Higher interest rates, heavier debt and increased costs have Midwest farmers drawing comparisons to 1980s struggles

   

Photo by Jesse Gardner on Unsplash

In a report for Wisconsin Public Radio, Hope Kirwan reminds listeners of an agricultural downturn of 40 years ago when “a decline in crop prices and farmland values, massive amounts of farm debt and high interest rates led to a landslide of farmers forced to leave the industry. By the end of the decade, an estimated 300,000 farms went bankrupt or foreclosed.”

While the comparison is understandable — a conflict with Iran, higher fuel and fertilizer prices — farmers and economists alike recognize that unlike then, the federal government now provides more safeguards, such as crop insurance. But the difficulties still are threatening, as Kirwan reports, “Profit margins for U.S. corn and soybeans have been negative for the past two years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

The WPR report quotes Seth Meyer, an agriculture economist at the University of Missouri, who says today’s safeguards “won’t keep people from exiting” but can allow “a more orderly result. So folks aren’t knocked out by one bad situation, some of which is out of their control.”

One such situation has California lettuce growers plowing their crops back into the ground. The Wall Street Journal reports that the outbreak of the cyclospora virus, even though it has not been connected to domestic production, has instilled so much fear in consumers that “growers can’t afford the expense of picking and storing crops they might not be able to sell.”

In response to the challenges farmers are facing, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced on Tuesday at Minnesota Farmfest that the federal government is implementing “a series of data modernization payment flexibility, and enhanced crop insurance options to benefit farmers.” In a USDA press release, Rollins said, “We’re modernizing how USDA serves farmers, providing common sense flexibility when it’s needed most, and strengthening the risk management tools producers depend on.”

The Wisconsin farmer quoted in the WPR report said he’s hoping to hang in there until commodity prices begin to rise again. “Everything we do is managing risk, and there’s a cost to that,” he said, while expressing optimism.

The California lettuce farmer quoted by WSJ seemed to agree. “You can’t afford to be downcast very long,” he said. “You better pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep pushing forward.”

Nuclear reactors, abandoned industrial sites seen as part of the solution to accommodate data centers in rural America

    

An experimental nuclear reactor in rural Kansas will be
placed one mile underground, avoiding hulking facilities
like the one above. (Unsplash photo by Lucas Lahotsky)

The race to build data centers for artificial intelligence has caused a stir in rural communities across the nation. Companies hoping to build these massive facilities are facing debates in local government bodies about tax revenue and job creation, along with pushback from residents concerned with the potential for rising electric rates, water availability and noise pollution.

Now the debate has expanded to the use of nuclear power. The Wall Street Journal reports plans for a nuclear reactor to be installed a mile underground in the granite near tiny Parsons, Kansas, population 9,600. 

Deep Fission, a company founded by father and daughter entrepreneurs in California, created the experimental process and raised $150 million to make it happen. 

The project is one of many encouraged by the Trump administration to create more nuclear energy to satisfy the country’s “soaring electricity demand, much of it driven by data centers.” The innovation in the Parsons project is that the reactor is deep underground and can become operational fairly quickly.

According to the WSJ report, “The key to the plan is avoiding the need for hulking containment buildings. Instead, the mile-deep hole will provide the necessary pressure, cooling and containment.” A single reactor will serve about 12,000 homes, but the inventors are planning “100 or more,” producing enough power for a data center.

Developers of data centers are facing resistance from rural communities where hundreds of acres of pristine farmland are being proposed as sites. That has the industry looking for alternatives, like abandoned factories. And in Western Kentucky, a former nuclear power plant is being considered for a hyperscale data center.

The Kentucky Lantern reports that the Department of Energy plans to transform a portion of the site near Paducah into a “1.8 gigawatt data center” that is “part of a larger strategy by the Trump administration to turn former Cold-War era federal sites into hubs for data centers and energy production.”

The story by Liam Niemeyer also listed dormant industrial sites across the state being considered for data centers. The list includes a former aluminum smelter, an abandoned steel mill, an electrical transmission infrastructure from inactive coal mines, and industrial parks that have power built in but have not been able to recruit industry to use it.

The director of the Hancock County Industrial Foundation explained the situation there. “Manufacturing is what we’re hoping for (to replace the smelter),” said Mike Baker. He said in 2022, when the smelter closed and 600 jobs were lost, data centers were not on anyone’s radar. “I don’t think anybody even knew what a data center was.” But now, a former industrial site that still has power makes it an attractive possibility for the growing AI industry.

WSJ describes harvesting, production process of lettuce as cyclospora continues to spread in multiple states

   

Most lettuce consumed in the U.S. is produced domestically.
(Photo by Phuc Long on Sunsplash)

All eyes are on lettuce in supermarkets across the country as America deals with the virus known as cyclospora. Thousands of people in multiple states have suffered from the flu-like symptoms, especially severe diarrhea, as officials struggle to identify the source. Shredded iceberg lettuce sold by Taylor Farms to fast food restaurants like Taco Bell has been identified as one source, and health officials in New York City identified a cilantro as one problem there.

Most Americans likely don’t know where the lettuce they purchased came from, unless they have started frequenting farmer’s markets or roadside stands in their communities, avoiding the major chains like Kroger. And many also might assume the leafy green is imported from Mexico. But the Wall Street Journal reports that “the vast majority” of the 10 billion pounds of lettuce we consume is produced in the U.S. Most of that which is imported comes from Mexico because year-round farming is available. 

The Journal breaks down domestic production as 43% head lettuce with leaf and romaine accounting for most of the remainder. Because of the virus, we are being encouraged to be vigilant about peeling off the outer layer and carefully washing what we are about to eat. And the safest advice is to eat greens that are cooked to at least 158 degrees.

But The Journal report describes a harvesting and production process that includes cleaning prior to shipment. “On farms, harvest crews can start at 2 a.m. and work throughout the day. Since produce begins dying soon after harvest, greens are cooled to temperatures just above freezing within hours of being picked. Whole heads of lettuce are typically washed in a chlorine solution and packed in the field.” In facilities near the fields, the lettuce can be cut and blended, then triple-washed and spin dried. All of this happens quickly, with the lettuce shipped within a day.

Temperature-controlled trucks make delivery. Packed lettuce can have a shelf life of up to two weeks, the report states.

The cyclospora outbreak is now the largest ever, according to multiple reports, and links to specific sources continue to elude officials.