The Field Report

Tom Vilsack breaks ground at the USDA People's Garden. (Photo credit: Tom Witham, USDA)

The Field Report: We Asked the USDA About Its New Garden—and Its Larger Climate Goals

May 5, 2022

Plus, the White House will host a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health; new research on Black farmers’ land loss.

The Field Report: Congress Grills Beef Industry Leaders Over Consolidation

April 28, 2022

Coy Young (right) and other ranchers testify in front of the House Agriculture Committee on cattle price fixing on April 27, 2022. (Photo by the House Agriculture Committee)

The Field Report: Conservation Dollars Funding CAFOs Instead of Soil Health

April 19, 2022

industrial agriculture tractors working in a corn or soy or wheat field

The Field Report: New UN Climate Report Urges Food Systems Solutions—Before It’s Too Late

April 4, 2022

WILEY, CO - AUGUST 22: Cattle crowd inside a feedlot operated by JBS Five Rivers Colorado Beef on August 22, 2012 in Wiley, Colorado. The severe drought has dried up most of eastern Colorado's natural grassland, forcing many ranchers to sell off much of their livestock to feedlots, which fatten up the cattle for slaughter. More than 50 percent of high plains areas of eastern Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas are still in extreme or exceptional drought, despite recent lower temperatures, according to the University of Nebraska's Drought Monitor. The record-breaking summer weather, which has affected more than half of the continental United States, is expected to drive up food prices by 2013, due to lower crop harvests and the adverse effect on the nation's cattle industry. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The Field Report: The Clean Water Act Has Failed to Curb Ag Pollution

March 22, 2022

An aerial view of farmland and irrigation canals running through the fields.

The Field Report: What the Invasion of Ukraine Means for the Food Supply

March 9, 2022

IRPIN, UKRAINE - MARCH 03: A member of the Ukrainian military walks past empty shelves to collect food and other items from a grocery store to distribute to local residents on March 03, 2022 in Irpin, Ukraine. Russia continues assault on Ukraine's major cities, including the capital Kyiv, a week after launching a large-scale invasion of the country. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

The Field Report: New UN Climate Report Paints a Stark Picture for Food Systems, but Solutions Exist

February 28, 2022

This is a picture of a storm as it is building up over an agricultural farm field and some wind turbines in the horizon.

The Field Report: A Deadly Bird Flu Resurfaces

February 16, 2022

a bird infected with avian bird flu looks ominously down

The Field Report: Will the Next Farm Bill Move the Needle on Climate Action?

February 9, 2022

USDA employees plant Cereal Rye as a cover crop in the garden beds of the urban farm outside of the Department of Agriculture Whitten Building in Washington, D.C., December 15, 2021. (USDA photo by Preston Keres)

The Field Report: PFAS Are Contaminating the Food Supply

February 2, 2022

A farm tractor loads solid sewage sludge for distributing in the field. (Photo CC-licensed by the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance on Flickr)

The Field Report: Ranking Chain Restaurants on Animal Welfare

January 26, 2022

SAN RAFAEL, CA - OCTOBER 01: Nutritional information is printed on the wrapper of a McDonald's Egg McMuffin October 1, 2008 in San Rafael, California. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Tuesday that makes California the first state in the U.S. to require chain restaurants to reveal calorie information on standard menu items. The law goes into effect in July 2009. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Field Report: Can Lawsuits Right Historic Wrongs for Black Farmers?

January 19, 2022

A National Black Farmers Association protest in front of the USDA office in 2002.

The Field Report: Fake Chicken, Real Money

January 12, 2022

The Daring chicken advertisement. (Photo courtesy of Daring)

The Field Report: Biden Targets Consolidation in the Meat Industry (Again)

January 7, 2022

Meat Prices To Rise As Corn Supply Diverted For Ethanol Production