Tag Archives: farming
Stalled Program to Stem Farmer Suicides Gets a Second Chance in Congress
A USDA program to help farmers with mental health issues was authorized a decade ago but never funded. Now the U.S. Senate is proposing $2 million for the initiative.
Compared to the general population, farmers and ranchers are seven times more likely to take their own lives, a possible result of social isolation, financial s...Read More
In Washington, D.C., Republicans are Writing the Recipe for a Smoldering Panhandle
A plan to increase the number of acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program but cut staff to enforce program rules spells trouble for the fire-prone region.
If you thought wildfires in the Texas Panhandle were bad before, just wait. Proposed changes to a U.S. Department of Agriculture land conservation program, comb...Read More
Congress Never Funded Program to Prevent Farmer Suicides. Now It’s an Epidemic.
With farmers’ suicide rates higher than some veterans, rural advocates are pushing Congress to fund mental health care supports for agricultural producers.
After Judith McGeary discovered that several dozen sheep had been slaughtered by a mountain lion on her 160-acre ranch near Waco in 2015, she unexpectedly found...Read More
Citizen Group Promises to Be ‘Thorn in the Side’ of New East Texas Factory Farm
Big chicken gets bigger in East Texas.
One of the world’s poultry heavyweights is expanding in East Texas, and rural landowners concerned about the stench and pollution have a message for the compa...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
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
Introducing the Texas Observer’s Rural Reporting Project
Texas has the biggest rural population in the nation, yet many journalists treat much of the state as flyover country.
Trump’s election taught the nation many painful lessons. Among them: the traditional divide between town and country has become a chasm. People in blue, urban...Read More
Feathering Their Nest
A Cottonwood family resurrects the once-hot business of raising ostriches.
A Cottonwood family hopes to resurrect the once-hot business of raising ostriches — that is, if Americans will stop being so squirrely about their food....Read More
Seeds of Discontent: A Texas Organic Cotton Farmer Takes On Monsanto
For a small organic farmer on the high plains of Texas, challenging Monsanto is tantamount to questioning the power and promise of biotechnology, which has capt...Read More