What’s in store as we enter the second half of the year
It’s Fourth of July week, which means we’ve officially entered the second half of the year.
At Investigate Midwest, we began 2025 with a renewed focus on covering the incoming Trump administration, including his appointments that have the greatest impact on the nation’s food system.
One story investigated efforts by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's pick for Health and Human Services secretary, to reduce pesticide use. Big Ag has pushed back on that effort, but pesticide critics who see a connection with growing health problems are hopeful.
Another story focused on Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and her confirmation hearing when she said she believed concerns that the nation’s food system would be disrupted by mass deportations were “hypothetical.”
We’ve also covered massive funding cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture — “It’s really crippling the agency,” one former employee said.
Last month, immigration raids appeared to intensify at farms and meatpacking plants. We investigated one raid at a South Omaha meatpacking plant and examined how immigrant workers had contributed to the community's continued status as a top meat-processing region.
But for all the strong work our team has produced over the past six months, I’m even more excited about what’s to come.
Investigate Midwest will have a deep dive into Rollins' first five months as agriculture secretary and how she is shaping the nation’s food system at such a critical time.
We will also have more coverage on the impact that Trump’s immigration policies are having on agricultural communities.
And the growing health concerns over pesticides and industrial farm pollution have long been a focus for us. However, we have a special project in the works for later this year that will help deepen our understanding of these issues.
Investigative reporting has never been more crucial, particularly in the agricultural sector. While we’ve tried to rise to that challenge in the past six months, we have even more in store over the next six.
— Ben Felder, editor in chief
DATA HARVEST: SNAP use drops across rural America as program faces historic cuts.
By John McCracken, Investigate Midwest
USDA data shows sharp declines in SNAP participation in most states as Congress prepares nearly $290 billion in cuts over the next decade. Rural communities could be hit especially hard, with grocery stores, local economies and food security all at risk.
View the charts here.
Immigration tracker: The latest on enforcement in the ag sector
By Ben Felder, Editor-in-Chief
Read the latest here on how enforcement crackdowns are disrupting rural workplaces and sparking backlash.
ICYMI: 'Water comes down from heaven?' Not in Oklahoma.
By Juan Vassallo, Investigate Midwest
This week, President Trump dismissed water-saving regulations with a boast that “water comes down from heaven” and there’s more than enough to go around. Meanwhile, in southeastern Oklahoma, industrial poultry farms pumping from a groundwater source under mounting pressure tell a different story. Our investigation uncovers the loopholes letting big poultry operations tap groundwater with minimal oversight as locals worry about the long-term future of their water supply.
Read more here.
Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public as a watchdog over influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.
