A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky.
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North Carolina farmers worry about tariff effects. (Adobe Stock Photo)
President Trump's tariff policies are affecting farmers' harvest plans, and some of them are concerned about the stability of their profits.
Cleve Wootson Jr. wrote in an article for the Washington Post that in North Carolina, farmers are struggling.
“Midway through the spring planting season, farmers in a state whose electoral votes went to Trump in the past three elections are struggling with the unpredictability of his tariffs, which threaten their access to foreign markets and add a heavy dose of uncertainty to an already capricious undertaking. The presidential complications are simultaneously logistical, economic and political,” reported Wootson.
The added stress of new and changing tariffs are not helping an “already difficult agricultural year” in a state that has been hit with a hurricane and drought affecting the whole state, according to what Democratic state representative, Eric Ager, told Wootson.
Eric's brother, Jamie, farms just outside of Asheville and said he, his customers, and colleagues are feeling the stress. Jamie told Wootson that while farmers “are worried that their crops will be taxed out of overseas business,” restaurants he sells to have raised their prices, and a school he provides beef to has had to stop the program that allowed them that opportunity.
These worries rub salt in the wound of farmers who are also having a harder time getting “assistance with support and subsidy programs” due to cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dyeing Easter eggs is a tradition some families will continue no matter the price of eggs. (Adobe Stock photo)
The price of a dozen eggs continues to defy gravity by going up and staying up, despite "a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks," report Josh Funk and Dee-Ann Durbin of The Associated Press. "U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions" that prices would decline substantially.
The continued spike in egg prices means, "businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief," AP reports. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins dubbed Easter "the Super Bowl of eggs" and reiterated that it may take a while longer for the price of eggs consumers pay to tip downward and balance with the wholesale market. In 2024, Americans spent roughly $45 million on eggs for Easter.
University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson "said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline," Funk and Durbin write. "And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices."
Some areas of the country are seeing lower prices. Funk and Durbin explain, "At a Walmart in Richmond, California, a dozen eggs were $6.34. In Omaha, Nebraska, Walmart was selling eggs for $4.97 per dozen. California requires eggs sold to be cage-free; Nebraska doesn’t."
Myhometravels photo
In some areas of the country, Americans are getting creative with their Easter dyeing choices. "Videos on how to dye marshmallows, potatoes and even onions have begun to circulate on social media and news websites," reports Korsha Wilson of The New York Times. " For the first time in [this farm's] 40-year history of the hunt, the eggs laid on the green grass of the farm will be made of plastic, filled with a coupon for a free ride on their carousel."
SNAP changes restricting soda from purchases has soda makers worried. (Adobe Stock photo)
Food stamp recipients in two states may no longer be able to purchase soda or candy with their monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits. Soda makers have long fought against the restriction. "The Agriculture Department is fast-tracking state requests to yank soda and candy from food-stamp programs," report Laura Cooper, Kristina Peterson and Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal. "Arkansas and Indiana are among the first in line." The changes would impact many rural residents who are often more likely receive SNAP benefits than their metro or urban counterparts.
Indiana and Arkansas said "they were seeking clearance from the USDA to implement the changes, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said her agency would move 'very, very quickly' to approve them," the Journal reports. Rollins told the Journal, "That’s exactly the vision of making America healthy again. I am 100% certain that these changes will be nothing but positive for those underserved communities that are food challenged.”
If multiple states choose to adopt the restrictions, soda maker sales would take a dip. "Soda companies have lobbied hard against such changes," the Journal reports. "The Republican governors of West Virginia and Utah have said they plan to pursue similar restrictions in their food-aid programs."
Historically, SNAP recipients spend a fair amount of their food purchasing dollars on highly processed foods including soda. "About 23% of food stamp dollars go toward foods like sweetened beverages, candy, desserts and salty snacks − for an annual total of about $25 billion," report Calley Means and Tarren Bragdon in their opinion for USA Today. "These foods are proven to contribute to obesity and a slew of related health problems in children and adults."
Soda makers have tried to convince President Trump that restricting SNAP food and beverage purposes would anger many of his supporters, and "Trump himself, who also drinks Diet Coke from a wine glass for toasts, has been skeptical of banning things his supporters like," reportsThe Wall Street Journal. "Republicans have long been divided on the issue, with some uncomfortable over the idea of policing people’s purchases."
