Jan. 16, 2025 The Midwest Center For Investigative Reporting
Senate ag committee shifts leadership with ties to big ag
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, has strong ties to corporate agriculture.
Between 2001 and 2024, employees at Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat companies in the U.S., donated more than $120,000 to his campaign.
Boozman’s staff has also included a former staffer with the National Pork Producers Council, whose spouse is a lobbyist for JBS USA, one of the four companies that control most of the beef industry.
Now, Boozman is about to lead the Senate’s agriculture committee.
This week’s top story from Sky Chadde closely examines Boozman’s ties to corporate agriculture. It also looks at Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the committee’s highest-ranking Democrat, and her support from employees at Cargill, the nation’s largest private company and a major grain processor.
The Senate agriculture committee will play an important role in upcoming food legislation, especially the Farm Bill. The leadership changes also come at a time when partisanship has deepened.
“I think at times last year, pretty consistently, it was clear that the ability to work across partisan lines had frayed in the Senate ag committee,” said Mike Lavender, the policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Read more here.
— Ben Felder, editor in chief
As foodborne illnesses sicken tens of millions each year, FDA falls behind on mandated inspections
By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest
The Food and Drug Administration has not performed its legally required number of food safety inspections each year since 2018, according to a new government watchdog report.
Each year, about one in six Americans falls ill to foodborne illnesses, and oversight agencies have routinely found that the U.S. food safety system — a shared responsibility of the FDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several others — falls short.
In 2017, the Government Accountability Office called for a unified strategy to address food safety, as no less than eight different federal departments had a hand in fortifying the nation’s food. And in 2018, the GAO criticized the USDA for not doing enough to keep foodborne pathogens out of the nation’s meat supply.
Read more.
For nearly 200 John Deere workers in Iowa, the first few days of 2025 marked the end of their employment.
On Jan. 3, 112 employees were laid off at the Waterloo facility and 80 were laid off at John Deere Davenport Works. Next month, 75 additional employees will be laid off at a plant in Ottumwa, Iowa, according to a review of WARN layoff data.
The Moline, Illinois-based agricultural giant laid off 2,167 workers in 2024 at facilities in Waterloo, Davenport, Dubuque, Ankeny, Johnston, Urbandale, Ottumwa in Iowa and in Moline and East Moline in Illinois, according to layoff data.
In a statement issued Monday, Deere attributed the cuts to “challenging market conditions” and subsequent lower demand from farmers.
Read more and view the graphic here.
ICYMI: Federal aid addresses discrimination for thousands of farmers after years of delay
By Eva Tesfaye, WWNO-New Orleans Public Radio
The Pigford lawsuits exposed decades of racial discrimination against Black farmers by the USDA, leading to a historic $2 billion settlement. Yet, many farmers faced significant challenges, and unresolved claims persisted. Now, after years of delay, federal aid is being distributed, but questions remain.
Revisit this story to explore the legacy of the settlement, the impact of the new aid, and the ongoing fight for equity and justice in agriculture.
Read more.
Juan Vassallo to cover Oklahoma agribusiness and meat industry
By Investigate Midwest staff
Investigate Midwest is pleased to announce Juan Vassallo has joined its editorial staff as an Oklahoma-based reporter covering the state’s agribusiness and meat industry.
Vassallo started Jan. 13 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
“Agribusiness is a vital sector that shapes not only our food supply but also our communities, economy, and environment,” Vassallo said. “I’m eager to investigate the forces at play within this industry and shed light on how policies and practices impact the lives of farmers and workers in Oklahoma.”
Vassallo recently completed his master of science in investigative journalism at Columbia University in New York City. While there, Vassallo covered fraudulent employment services geared towards immigrants and the Alzheimer’s Association’s role in promoting risky drugs.
Investigate Midwest began covering Oklahoma in 2023 and has produced award-winning stories, including on the state’s growing poultry industry, groundwater depletion from industrial farming, and how tribal communities are responding to consolidation in the meat industry.
"As a Midwest-adjacent state with its own significant agriculture footprint, Oklahoma is a key piece of our focus on the impacts of big agribusiness and industrial agriculture,” said Erin Orr, Investigate Midwest’s executive director. “We're excited Juan has joined our award-winning team and look forward to how he will build on our coverage of the state's agribusiness and animal industry sectors."
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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.
