When European colonists first arrived in the Midwest in search of arable land, they compared the expansive prairie to the ocean; the tall, green grasses swayed in the breeze like waves rippling the water. But, that sea has slowly disappeared under the sprawl of industrial agriculture, changing the landscape of the Midwest from prairie to small scale farms, to huge farming enterprises. 

The Midwest has the highest density of farming enterprises in the United States. This region alone produces 27% of all US agricultural output. Shockingly, most of this output, of which corn and soybeans account for 75%, is used for the production of industry products, rather than consumption. Consumer goods are not just food: only a small percentage of corn grown in the Midwest is used for these products, while 80% goes to the production of ethanol and livestock feed. The agriculture industry affects almost every aspect of life: from the food we eat, to the clothes we wear, to the fuel we put in our cars. Yet, despite its importance, the very future of US agriculture is bleak.

Eroding topsoil, polluted rivers, dwindling workforces, tariff disputes: environmental and social problems in the agricultural industry continue to accumulate. As farmers struggle to retain and return nutrients in their soil or find enough workers to remain operational, they try to find solutions that allow them to persist. But these solutions are varied and unequal. While some farmers choose to adopt sustainable practices and experiment with regenerative farming techniques that pay off in the long term, others turn to short term patches instead of solutions. In order to understand farmers’ actions, their attitudes and beliefs must be studied.  What are the political, economic, or psychological roadblocks that hinder wide adoption of sustainable farming methods, despite a shared vision of a productive future? How have changing attitudes divided farmers on how best to advance sustainability? How can the agricultural policy be reformed to better serve farmers? 

In a changing world, farmers must change too if they are going to remain profitable and productive. For my beat, I will dive into social issues as the causes and consequences of problems facing the Midwest agricultural industry.