The Salvation Army is best known for its holiday bell ringers. (Adobe photo)
Managing up to 25,000 Christmas bell ringers isn't the only thing The Salvation Army does. The charity also runs addiction treatment facilities whose care is at the "center of a legal fight that could set a precedent for all Americans seeking treatment for opioid addiction using two common and effective medications, methadone and buprenorphine," reports Lev Facher of STAT News.
The Salvation Army addiction facilities prohibit participants from using methadone and buprenorphine, despite the fact the "two medications are widely used to treat addiction and are vastly safer than the drugs they are meant to replace, like heroin or fentanyl," Facher explains. The class-action suit alleges its plaintiffs were "denied access to addiction treatment services because of their use of the medications."
The two drugs form the only medical treatment shown to effectively help addiction sufferers stop using opioids. The drugs also prevent severe fentanyl withdrawal, which can be physically and mentally excruciating.
Methadone and buprenorphine are often viewed by many Americans as "little better than street drugs," Facher reports. "As STAT found in the investigative series "The War on Recovery," many recovery-focused groups — including The Salvation Army and other rehabilitation centers, as well as 12-step recovery organizations like Narcotics Anonymous — remain opposed to the medications’ use despite the overwhelming evidence of their medical benefit."
Officials with The Salvation Army did not respond to requests for comments, according to Facher.
Janet Herold, an attorney with the nonprofit Justice Catalyst Law, which sued The Salvation Army, told Facher, “The case has the potential to quite dramatically change the access situation for people with opioid use disorder." Facher adds, "The ongoing lawsuit, Herold said, could set a precedent that leads more treatment providers to offer the medications regardless of their ideological objections."
According to Facher's report, the "judge's ruling relies in part on the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, legislation that bars any group receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating against an individual solely on the basis of their disability."
Proposed USDA cuts are controversial. (Adobe Stock photo)
The Trump administration is inching closer to major cuts across U.S. Department of Agriculture staffing and programs as the administration continues its federal government downsizing efforts.
According to a White House document obtained by Government Executive, "the Office of Management and Budget proposing fiscal 2026 funding levels would gut research and conservation efforts, trim program budgets nearly across the board and cut staff . . .," reports Eric Katz.
The document is considered a "passback" or “predecisional,” and "assumes savings from upcoming layoffs at USDA," Katz explains.
Zachary Ducheneaux, who served as Farm Services Agency administrator for four years until January, "likened the Trump administration's approach to a beef cattle producer starving his cows to boost efficiency and then getting rid of them when those results, predictably, do not occur," Katz reports.
Ducheneauz told Katz, "In all of my travels in the last four years, I have never heard any single producer say, ‘We have too many damn staff in [USDA] offices and we hate them.'"
Planned cuts would eliminate two large food programs that feed "vulnerable populations abroad' with food grown by American farmers. Katz writes, "McGovern-Dole and Food for Peace grants, which are collectively allocating nearly $2 billion annually — would see their funding eliminated."
The Rural Utility Service programs that provide numerous services to rural communities, including "health care opportunities for rural residents and funding for reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal and storm water drainage in rural areas would be decimated," Katz adds. "Asked about the cuts, Alexandra McCandless, an OMB spokesperson, said only that 'no final funding decisions have been made.'
Ronin the African giant pouched rat is one of more than 100 rats trained
by a Belgian nonprofit to sniff out deadly landmines. (Photo by
Guinness World Records via Smithsonian magazine)
If you think rats are just dirty rodents, think again. Meet Super Rat Ronin and his "landmine-sniffing rat pack who are making a name for rodents everywhere by saving innocent civilians from hidden explosives," reports Lex Harvey of CNN. "The African giant pouched rat recently set a new world record for the most landmines detected by a rat. Ronin's main handler, Phanny, told the Guinness publication, "Ronin’s achievements are a testament to the incredible potential of rats."
Two University of Wisconsin plant experts became the Nancy Drews of botany. Their goal was to help revive a near-dead heirloom red corn for a local distiller who wanted to use the unique seed to create new bourbon flavor. "It took some serious seed vault sleuthing, a deep dive into a germplasm bank, and a retread of historical breeding efforts, but the bounty of those efforts is now flowing from fine oaken barrels," reports Audra Koscik for UW Plant Sciences. The J. Henry & Sons bourbon distilled with red corn has a "distinct flavor and is higher in protein, fat, and oil content, trading efficiency for quality and flavor."
