U.S. dairy herd growth hits a 22-year low; breeding for beef operations offers significantly higher profit margin

Amid worldwide cheese and beef consumption increases, there's a hiccup in the American supply chain -- beef production is hampering dairy growth because there aren't enough heifers. "Dairy herd expansion is unlikely to occur quickly as the beef industry continues to bid up for young stock and dairy heifers remain in short supply," reports Fran Howard of the Daily Herd. "Dairy producers can make more money breeding for beef operations than they can producing heifers for their own farms or their neighbor's operation, according to Sarina Sharp, an analyst with the Daily Dairy Report."

Dairy producers profit from raising crossbred bull calves.
(Photo by Maureen Hanson via Dairy Herd)

The profit margins on livestock reflect the shortage. Howard reports, "At a late-January livestock auction in New Holland, Pennsylvania, cattle feeders paid an average of just over $414 for newborn Holstein bull calves, the highest price in eight years. But dairy-beef crossbred calves brought a whopping $675/head at the same auction, and crossbred heifer calves commanded a similar price."

For dairy-cattle producers, the profit difference is dramatic. Sharp told Howard, "If this margin holds, a 1,000-cow dairy that produces crossbred bull calves can expect to earn about $100,000 more in 2024 than it would selling Holstein bull calves. High beef calf prices are sending a clear signal to the dairy industry to make more beef calves and fewer dairy heifers. And the industry is listening."

The Department of Agriculture estimated that on Jan. 1, there were 4.059 million dairy heifers. "While that was only a 0.35% drop from 2023's steep decline, the decline still marks the smallest heifer inventory in 20 years, according to Sharp's calculations," Howard explains. "Sharp noted that just 2.59 million heifers are likely to calve and enter the dairy herd in 2024, by far the lowest inventory in USDA's 22 years of projections."

Sharp told Howard, "Waning heifer inventories will ensure that growth in the U.S. dairy herd will be slow and costly. If the industry develops an appetite to expand, already lofty heifer values will shoot upward, raising the cost of filling a new barn. The increasing popularity of crossbreeding suggests that the heifer shortage will continue for years, reducing how quickly the industry can respond to high milk prices." 

Wealthier, more metro residents have access to local news, while lower-income communities often live in news deserts

Medill Local News Initiative map, from Local News Initiative data

As local news outlets dwindle, lower income residents are more likely to live in a news desert than wealthier residents, who are more likely to live near or in a metro area. "The State of Local News Project at Northwestern University documents the changing local news landscape across the country. Our latest report shows that where you live and how much money you make affect whether you live in a news desert or a news oasis," reports project director Sarah Stonbely for The Conversation, a journalistic platform for academics. "This divide is related to other factors affecting the health of our democracy, as analysis of our data by the nonprofit Rebuild Local News showed."

The expansion of news deserts means areas have no outlets reporting on local news or civic meetings that help residents stay informed and involved in the democratic process. Regional news revenue has shrunk as social media has taken chunks of advertising dollars without investing in local communities.

Without ad revenue, "Many outlets rely on audience funding, philanthropy, cost-cutting or some combination of the three," Stonbely explains."In communities with little disposable income for news subscriptions or donations and no local philanthropies, cost-cutting becomes the only option. This creates a self-reinforcing spiral of lower quality and declining readership and, ultimately, closure."

Right now, the determining factor between news haves and have-nots is money. Stonbely writes, "Wealthier communities do better sustaining local news organizations. . . . An example is the Moab Sun News, which is thriving in the rural rocky highlands of Utah, thanks in part to a robust tourism industry and retail base. Though it serves a relatively small permanent population of 5,321, the Moab Sun News has built a sustainable business model."

For some news outlets, the current market is not sustainable. "All told, 1,558 of the nation's 3,143 counties have only one news outlet, while 203 are news deserts with zero, meaning there are likely thousands of communities that simply do not have access to local news," Stonbely reports. "For example, Texas and Tennessee had four counties lose their only remaining newspaper last year. All eight papers were independently owned."

