Agriculture

Corn and soybean growers have seen several years of low commodity prices and increased costs for supplies like fertilizer and fuel. That has many farmers worried about whether they'll turn a profit this year and drawn some comparisons to a dark time in American agriculture.

As a heatwave approaches Lubbock, The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center warns about the risk of dehydration. Our Riley Wilson reports on what to look out for. People who claim the popular weedkiller Round-up caused their cancer now have fewer legal options after the Supreme Court sided with the product’s manufacturer last month. Harvest Public Media’s Jess Savage explains the ruling overturns an earlier decision from a Missouri court.

Attorneys say cases that claim the popular weedkiller causes cancer will have to change course to move forward in court after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the agriculture company last month.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is barring horses, pigs, cattle and other animals from Texas due to concerns over New World screwworm, a parasitic fly.

While there are have been at least 35 cases of the New World screwworm in the U.S. this year, Mexico has recorded more than 30,000 cases. The U.S. suspended imports of live Mexican cattle in May of last year over screwworm concerns. Texas Public Radio's Stephania Corpi reports the nations' cattle industries depend on one another. A new report warns Texas could see a sharp increase in pollution as Al data centers fuel demand for natural gas power plants.

Mexico's cattle industry is facing a convergence of drought, disease and disrupted trade that has cut northern Mexican ranchers off from the U.S. market that shaped them for more than a century.

In some parts of Kansas, groundwater is polluted with enough nitrates that it can fulfill some of the fertilizing needs for farmers.

New federal rules for dicamba aim to help cotton and soybean farmers control weeds. But the herbicide, which can kill other crops and trees, remains controversial.

A preliminary court order reinstated federal grants largely helping Black, Indigenous, veteran and immigrant farmers access land, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut earlier this year. Now, organizations are cautiously moving forward with their projects.

The New World screwworm parasite has been in Mexico for more than a year and a half. Now that it's crossed the border, the United States could turn south for direction.