University of Illinois researchers analyzed traces of DNA in rivers and streams to learn how strips of trees near water — called riparian buffers — impact land species.

Scientists in the middle of the country told Harvest Public Media that 2025 was a year of major changes and uncertainty.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to send “bridge” payments to farmers who grow soybeans, cotton and other crops before March. Commodity groups and economists say the aid brings relief to farmers and their lenders, but they need long-term solutions.

A federal ban on most hemp-derived THC products is expected to go into effect in November. It could eliminate the most profitable market for farmers who grow hemp.

Farmers across the central U.S. have navigated a myriad of challenges this year, including low crop prices and federal funding cuts.

American agriculture relies on foreign workers, and that workforce is already stretched thin. With Trump’s immigration crackdown set to expand next year, some farmers fear that workers will be even harder to find, and they want Trump to do something about it.

Winter holiday festivals have become a regular way to grow revenue for America’s smallest towns. And with more people shopping online, those events are key to pulling people away from their screens and into stores.

The announcement that Tyson would shutter a massive beef processing plant in Nebraska was the first such closure in more than a decade. Beef processors are running at lower capacity, as the U.S. cattle herd size is the smallest it's been since the 1950s.

The massive tax and spending law signed in July halts a federal incentive for residential solar, and homeowners and installers are hurrying to complete projects before the end of the year. Industry experts say there are other ways to cut costs like "group buys."

Some tree farms in the central U.S. are selling more potted Christmas trees as people seek out an eco-friendly option or look to get more than one use out of their evergreens.