Despite the tough market, ways to help sustain local journalism -- especially in challenging markets are emerging. Collaboration is one way. "In Colorado, the national nonprofit news outlet The Daily Yonder has hired a reporter based in a rural community to write stories about life there and share them out with both local and national organizations," Stonbely reports. Another option is philanthropic support. "Public policy should also play a role. At the state level, policies to support local news have seen success in New Jersey, California and elsewhere, and more bills are working their way through state legislatures."

Americans haven't spent this much of their money on food in decades, and relief is not coming anytime soon

Wall Street Journal graph, from Department of Agriculture data

If you feel like your grocery bill is gobbling up more of your paycheck, it's not your imagination. "The last time Americans spent this much of their money on food, George H.W. Bush was in office and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was in theaters," report Jesse Newman and Heather Haddon of The Wall Street Journal. "Eating continues to cost more, even as overall inflation has eased from the blistering pace consumers endured throughout much of 2022 and 2023. Prices at restaurants and other eateries were up 5.1% last month compared with January 2023, while grocery costs increased 1.2% during the same period, Labor Department data show."

Why is this happening, and when will it end? Food costs increased as inflation spiked up prices across the board, but even as other costs ease, food costs will likely keep their post-inflation era price tags. Steve Cahillane, chief executive of snack giant Kellanova, told the Journal, "If you look historically after periods of inflation, there's really no period you could point to where [food] prices go back down. They tend to be sticky."

To lessen pocketbook drain, "Many diners have said they are going out less frequently or skipping appetizers, while buying cheaper store brands more frequently at supermarkets and seeking out promotions or deals offered via apps," Newman and Haddon write.

Still, many food companies are seeing profits dip based on higher commodity prices for sugar, tomatoes and cocoa and increased labor costs. The Journal reports, "Companies are set to pay more for staffing after 22 states lifted the minimum wage for hourly workers in January." 

One kernel of good news is that some peak prices may come down. Newman and Haddon explain, "Although it is rare for food prices to retreat, it is also unusual for prices to skyrocket as much as they have in recent years, said TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow. He said he expects grocery prices to decline for a period this year as food makers come under pressure from consumers and retailers."

One alternative to the housing shortage crisis is to build really small homes and reduce costs

The view from the front entrance of a small home. 

(Photo by Ivan McClellan, The New York Times)

Once relegated to the world of socks, compression has come to the housing world. "Thanks to soaring housing prices, the era of the 400-square-foot subdivision house is upon us," reports Conor Dougherty of The New York Times. "This is not a colony of 'tiny houses,' popular among minimalists and aesthetes looking to simplify their lives. . . . It's a chance to hold on to ownership."

Ten years ago, the housing market was booming, making home ownership for a roomy 3-bedroom out of reach for many people. In response, "Home builders have methodically nipped their dwellings to keep prices in reach of buyers," Dougherty explains. "The downsizing accelerated last year when the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage reached a two-decade high, just shy of 8 percent."

The period of mega-square-foot homes might be giving way to the not-so-big house. "A move toward smaller, affordable homes — in some cases smaller than a studio apartment — seems poised to outlast the mortgage spike, reshaping the housing market for years to come and changing notions of what a middle-class life looks like," Dougherty writes. 

Some state and local governments are working to encourage the "great compression" by making construction more doable. "To reduce housing costs, or at least keep them from rising so fast, governments around the country have passed hundreds of new bills that make it easier for builders to erect smaller units at greater densities," Dougherty reports. "Some cities and states — like Oregon — have essentially banned single-family zoning rules.

All creatures: Thousands of boar hybrids; loss for Cajun cooking; the better animal spy; is too much bacon possible?

