides funds for clean energy, transportation, electrification and more for rural communities, but small towns with few resources and staff may have trouble accessing those programs.

Rural areas are losing grocery stores to consolidation faster than their urban counterparts — but some communities have come up with innovative solutions.

A new study shows a threefold increase in Midwest farm acres using the offseason crops to help protect the soil and reduce runoff, but it still makes up less than 8% of all farmland.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a new rule that would change the requirements of meat, poultry and egg labels that say “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” to better align with what consumers understand the claim to mean.