Rural advocates are calling on the state to tighten the rules governing Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - or CAFOs - in rural Montana. They claim current Department of Environmental Quality standards leave drinking water and other resources unprotected. CAFOs have been well-known polluters for years in rural Montana - discharging nitrogen and phosphorus into the state s waterways, as well as pathogens, heavy metals and pharmaceuticals that threaten wildlife and public health in addition to water quality. .
September is Hunger Action Month and an advocacy group is working to get legislation expanded to provide more healthy foods to people in rural Arkansas. Some 41% of Arkansans live in rural counties. Florence French Fagan, senior regional organizer for the nonprofit Bread For The World, said they are focused on part of the Farm Bill known as the GusNIP Expansion Act. .
(KMAland) Students in eight rural Nebraska schools will soon be getting hands-on experience in "specialty crop" production thanks to a two-year U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded to the
Research shows that farmers die from suicide at a rate twice as high as the rest of the population, and Illinois officials are taking steps to help reverse that trend. The Illinois Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the Illinois FFA Foundation and the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, will expand the state s Farm Family Resource Initiative to all 102 counties. Illinois Ag Department Director Jerry Costello said the program will bring much-needed mental-health services to rural parts of the state. .
Students in eight rural Nebraska schools will soon be getting hands-on experience in "specialty crop" production thanks to a two-year U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded to the Center for Rural Affairs. Kirstin Bailey is senior project associate at the center and lead staff on the Nebraska Young Farmer Program: Introducing Specialty Crop Production. .