A herd of boars roaming through a forest.
(Photo by Rolf Scmidbauer, Unsplash)

With thick fur to guard against stifling cold, keen minds and tusks as sharp "as steak knives," wild boar hybrids are "raising hell on the Canadian prairies," reports The Economist. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. When Canadian pig farmers were told in the 1980s that their animals' gene pool was thin, they turned to wild boars from Britain for fortification. . . . In 2001, the boar-meat market plunged. Some farmers, unable to sell their stock, simply released their hybrid pigs into the wild. . . .Today, those pigs' descendants roam the Canadian prairie provinces, a horde some 62,000 strong."

From East Texas to Louisiana's Acadiana region beats the heart of Cajun cooking, where recipes are usually chockablock full of boiled crawfish. But this year, Procambarus clarkii, also known as the red swamp crawfish, crayfish, mudbugs or crawdads, is not affordable for most. Its price is up nearly 500%. "Drought and last winter's hard freeze forced crawfish spawn die-offs ahead of their ongoing harvest time," reports Xander Peters of National Geographic. "The shock felt throughout the U.S. crawfish market is absorbed by its blue-collar producers and restaurant owners, as well as folks working in processing plants, deshelling crawfish, and delivery-truck drivers."

Photo by Marco Ugarte, AP

Crawfish aren't the only species having a hard time surviving extreme weather. The annual survey of monarch butterflies "found the second-lowest number of monarchs on record," reports Jenny Peek of Wisconsin Public Radio. "Monarch populations are extremely sensitive to high heat and drought — both of which are becoming more common with climate change. Habitat loss is also a major contributing factor to the species' decline."

 

Understanding chicken life and egg cartons
can be perplexing. (Unsplash photo)

Do happier chickens mean better eggs? Maybe. Read here to find out what kind of "wide open spaces" chickens like and what "label" is the best chicken environment. Still, even with that information, you may need help deciphering the egg carton. Read here to decode egg carton descriptions.

We have too much bacon. Whaattt? Bacon fans might be shocked, but talk to a U.S. pork producer, who will confirm that the nation has more pork than it can eat. "From giant processors to the farmers, they've made production so efficient that demand can’t keep up with supply," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "In search of solutions, farmers and processors are looking at everything from new overseas markets to fattier, tastier pigs."

Pigeons are better spies.
(Photo by Rorhof via NG)

Not all spies are Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt. Some have fur, and others have feathers. But which is better? "Amid the high stakes and desperation of the Cold War, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency faced a perpetual espionage challenge: access," writes Christian Elliott of National Geographic. "How do you get a spy inside the secure inner sanctum of a foreign head of state. . . .You send in a feline spy. The CIA called the operation 'Acoustic Kitty.'" Spying kitties didn't share the CIA's agenda. "To find a more promising animal secret agent candidate, the CIA needed look no further than Acoustic Kitty's natural enemy: birds. Specifically, the humble pigeon." 

Human actors might learn a trick or two from this smart, charismatic group.
(Anheuser-Busch photo, AP via The Wall Street Journal)

The Super Bowl might be over, but this herd still deserves applause for elegance, a spot-on performance, and getting beer delivered to a small town in need. It's the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses. "Less known is their reputation as perhaps the most consummate professionals on the advertising circuit," reports Katie Deighton of The Wall Street Journal. "Industry veterans who shoot commercials consider working with the horses a career pinnacle, like a movie director who finally gets to direct Meryl Streep." 

Half of rural hospitals lose money; consultancy estimates 418 could close, citing Medicare Advantage as big issue

Map by Chartis Center for Rural Health, labeled by The Rural Blog

Rural hospitals are in more trouble than ever, and 418 of them are “vulnerable to closure,” according to a study of their finances by Chartis, a Chicago-based health-care consultancy that specializes in tracking the business of rural health. (Here's its list of top 100 rural and community hospitals.)