Modern skijoring riders use horses instead of skis. (The Daily Yonder photo)
It all began with Scandinavians, skis and reindeer, but it has branched
out into an annual contest in rural Leadville, Colorado, where
contestants use horses instead of reindeer and ski at speeds of up to 40 miles per
hour. "It’s called skijoring, and it’s nothing new," reports Jared Ewy for The Daily Yonder. "Leadville’s course features multiple
jumps and several rings. . . . Estimates say there are about 5000 people
in attendance. Leadville’s population is just over 2600." Skijoring
contestant, Stephanie Weber, told Ewy, "It’s high-speed, horse-powered
chaos."
Farmers aren't the only ones who could be spreading PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," as they tend their crops. American gardeners and lawn-lovers who use sludge fertilizer might be unwittingly exposing themselves and their soil to PFAS. "Your plants might love fertilizers containing nutrient-rich sewage sludge, but treating your garden or lawn with these products could be exposing you to 'forever chemicals,'" reports Allyson Chiu of The Washington Post. To read the steps that will help consumers avoid PFAS fertilizers, click here.
Spring will bring calling cicadas. (Photo by Sagar Vasnani, Unsplash)
They're almost here and make no mistake, they will be noisy. "With spring will come warmer temperatures, flora in bloom -- and millions of screaming insects emerging from their resting place beneath the ground," reports Julia Jacobo of ABC News. "Three species of cicada that only emerge once every 17 years are gearing up to spring to the surface in droves. . . . States like Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and North Carolina can expect to witness the emergence of Brood XIV this year. . . .Those who witness emergences can upload their accounts to Cicada Safari, a citizen science program that tracks cicada events."
When life gets too exhausting for this octopus, he gets a "Lyft" from another marine animal. "When she spotted the mako shark in the Hauraki Gulf off of New Zealand, Rochelle Constantine, a marine ecologist, was concerned. The animal had a curious orangey-brown mass perched on top of its head," reports Melissa Hobson of The New York Times. Constantine and her crew dangled a drone camera above the shark to uncover the orange mystery. Don’t stick your eight arms out so far, they may go home in another shark. (Video by Esther Stuck And Wednesday Davis, University Of Auckland) "An octopus was riding the shark. They nicknamed it the 'sharktopus' and said it was one of the strangest things they had ever seen in the ocean," Hobson writes. "The team identified the eight-armed commuter as a Maori octopus. The hefty cephalopods can stretch up to 6.5 feet and weigh around 26 pounds. They are the largest octopus in the Southern Hemisphere. Even riding a huge predator like the shark, a shortfin mako, this hitchhiker occupied a lot of room. . ."
Measles has no direct cure and can spread easily. (Photo by Kristine Wook, Unsplash)
The number of confirmed measles cases in the United States so far this year has reached 712, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The resurgence of the virus is cause for concern as “it is preventable … and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000,” according to Devi Shastri in an article for the Associated Press.
Measles is a viral infection that has no direct treatment. The illness can be indicated by a fever, runny nose, cough, watery eyes and a rash.
While Texas has the majority of cases at 505, there have been reports of measles in 25 states, according to the CDC.
“The multi-state outbreak confirms health experts’ fears that the virus will take hold in other U.S. communities with low vaccination rates and that the spread could stretch on for a year,” wrote Shastri.
According to Shastri's report, cases spread easily in communities with low vaccination rates and that the best way to avoid measles is to get vaccinated.
Even though the disease doesn’t have a direct cure, the article explains that most children do recover. However, “infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.”
So far, three people have died from measles this year, according to the CDC.
A farmer spreads pesticide on a field. (Adobe Stock photo)
Despite its long run as many farmers' first choice for an effective weedkiller, Roundup's time on the market may be almost over. "Pharmaceutical and agriculture conglomerate Bayer said it could stop producing the world’s most popular weedkiller, unless it gets court protection against lawsuits blaming the herbicide for causing cancer," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal.
Roundup was patented by agriculture and science research giant Monsanto in 1971, and the company began marketing the glyphosate-based herbicide in 1974. Over time, Roundup made billions of dollars in sales for Monsanto and later for Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018. Thomas writes, "Bayer currently produces about 40% of the world’s glyphosate, which farmers spray across fields to tame crop-threatening weeds."
Over the past 10 years, Roundup has had strong U.S. sales; however, Bayer is now drowning in "waves of litigation," Thomas explains. The suits caused Bayer's stock price to plunge and cost the company roughly "$10 billion in payouts to plaintiffs. In early March, Bayer told farmers, suppliers and retailers that it may stop selling Roundup, which would leave U.S. farmers reliant on imported glyphosate from China."
