Harvesting narratives helps inform our reporting
This week, I’ll be attending the Harvesting Narratives Summit in Boggstown, Indiana, along with Lauren Cross, our assistant editor/audience engagement manager. This gathering of about 50 people will bring us together with small farmers and producers, farmer support organizations and a handful of content creators from throughout the Midwest.
Co-hosted by UpRoot and the brainchild of Sherri Dugger, executive director of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project and of Dog Song Sanctuary, the summit’s goal is to provide a space where all these folks can learn from each other, and how complex issues — the impact of Big Ag practices on small farmers, for example — can be turned into stories that resonate.
I’ll be co-leading a session on how big agribusiness often controls the narrative — so much so, it's often all that many people know about these issues. Which is where investigative newsrooms like Investigate Midwest come in. Through data-driven reporting, we cut through those narratives to suss out and expose what’s really going on and who is directly impacted.
We’re also looking forward to connecting in person with regional farmers to listen to what drives them and how they’re navigating these challenging times. Regular readers of this newsletter know we’ve also been setting up listening sessions for this very purpose. Hearing directly from people working in agriculture helps keep our work deeply rooted in those lived experiences.
Stay tuned for more about what we learn. And as always, thank you for reading.
— Erin Orr, executive director
DATA HARVEST: While Western grocery inflation cools, food costs reach critical highs in some emerging economies
By Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest
Food price inflation has been significant in the U.S. in recent years, beginning with supply chain disruptions that saw prices increase by nearly 10% several years ago and by 3.1% over the past year, according to May data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But while food price inflation has slowed somewhat in the West, prices have continued to spike in many regions worldwide, including parts of the Middle East and South America.
The largest annual increases have been in Iran (55.9%), Argentina (33.4%) and Turkey (25.1%), according to an analysis of data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), along with nation-specific agencies.
ICYMI: NextEra’s big break
As debates over AI data centers and growing electricity and water demands continue, this February investigation offers important context on how renewable energy projects are expanding across rural America.
As reported by Juan Vassallo in February, emails show how NextEra Energy, a solar energy developer, secured a big break on permitting fees for its Skeleton Creek solar farm as renewable energy projects multiplied across Oklahoma, including separate developments tied to AI data centers.