The Chartis Center for Rural Health says rural hospitals are entering "a startling new phase of this crisis as rural hospitals fall deeper into the red, 'care deserts' widen throughout rural communities, and the increasing penetration of Medicare Advantage could further disrupt rural hospital revenue."

The top warning signal cited in the study is that half of rural hospitals are losing money, up from 43 percent a year ago. That news is especially bad for independent rural hospitals, 55% of which are in the red, while only 42% of rural hospitals affiliated with groups are operating at a loss. "Nearly 60% of rural hospitals are now affiliated with a health system," Chartis reports.

Most people on Medicare now have Medicare Advantage, private insurance plans that get lump sums from Medicare to cover members and look for ways to attract customers while limiting claims. "Medicare Advantage now accounts for 35% of all Medicare-eligible patients in rural communities," Chartis reports, saying Advantage plans' share of rural residents has risen 48% since 2019. 

Chartis map, labeled by The Rural Blog; click to enlarge

That's a problem for rural hospitals designated as "critical access" because Medicare Advantage plans' net reimbursement to such hospitals "is often lower for similar services than that of traditional Medicare because Medicare Advantage does not follow cost-based reimbursement" as traditional Medicare does for such hospitals, Chartis reports. Insurance companies negotiate those rates with hospitals, and in many rural areas, hospitals are at a negotiating disadvantage because few insurers operate in their service areas.

Also, "Medicare Advantage may not cover all the services traditional Medicare does, including swing beds, which provide skilled nursing care for patients and are often a strong source of revenue stability for rural hospitals," Chartis notes. "Rural providers may not be equipped to efficiently navigate administrative requirements for payment introduced by Medicare Advantage, such as prior authorizations, which can lead to increased denials."

Since 2010, "167 rural hospitals have either closed or converted to a model that excludes inpatient care," Chartis says. The firm says its estimate that 418 are “vulnerable to closure” is based on "a new, expanded statistical analysis" of their finances, gleaned from cost reports they file with Medicare.

Rural sheriff and prosecutor offices in Texas are awarded $125 million to bolster staffing and equipment needs

Map of criminal legal deserts in Texas.
(SMU Dedman School of Law map)

To address law enforcement and prosecutorial staffing and pay shortages, Texas has awarded $125 million to rural offices that need more trained professionals, increased wages and new equipment to serve their communities, reports Carlos Nogueras Ramos of the Texas Tribune. Commenting on the funds, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said, "These rural grant programs will help law enforcement offices across this state get the additional financial tools they need."

The grant was made available to communities with populations less than 300,000, and once offered, "94% of eligible sheriff's offices applied for money. Nearly 86% of eligible prosecutor's officers applied, the comptroller said. The comptroller awarded grants to 224 sheriff's offices and 138 prosecutors' offices," Ramos writes. "Rural law enforcement can apply for the grant again in 2025."

In rural Texas, prosecutors' offices have struggled to compete with metro areas to recruit and retain attorneys. "The money is a start to reverse a long-term decline of prosecutors in rural Texas counties, said Pamela Metzger, executive director at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law," Ramos reports. "Less than one percent of lawyers practiced criminal defense law in rural parts of Texas."

The lack of attorneys means rural defendants wait longer to see a public defender, which can lead to more time sitting in jail. "Metzger said that an individual accused of a crime in a major city typically has a guaranteed public defender representing them in court within a day." She told Ramos, "If you live anywhere else, you'll have to wait 72 hours or maybe a weekend, just because of where you live."

Reeves County, pop. 14, 800, will
continue to face staffing shortfalls.
(Wikipedia map)

For law enforcement offices, the added funds will help but not solve their staffing woes. Michael Lazcano, a chief deputy at Reeves County, said, "Money is one part of the equation. He said that law enforcement agencies, especially rural ones, will continue to grapple with recruitment," Ramos reports.

A 2022 study by the Department of Justice "found that recruiting has been a persisting challenge for sheriff’s offices. The number of full-time, sworn officers — 174,000 — has not increased since 1997."