While some Americans may question the use of glyphosates, American farmers depend on it. "American farmers apply almost 300 million pounds of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, to their fields each year," Thomas reports. Stu Swanson, who is president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, told Thomas, “Roundup [glyphosate] helps us produce in an economic way and for products we raise to be cheaper.”
Given production costs and lawsuits, producing Roundup is no longer profitable for Bayer. Some state legislatures are "discussing Bayer-supported bills that would protect pesticide companies from claims that they failed to warn that their product allegedly causes cancer if their product labels have been approved by the EPA without such designation," Thomas explains. "Plaintiffs’ attorneys have vowed legal challenges to such laws, if passed."
If Bayer stops producing Roundup, it's unlikely that another company would be willing to replace it and accept the product's ongoing and future liability.
BMW employs 11,000 people at its 8 million square- foot campus in Spartanburg, S.C. (BMW photo)
Upstate South Carolina was once known as the country's textile hub until the 1990s when "automation and cheaper labor overseas took the industry away from the state," reports Eduardo Medina of The New York Times. President Trump's new tariffs aim to revive the industry, but some people who used to work at the old mills don't know why anyone would want to bring that work back because of the low wages and often unpleasant working conditions. Much of the region has new industrial partners that have improved the overall quality of living for many residents.
Adolphus Jones worked at a mill in the small town of Union, S.C. Medina writes, "Jones, now 71 and retired, scoffed at President Trump’s vision of an American manufacturing revival through tariffs. The mill work had paid little, Jones recalled, and upward mobility was nonexistent." Jones told him, “The textile industry is dead. Why would you want to bring it back here? Truthfully, why would the younger generation want to work there?”
The Trump administration's push to bring back an industry few residents miss represents a mismatch between current economic realities and the limits of what tariffs can accomplish. "Today, companies like BMW and Michelin — from Germany and France — are the economic engines of the region," Medina explains. "Now, leaders say that waging a trade war could undermine future recruitment of international investments and risk losing the jobs that are already in the region."
BMW alone "has invested more than $14.8 billion into its South Carolina operations" and has created "most than 11,000 jobs." BMW's suppliers have created thousands of additional jobs in the region.
So, local residents were baffled "when the White House’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, attacked BMW’s manufacturing process in an interview . . .," Medina reports. "He told CNBC that 'this business model where BMW and Mercedes come into Spartanburg, S.C., and have us assemble German engines and Austrian transmissions — that doesn’t work for America. It’s bad for our economics.'"
Even in Union, a rural area with 8,000 residents, a recovery from textile's downfall has slowly evolved. Medina writes, "Union County has successfully recruited renewable power companies, bioscience and medical employers, and a Dollar General distribution center that employs nearly a thousand people."
Some Union residents think a more modern mill might further improve Union's economy. Leroy Spencer, a retiree in Union, told Medina, "If Trump can bring that back, it would be amazing, and I think the economy would pick up around here and get better." However, building new mills with automation and modern equipment would mean ordering machinery and supplies from overseas, which will likely face higher tariffs and thereby increase construction costs.
Jones sees the "whole tariff back and forth as baffling," Medina writes. "When he worked in a plant decades ago, he made tassels for graduation caps. Now, he says, more of Union’s next generation should be wearing those caps — not making them."
The provider tax helps most states fund their Medicaid programs. (Adobe Stock photo)
Congressional budget hawks could trim billions in federal Medicaid spending by restricting the use of a state tax on medical providers, reports Joseph Walker of The Wall Street Journal. "The levies can lead to higher federal spending on Medicaid."
The tax, which is commonly known as the "provider tax," is levied by states on hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities that provide medical care. When medical providers pay the provider tax, states funnel the payments into their Medicaid budgets. Because federal Medicaid dollars often match state dollars, the tax increases federal Medicaid costs.
If Congress ended the ability to use the provider tax to "finance Medicaid contributions entirely, it could save more than $600 billion over a decade," Walker explains. "That would go a long way toward achieving House Republicans’ plans to reduce federal spending by as much as $2 trillion to help offset the impact of extending President Trump’s income-tax cuts."
But the change could prove devastating for medical providers and Medicaid recipients. Walker reports, "Hospitals often tend to get back more in payments than they shelled out for the original tax, which shores up their ability to care for Medicaid patients. . . . Nearly every state uses provider taxes to raise money to finance their Medicaid health insurance programs for low-income people and the disabled."
Republican budget cutters have "turned the provider taxes into a prime target.. [They say] states are gaming the system to artificially boost their Medicaid contributions and enrich politically powerful hospitals," Walker adds. "Defenders say cash-starved hospitals need the extra payments financed by provider taxes, because Medicaid reimbursement isn’t enough to cover costs."
