Agriculture

Just as the local foods movement is growing legs in the Midwest, a key piece of infrastructure is struggling. 

By Kathleen Masterson.

Seventy-four-year-old Bill Sandquist has farmed 300 acres southwest of Adel, Iowa, for 54 years. But the last six have been entirely different.

By Rob Dillard.

 “I used to raise a lot of hogs, used to feed cattle,” Sandquist said. “Then in ’05, when cancer took my arm, I had to give up the hogs. Basically, we’re grain farmers now and partially retired, too.”

Becoming a small farmer is an entrepreneurial dream for some people. But when the dream comes true — even when it’s successful — the reality can be quite different from expectations.

By Dean Borg.

It only took a few hours for Onaga to turn into a food desert.

When this northeast Kansas town’s only grocery store burned down last December, its 700 residents suddenly faced a 25-mile trip for fresh food.

By  Sylvia Maria Gross.