The Rural Blog

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. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

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Report: Food and agriculture sector will contribute $10.4 trillion to U.S. economy in 2026

Farming fertilizer stuck in the Strait of Hormuz leaves U.S. farmers roughly 25% short of needed supply

After pandemic supply troubles left tribes without meat, some decided to invest in their own slaughterhouses

The bird flu helped this egg company's profits soar, and now its pricing practices are under investigation

Smaller food makers and independent grocers bear brunt of distributors' fees. Bigger grocery stores have the advantage.

We got the milk, but where's the carton? Dairy farmers face an unexpected dilemma.

Opinion: Keeping meat plants running can hurt small towns' failing water systems; residents end up paying unfair share

America doesn't have enough truck drivers; the is job lonely, stressful and dangerous, so few of them stick with it

Food prices will remain high through the holiday season; market analysts see chance of relief in about six months

Walmart buys into planned meatpacking plant in effort to lower costs; move could presage vertical-integration trend

Flood roundup: Supply-chain shortages hamper recovery; editorial blasts AT&T; lack of flood-proof building sites noted

CNBC ranks best, worst and so-so states for doing business

Baby formula roundup: More robust shipments from other nations will boost supplies for low-income Americans

Beef and pork producers get less but consumers pay more

Quick hits: Many fireworks displays canceled; fewer of us drink milk; rural Texas students fight local book bans

July 4 cookout may cost $10 more than last year's, biggest jump since Farm Bureau began tracking 10 years ago

Abbott baby formula factory shuts down again after storm flooding; could start production again in a few weeks

Fact Check explains why and how infant formula is being sent to children of undocumented immigrants at the border

Federal Trade Commission probes whether formula makers and distributors illegally limited supplies in rural stores

Rural Midwestern bankers report their local economies are slowing; inflation and supply-chain disruptions take a toll