Investigate Midwest

The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit newsroom that operates independently, dedicated to informing the public about important issues in the Midwest. It particularly emphasizes agribusiness, along with related subjects like government initiatives, environmental concerns, and energy matters. Founded in 2009 by journalist Mike Sherry, this Center aims to offer training and education for students, professional journalists, and community members. Its goal is to enhance understanding of agribusiness and its effects at local, regional, and global levels. The Center also plans to leverage both traditional and cutting-edge digital tools to analyze data on agribusiness and share its findings widely.

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It's past time for SCOTUS to rule on ag-gag laws

2 days ago | investigatemidwest.org | Dave Dickey

Big Meat is at it again. Begging the courts – any court – to carve out a First Amendment exemption that would prevent trespassers at processing plants and production facilities from recording and disseminating illegal or unethical activity. To date the Supreme Court hasn’t been sympathetic with Big Meat’s plight. KansasIn 2022, The high court reviewed Animal Defense Fund v. Kelly.
Bayer's full court press to end glyphosate lawsuits heats up

1 week ago | investigatemidwest.org | Dave Dickey

Up to now there has been one colossal failure after another in Bayer AG’s efforts to end all lawsuits claiming glyphosate — the active ingredient in the company’s weedkiller Roundup — can cause cancer, primarily non-hodgkin’s lymphoma. Plaintiffs in state courts all across America cite a 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer study that found glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic to humans.”Bayer vehemently disagrees.
Trump says, “Groceries (even eggs!) are down.” The numbers tell a different story.

1 week ago | investigatemidwest.org | Sky Chadde |Investigate Midwest

During his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump centered on the increasing price of groceries to attack Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. If elected, Trump said he would “defeat inflation” and bring food prices down. Trump has the same message now that he’s in office. In April, he posted on his Truth Social account, “groceries (even eggs!) are down.” But food prices, including those of eggs, continue to rise.
13 EPA civil rights complaints, including one targeting poultry farm pollution, in limbo

1 week ago | investigatemidwest.org | Grey Moran

This story was originally published by The Sentient. Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, the Environmental Protection Agency has not been allowed to accept new civil rights complaints or issue any findings of discrimination for existing complaints, according to former and current agency staff who spoke with Sentient.
Underage workers, millions of dollars and trucks full of dead chickens — inside the business of killing in response to bird flu - Investigate Midwest

2 weeks ago | investigatemidwest.org | John McCracken |Investigate Midwest

When a poultry farm tests positive for bird flu, the clock starts. Within the first 72 hours, farmers start depopulating, an industry term for killing contaminated flocks. Despite the sweltering heat inside the barns, hired workers wear gloves, face masks and other protective equipment and repetitively pick up flailing, sick chickens and place them into a metal container filled with carbon dioxide. In a few minutes, the chickens are dead.
Bayer's effort to block Roundup lawsuits kicks into high gear

2 weeks ago | investigatemidwest.org | Lisa Elaine Held

This story was originally published by Civil Eats. April 28, 2025 Update: North Dakota’s governor signed the first bill protecting pesticide companies from liability into law last week. In Georgia, the bill is still with the governor. On March 21, a jury in a Georgia courtroom John Barnes $2.1 billion in damages, affirming his claim that using Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and that the company that made the product should have warned him of the risk.
Scientists test fiber hemp for ‘forever chemicals’ cleanup as farmer profits collapse

2 weeks ago | investigatemidwest.org | Lauren Cross |Investigate Midwest

Scientists and policymakers are exploring fiber hemp’s potential to absorb toxic chemicals like PFAS or capture carbon in soil, but those potential benefits have yet to translate into a reliable, profitable market for growers. Fiber hemp production in the U.S. surged to a record high in 2024, but farmers are earning far less from the crop than they were just a few years ago, according to new USDA data released April 17.
After forcing resignations, USDA tries to walk back staff cuts and calls frontline workers ‘vital’

2 weeks ago | investigatemidwest.org | Sky Chadde |Investigate Midwest

After forcing the departure of several hundred U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists and inspectors who prevent invasive pest and disease outbreaks, the Trump administration is trying to reverse course and bring some of them back, according to a Wednesday email that Investigate Midwest reviewed.
Canceling unsubstantiated climate-smart claims should start with Tyson Foods

3 weeks ago | investigatemidwest.org | Dave Dickey

Tyson Foods’ claim that it could reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through “climate-smart beef” is laughable. The brass at Tyson unveiled its magical greenhouse gas-canceling Brazen Beef at the 2023 Annual Meal Conference in Dallas. Tyson told anyone willing to listen that Brazen Beef produces 10% less greenhouse gas emissions from pasture to production when compared to traditionally produced cattle. Which is a pretty neat trick.
Sewage fertilizer can cause illness and harm the environment. Why are some Oklahoma officials resistant to a ban?

3 weeks ago | investigatemidwest.org | Juan Vassallo |Investigate Midwest

On a brisk morning in early 2017, Paula Yockel power-washed the family’s propane tank at her home in rural Oklahoma, about 15 miles from downtown Oklahoma City. As she sprayed away thick layers of grime that had built up, the water bounced off the cylindrical tank, filling the air with a fine mist. Within 36 hours, she became severely ill with stomach pain, diarrhea and debilitating aches throughout her body.