Fact-checking claims made about Oklahoma’s lawsuit against Tyson Foods
Two decades ago, Oklahoma’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against Tyson Foods and several other poultry companies over litter pollution in the state’s eastern waterways. Last month, a federal judge finally issued an order against the companies, fining them nearly $600,000 and setting up decades-long court oversight through a special master.
In the months before the final order, the state’s current attorney general and governor have criticized each other over the case. Attorney General Gentner Drummond had pushed for millions in fines, while Gov. Kevin Stitt asked the court to drop the case.
This week, Oklahoma-based reporter Juan Vassallo fact-checked some of those claims, including whether the companies will end contracts with local farmers and how much Stitt has received in political donations from poultry companies.
— Ben Felder, editor-in-chief
DATA HARVEST: US ag exports drop in Asia, but increase in the Western Hemisphere
By Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest
U.S. agricultural exports faced significant challenges in 2025, largely due to a global trade war, as President Trump raised tariffs on several countries, who responded with their own hikes or shifts in agricultural purchases.
The largest shift came in exports to China, which drastically reduced its purchase of soybeans. Compared to 2022, U.S. agricultural exports to China dropped by 55% last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
While some countries have increased U.S. agricultural buying, including Mexico, India and Colombia, the overall drop in Asia has led to an overall deficit.
OPINION: Expect more turmoil and change for the 2026 ag sector
By Dave Dickey, Investigate Midwest
Armed with only the best of prognostication tools, here are the 2026 agricultural stories that people will be talking about. I assembled together a copy of the Sortes Astrampsychi, cattle oracle bones, an educated rooster, 10 pounds of brie cheese slightly past its expiration date, and a bag of dried fava beans. What can possibly go wrong?
Full disclosure: no AI was used in the making of this column. Who needs a computer when you’ve got cattle bones? In no particular order, here are my predictions for the year’s top five ag stories.
- The joint review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement
- The U.S. Supreme Court overturns tariff scheme
- Department of Justice antitrust case against Agri Stats clattering toward May trial
- USDA set to execute massive reorganization
- Pesticidepalooza
ICYMI: Illinois faces a key carbon capture deadline in 2026
Illinois lawmakers will face a key carbon capture deadline in 2026, when a statewide moratorium on new carbon capture and sequestration projects is set to expire in July, reopening questions about how the technology should be regulated.
In 2025, Investigate Midwest found ethanol giant Marquis Energy and major corn groups funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawmakers while pushing policies tied to federal tax credits.
Debates over drinking water protections, landowner rights, and pipeline oversight stalled amid that influence campaign, leaving major questions unresolved as the moratorium clock runs out.
