Rural Reporting Project
Texas has the largest rural population of any state — 3.8 million people — yet many journalists treat much of the state as flyover country. The Observer has made reporting on rural Texas a priority with this long-term project. Staff writer Christopher Collins, who has investigated how crop dusting is putting Texans’ health at risk and the connection between destructive Panhandle wildfires and a mismanaged federal land program, is spearheading the effort from West Texas.
The Creature of Martin Creek Lake Won’t Die
Rural Poverty, Youth Homelessness Abound in Loraine, Pop. 587
Loraine ISD helps homeless students cope, but few other public resources are available for youth in Texas’ remote Big Country.
Rural Poverty, Youth Homelessness Abound in Loraine, Pop. 587 Loraine ISD helps homeless students cope, but few other public resources are available for youth i...Read More
Big Spring Vs. Big Oil
In the heart of the West Texas oil patch, a new fracking frenzy is putting a strain on groundwater.
In the heart of the West Texas oil patch, a new fracking frenzy is putting a strain on groundwater. – by Christopher Collins @collins_reports December 11, 201...Read More
Top 1 Percent of Texas Commodity Farmers Get Quarter of $1.6 Billion in Subsidies
Subsidy program reforms were supposed to save taxpayers billions, but corn and sorghum farmers in Texas are getting more money than they have in a decade.
Jen Reel Last year in Nueces County, sorghum farmers raked in $10.9 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies. Corn farmers in Castro County took $12.6 million. In D...Read More
USDA Rolls Back ‘Fair Practice’ Rule That Would’ve Protected Texas Chicken Farmers
Texas is the sixth biggest producer of broiler chickens in the nation, accounting for $2.6 billion in sales.
Texas is the sixth biggest producer of broiler chickens in the nation, accounting for $2.6 billion in sales....Read More
New Estimate Puts Harvey Agriculture Losses at $200 Million, One-Tenth of Irma
The figure is only one-fifth of Hurricane Ike’s $1 billion agriculture losses and one-tenth of Irma’s.
Hurricane Harvey caused an estimated $200 million in agricultural losses as it flooded farm fields and washed cattle from ranches, according to a Texas A&M ...Read More
Immigrant Workers in Texas Could Fill Farm Vacancies, but They’re Trapped in the Valley
Immigration checkpoints are keeping undocumented immigrants in South Texas while farmers in other parts of the state are desperate for labor.
For the last two years, Bernie Thiel has watched yellow squash rot in his farm fields outside of Lubbock. The crops weren’t diseased, and they weren’t ravag...Read More
Despite GOP Claims, an Estate Tax Repeal Won’t Help 99 Percent of Farmers
The estate tax is levied on few farmers and ranchers, but Republicans still are pushing for its repeal.
When President Donald Trump and GOP leaders unveiled the framework for their tax reform package last week, they promised to vanquish what they say is a longtime...Read More
Costs for Rural Towns Surge after Hurricane Harvey Hits Water Systems
In Patton Village, some residents went weeks without access to clean drinking water, and now their sewer system is running on a “Band-aid.”
Patton Village had just started using its new $10 million wastewater treatment system when Hurricane Harvey wrecked it last month. Floodwaters fried the pumps...Read More
Reports of Livestock Deaths, Other Ag Losses Trickle in After Harvey
The Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA, however, are mum on an estimated death toll.
At the peak of Harvey’s flooding in southeast Texas, Chambers County rancher Richie Devillier couldn’t distinguish between the westbound lane of Interstate ...Read More
