Oct. 2, 2025 The Midwest Center For Investigative Reporting
Stay informed on agriculture, policy & power. Follow us.
Tariffs, trade wars and tough choices: Des Moines Farmers Market vendors feel squeezed
At the Des Moines Farmers Market — one of the largest in the country — there are dozens of vendors and dozens of stories about how increasing costs are impacting local farmers and food producers.
Mónica Cordero, Investigate Midwest’s Iowa-based reporter, spent a recent Saturday at the market talking with several vendors to learn how a global trade war, rising tariffs and falling commodity prices are squeezing their budgets.
“I don’t know if the business is gonna make it,” said Jennifer Knox, who runs a home-based herbs and spice company with a stall at the farmers market. The tariffs on importing cinnamon, ginger and cumin have all significantly increased, along with the costs of packaging materials.
A vegetable farmer, granola maker and florist each shared similar concerns in this week’s feature story that shows the on-the-ground impact of a worsening farm economy.
— Ben Felder, editor in chief
Federal worker-safety commision has zero members as backlog grows
By John McCracken, Investigate Midwest
The federal agency that oversees disputes of workplace safety violations, including in meatpacking plants, has been without leadership for more than five months.
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an entity independent from both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Department of Labor, has had no commissioners since the beginning of May.
The three-person commission, which reviews business appeals of OSHA fines and violations, has been plagued by backlogs and procedural slowdowns for years. This has led to backlogs of safety reviews and a drawn-out appeals process, according to a newsroom investigation in March 2025.
When a case is under review, businesses are not legally required to make safety changes and avoid paying fines. There are currently 31 cases awaiting review by the memberless commission, with some dating back to 2017.
Nine stories about food insecurity in rural America
Rural communities across the country are grappling with food insecurity. Schoolchildren, seniors, grocers and even farmers face a food crisis compounded by government cuts and soaring costs. Sowing Resilience, a Rural News Network collaboration between nine nonprofit newsrooms, including Investigate Midwest, reveals how communities are navigating — and reimagining — the systems that have left them hungry.
Farmers squeezed as DOJ, USDA examine rising expenses
By Lauren Cross, Investigate Midwest
With the U.S. farm economy under strain from rising costs and weaker crop prices, the Justice Department is joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine why the costs of farming essentials like fertilizer, seed and fuel remain high even as crop values weaken.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in Kansas City recently that the two agencies had signed a memorandum of understanding, which she said represents a “joint commitment” to protect farmers and ranchers from volatile input costs and to ensure more competitive agricultural markets.
That DOJ scrutiny comes as new USDA forecasts show farm production expenses climbing to $467.4 billion in 2025, up $12 billion from last year.
ICYMI: Pesticide dangers depend on who you ask
By Benjamin Koelkebeck and Lillian Metzmeier for Investigate Midwest
Students at the University of Missouri School of Journalism teamed up with Investigate Midwest for Unyielding, an in-depth project on how pesticides are tested, regulated, and contested in Missouri and beyond.
This story examined why the U.S. takes a different approach than other countries, what that means for chemicals like glyphosate and paraquat, and how state agencies and residents are trying to track risks in water and communities.
OPINION: Congress needs to say 'no' to Bayer on pesticide legislation
By Dave Dickey, Columnist
It’s off the record, on the QT, and very hush hush. Bayer AG wants no one to know, but the pesticide manufacturer is potentially just two votes away from the golden ticket it has wanted ever since acquiring Saint Louis based Monsanto in 2018.
A provision tucked deep in a spending bill to fund the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department would effectively end lawsuits from plaintiffs claiming Bayer’s pesticide Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate gave them cancer.
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.
