Sept. 18, 2025
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The farms and farmers caught in USDA's war on DEI
In her first months as agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins has prioritized purging her agency of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Trump administration has frequently targeted DEI efforts, which provide grants to underserved farms and aim to reform systems that have long disadvantaged nonwhite farmers.
More than $148 million in DEI funding has been ended at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rollins claims.
But what has been the actual cost to farmers and rural communities? That’s the focus of a story this week from senior reporter Sky Chadde.
Not only have the cuts hurt local farmers and community feeding programs, but some agriculture experts believe it has also hurt the USDA’s goal of adding more farmers to the profession and increasing access to healthy foods.
Some also believe it will undo any recent progress on overturning decades of systemic racism within the USDA.
“It speaks volumes, to me at least, that you intend to continue to discriminate against Black farmers,” said Thomas Burrell, the president of the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association.
— Ben Felder, editor in chief
Rural Illinois' food economy depends on immigrants
By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest
Rural Illinois is losing people — every one of the state’s 21 farm-dependent counties has seen population decline in the past decade. But in towns tied to meatpacking and food manufacturing, immigrant workers have slowed losses and kept local economies afloat. But with Trump's acceleration of mass deportations, the future of these communities — and the industries that rely on them — is at stake.
ICYMI: From 2020 to today: Dicamba's damage in a 'buy it or else' system
By Johnathan Hettinger, Investigate Midwest
Back in 2020, Investigate Midwest reporter Johnathan Hettinger revealed through internal company records how Monsanto and BASF knew dicamba would damage neighboring crops — and pushed it anyway to lock farmers into their seeds and chemicals. The story showed how dicamba became a “buy it or else” system, driving widespread crop losses, tree damage, and lawsuits.
OPINION: A new dicamba lawsuit likely around the corner
By Dave Dickey, Columnist
The EPA is preparing to unconditionally approve dicamba for the next 15 years — despite a long history of drift damage, failed restrictions, and repeated court rebukes. Columnist Dave Dickey explains why another round of lawsuits is almost inevitable and what it means for farmers heading into 2026.
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.
