Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk

12/17/2025

As we get close to the end of the year, we've got some great content planned for the weekly Ag & Water Desk newsletter. Sign up here, including some info from our partner newsrooms in the Climate News Task Force.

Twelve climate newsrooms joined forces in 2025 to create the Climate News Task Force, to increase and improve climate journalism collaborations and innovate new solutions to current challenges.

12/17/2025

The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is pleased to announce that Chas Sisk has been named its new editorial director. Sisk brings a proven track record leading successful news collaboratives to the Desk, which serves 31 states and more than 70 million people in the Mississippi River Basin.

“Chas brings a wealth of collaboration experience, many newsroom connections, and a history of award-winning work,” said Sara Shipley Hiles, executive director of the Desk. “We are delighted to have him join the team.”

Welcome, Chas!

The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is pleased to announce that Chas Sisk has been named its new editorial director. Sisk brings a proven track record leading successful news collaboratives to the Desk, which serves 31 states and more than 70 million people in the Mississippi River Basin. Ba...

12/14/2025

The Ag & Water Desk went to learn and to share at the National Association of Science Writers conference

Read more here: https://agwaterdesk.bluelena.io/social/c0e190d8267e36708f955d7ab048990d.217

And sign up for our weekly newsletter here: https://trustfnd.com/collaboration/get-the-climate-news-task-force-newsletter-bundle

Participating in national...

12/11/2025

This year, wary of the precarious export market, North Dakota farmer Tyler Stafslien decreased his soybean acres by half.

“We’ve been experiencing in ag, the last couple of years, a downturn in commodity prices, a lot of that related to just a large supply across the globe of major commodities, but then you add this trade war on top of it, and it’s like the icing on the cake,” Stafslien said.

The administration announced Monday a $12 billion fund for one-time payments to row crop farmers to offset a portion of their inflation- and trade-related losses in the 2025 crop year.

Farmers were asking for the federal relief funds and are happy the administration is finally answering, said Stafslien. But he’s still facing uncertainty. The administration has yet to announce how much money per acre eligible growers will be receiving, and the funds will not be distributed until February, further stressing farmers like him with large debt and growing interest.

https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/12/10/soybeans-have-been-a-top-u-s-ag-export-for-decades-what-happens-when-the-top-buyer-stops-buying/

12/08/2025

As farmers face historic headwinds and market hardships, calls to the national Farm Aid hotline and the Iowa Concern hotline — where farmers can get support in times of mental health crisis or need — are increasing.

This fall the Iowa Concern hotline saw four to five times the number of calls it had in the same months last year, said Tammy Jacobs, the hotline’s manager.

The Farm Aid hotline is also seeing a change in the urgency of calls.

"We're seeing more established farmers calling in — people who know how to play the game and how to access programs. They're calling more often now, because even with all that institutional knowledge, they're still running into issues for the first time that are more complex and difficult to solve,” said Lori Mercer, a Farm Aid hotline operator. “The system that's in place is simply letting them down. There's just no further safety net."

Research shows farmers die by su***de at least twice as often as people in the general population, so there’s urgency to address the uptick in need.

https://www.agdaily.com/insights/with-times-especially-tough-for-farmers-calls-to-mental-health-hotlines-rise/

12/03/2025

In Missouri, the daily drawings at the duck hunting "poor line" are crucial to prevent overcrowding. But they also help protect the state’s wetlands and the migratory birds that depend on them along the Mississippi Flyway.

New reporting from Héctor Alejandro Arzate of the Ag & Water Desk.

Flocks arrived by the dozens in the dark before sunrise. Some travelled in groups. Others flew solo. They all wanted to land in a wetland, but these specimens needed to wait for the Missouri Department of Conservation to get all their ducks in a row. The MDC and a small bingo cage would decide who g...

12/02/2025

Desk executive director Sara Shipley Hiles shared a moment of community with neighbors recently, as people across the Mississippi River basin gathered to enjoy the northern lights.

This Giving Tuesday, we're reflecting on how our work brings people together. We hope you'll support our mission to bring trustworthy local news and information to communities that need it most. The first $3000 in donations will be tripled thanks to our partners at NewsMatch. Give today here: https://formizzou.missouri.edu/campaigns/63912/donations/new

11/21/2025

Cover crops are expanding across Iowa, but many farmers quit after just one year. Here's why:

Iowa's cover crop acreage has surged from 1.3 million acres in 2022 to 3.8 million in 2024, promoted by state incentives aimed at reducing nutrient runoff into the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. But new research reveals a trend: nearly 20% of Iowa farmers who plant cover crops abandon the practice the following year.

The good news: most of those farmers (15%) say they'd be open to trying cover crops again. And some innovators are working to commercialize harvestable cover crop varieties like winter camelina and Kernza that could provide both soil health benefits and income.

"Every farmer and every farm is unique," says Sean Stokes of the Rodale Institute Midwest Organic Center.

Read more from Desk reporter Olivia Cohen and The Gazette.

Experts say cost, logistics, and limited state funding could all be contributing to the disadoption of cover crop use in Mississippi River states.

11/20/2025

Many acres of wetlands across the vast Mississippi River basin would lose federal protection under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Agricultural and builders’ groups have called it a win for private property owners. Environmental groups warn that it will exacerbate costly challenges like flooding that already plague the river and its tributaries.

The new rule, proposed Nov. 17, is the latest in a convoluted, decades-long fight over which streams and wetlands qualify as “Waters of the United States” and thus are regulated by the federal government under the Clean Water Act. Environmental advocates claim more expansive federal protections are needed to preserve the country’s natural resources, while some farmers and homebuilders argue the government is overstepping its authority to control how they use their land.

Many acres of wetlands across the vast Mississippi River basin — and elsewhere throughout the country — would lose federal protection under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

11/19/2025

At the end of last week, news outlets reported that President Trump would roll back his signature tariffs on some commodities, including beef, coffee and fruit, in a bid to reduce the high prices many are seeing at the grocery store.

These tariffs have brought significant and varied impacts across the Mississippi River Basin over the last few months. This week in the newsletter, we've brought together a few recent local pieces from Desk reporters as we continue to monitor these changes.

Local stories on trade and...

11/03/2025

Today, we’re launching our annual fundraising campaign in partnership with NewsMatch.

Our theme this year is Connecting the Basin. Through this holiday season, we’ll be sharing stories of how the Ag & Water Desk brings people together across viewpoints, states and landscapes, all connected by the Mississippi River Basin.

Last year’s support directly funded grants for our reporters’ professional development, helping them attend conferences, learn new skills and expand multimedia storytelling across the Basin.

Your support fuels this work. Help us continue connecting communities and sharing the stories that matter most across the Basin.

Some more good news: because we serve rural communities, the first $3000 of donations will be tripled. Help us start strong and donate today!

Launching our annual...

11/03/2025

The Ag & Water Desk helps connect the Mississippi River basin. Support our critical work providing local news and information to communities in 31 states.

Today we’re launching our annual fundraiser. Thanks to the generous support of NewsMatch, the first $3000 of contributions will be tripled. Donate today to help fund our projects! Link in bio.