President Trump promised during a February interview that there will be no cuts to Medicaid. Some lawmakers see the elimination of the provider tax as a possible go-around to cut Medicaid spending by more indirect means.
Medicaid decisions matter for small-town America where in 2023, 40.6% of children were enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP
compared to 38.2% in metro areas. Any reductions would
also hurt rural non-elderly adults covered by Medicaid.
Trinity Alps office building in Weaverville, California, pop. 3,667. (Trinity Alps Unified School District photo via The Daily Yonder)
A lack of support for the 20-year-old Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act program has rural schools in 41 states preparing for a possible loss of vital funding. Leaders of those rural schools are advocating for a renewal of funding and a better plan for more secure funding in the future.
"The law was up for re-authorization in 2024 but died last December without a vote from the House of Representatives," report Claire Carlson and Lane Wendell Fischer of The Daily Yonder. "The Senate had already voted unanimously to approve it."
The federal program provides money to counties that include National Forest land. "Because public land cannot be used or taxed for local interests, the SRS program offsets this loss of local revenue by allocating federal funds to support essential community infrastructure like roads and schools," Carlson and Fischer explain. "SRS requires regular re-authorization, typically every three years, and is often accompanied by reductions in funding."
In 2016, SRS funding wasn't approved in time, and schools missed a year of needed funding. The same thing may happen in 2025. Jamie Green, superintendent of Trinity Alps Unified School District in rural Trinity County, California, told the Yonder, “This every three-year thing, it’s brutal. Absolutely brutal.”
In 2023, Trinity Alps was allotted $600,000 from SRS. "These funds accounted for 5% of the district’s budget and were essential in paying for teachers, programming, and maintenance work," the Yonder reports. "With no clear path toward re-authorization, Green’s current goal is to do what he can to cushion Trinity Alps for the looming shortfall."
With the ongoing potential for funding gaps or reductions within the program, advocates want a longer-term solution. Mark Haggerty, a senior fellow at the independent nonprofit research institute Center for American Progress, favors establishing a trust. He told the Yonder, "A trust makes sure that communities have the resources they need. . . . It’s not asking the taxpayers for permanent appropriations, and it’s not adding to the debt. But it gives counties and schools predictable payments that they can rely on."
To read about obstacles a trust faces, click here.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump (Photo by T. Peter-Pool, Getty Images via The Conversation)
In the trade war between the U.S. and China, China may have some key advantages to stymie U.S. businesses -- including farmers -- while developing new trading partners. "The two economies are now locked in an all-out, high-intensity trade standoff," writes Linggong Kong for The Conversation. "As an expert on U.S.-China relations, I wouldn’t expect China to [back down]. Unlike the first U.S.-China trade war, when Beijing eagerly sought to negotiate with the U.S., China now holds far more leverage."
Dynamic shifts in China since 2018 make this round of tariffs different. "The importance of the U.S. market to China’s export-driven economy has declined significantly," Kong explains. "At the start of the first trade war, U.S.-bound exports accounted for 19.8% of China’s total exports. In 2023, that figure had fallen to 12.8%."
Overall, the U.S. is more dependent on Chinese goods. "By 2022, the U.S. relied on China for 532 key product categories – nearly four times the level in 2000 – while China’s reliance on U.S. products was cut by half in the same period," Kong writes. "Beijing believes Trump’s tariffs risk pushing the previously strong U.S. economy toward a recession."
China has a set of retaliation tools to use against the U.S. that the U.S. does not hold over China. Kong adds, "It dominates the global rare earth supply chain – critical to military and high-tech industries – supplying roughly 72% of U.S. rare earth imports."
Beyond financial targets, China is using the U.S. trade policies as an opportunity to rebuild its stressed trade relations in Asia and Europe. "After Trump had first raised tariffs on Beijing – China, Japan and South Korea hosted their first economic dialogue in five years and pledged to advance a trilateral free trade agreement," Kong writes. "On April 8, the president of the European Commission held a call with China’s premier, during which both sides jointly condemned U.S. trade protectionism and advocated for free and open trade."
Despite the harm Trump’s tariffs will "inevitably do to parts of the Chinese economy, Beijing appears to have far more cards to play this time around," Kong explains. "It has the tools to inflict meaningful damage on U.S. interests – and perhaps more importantly, Trump’s all-out tariff war is providing China with a rare and unprecedented strategic opportunity."
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