WIUM Tristates Public Radio

Dana Cronin

Dana Cronin is a reporter based in Urbana, Illinois. She covers food and agriculture issues in Illinois for Harvest. Dana started reporting in southern Colorado at member station 91.5 KRCC, where she spent three years writing about everything from agriculture to Colorado’s highest mountain peaks. From there she went to work at her hometown station, KQED, in San Francisco. While there she covered the 2017 North Bay Fires. She spent the last two years at NPR’s headquarters in Washington D.C., producing for shows including Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.

Help From Uncle Sam Isn’t Reaching All Farmers

By • Aug 1, 2020

 

When you walk into Cyndy Ash’s barn, one of the first things you notice is a huge burlap sack, bursting at the seams with wool.

“We’re sitting on about 600 lbs of wool from when they were sheared last. And it’s been sitting there since they were sheared in March,” Ash says.

 

Struggling Rural Grocery Stores Get A Pandemic-Driven Boost

By • May 27, 2020

 

Locally 'Essential,' Federally Illegal: How Cannabis Dispensaries Are Handling The Pandemic

By • May 20, 2020

 

Like many small business owners, Amy Manganelli has taken a financial hit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. So, a few weeks ago, she decided to apply for a small business loan from the federal government.

County Health Officials Worry Meatpacking Plants Are Reopening Too Soon

By • May 8, 2020

 

Farmers Find Help Close To Home As COVID-19 Keeps Some Guest Workers Away

By • Apr 30, 2020

 

It’s planting season across much of the United States, and for some farmers who rely on foreign guest workers for help in the fields, the pandemic is getting in the way.  

Corn Growers Struggle Amid Decreased Ethanol Demand

By • Apr 3, 2020

As the price of gasoline plummeted amid COVID-19 restrictions, so has the price of ethanol.

 

Farmers Who Sell Directly To Consumers 'Plan For The Worst' Amid COVID-19

By • Mar 30, 2020


Farmers Lose Out As Thieves Mistake Hemp for Marijuana

By • Feb 24, 2020

For many farmers, 2019 was the first year of growing hemp, since it became legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. In addition to the normal challenges of farming, hemp growers have had to deal with a different kind of problem: theft.