Rural Mainstreet economy reports negative growth for the sixth month in a row

Economic challenges have led to below growth neutral
survey results. (Photo by L. Pound, The Packer)

Last summer, the Rural Mainstreet Index showed good economic growth. But after June 2023's high point of 56.9 on the 100-point scale, the survey's 10-state region reported continued decreases, with September marking the first month below growth neutral at 49.5 -- the term used for a "neutral" growth score of 50. The downward trend has continued over the past six months," reports The Packer, which covers the fresh produce industry. 

Ernie Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University issued a press release explaining the challenges facing farming and energy-dependent regions, saying: "Higher interest rates, weaker agriculture commodity prices and a credit squeeze are having a significant and negative impact on Rural Mainstreet businesses and Rural Mainstreet farmers."

"Almost three-fourths of bank CEOs named low farm-commodity prices as the biggest risk for farms in 2024," the release said, "And approximately 44% of bankers indicated that the financial positions of farmers in their area had weakened over the past six months."

Gross told The Packer: "This is the eighth time in the past nine months that the index has fallen below growth neutral. Higher borrowing costs, tighter credit conditions and weaker grain prices are having a negative impact on the purchases of farm equipment."

About RHI methodology: Each month, community bank presidents and CEOs in non-metro regions of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming are surveyed on their unique economic conditions and projected outlook. The survey offers the most current real-time analysis of the U.S. rural economy, which gleans its data from about 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300.

A plan to restore and protect the Mississippi River is getting another chance in Congress

The Mississippi River basin, its major tributaries and the hypoxic "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. (EPA map via WJS)

After centuries as a mighty force, the Mississippi River needs planned protection to keep it viable. "Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin announced that she plans to introduce the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative in the Senate. Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota will bring the same bill forward in the House," writes Report for America correspondent Madeline Heim for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The proposal is "modeled after programs that protect other major bodies of waters across the U.S., like the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Chesapeake Bay Program."

Over the past two decades, Mississippi waters have included record highs and lows as drought and flooding have taken a toll. Despite the river's environmental traumas, it remains a vital part of U.S. infrastructure. "Millions of Americans rely on it for drinking water, commerce and recreation, and its floodplains provide food and habitat for hundreds of fish and wildlife species," Heim writes. "But it's facing a multitude of challenges, from extreme weather to habitat loss to persistent agricultural and industrial pollution. That pollution contributes to the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, which last year was almost as big as Yellowstone Park."

Heim reports, "Even in the past few years, the river has experienced the impacts of a changing climate, said Kelly McGinnis, the Mississippi River Network executive director. Last spring, communities along the upper river saw near-record floodwaters, book-ended by severe droughts that slowed shipping traffic to a crawl."

The Mississippi River's restoration plan would be housed within the Environmental Protection Agency, but input and problem-solving data from the 10 states the river touches would be used. Program funding "would fall into four main buckets," Heim explains. "Those include improving water quality, restoring habitats, reducing the presence of invasive species and creating natural infrastructure to protect against flood damage."

Beyond the four focus points, the program includes a "science plan," which "would create three regional hubs at universities in the 10 border states for research on the river's challenges," Heim reports. While the Mississippi plan is based on the success of The Great Lakes Initiative, it faces a far more partisan Congress for passage. "Baldwin said that she plans to have discussions with senators from across the aisle whose states border the river and that she believes bipartisan support is possible. . . . Its supporters believe that its reintroduction will help remind people of the threats the river faces."

In a surprising move, giant publisher Penguin Random House is actively fighting book bans

A wall of banned Penguin Random House books.
(Photo by Nate Langston Palmer, WSJ)

When it comes to fighting book bans, book publishers have hugged the sidelines and quietly funded industry groups that champion First Amendment rights. But for one publishing giant, stepping into the book boxing ring has meant standing up for free speech and its authors, reports Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of The Wall Street Journal. Penguin Random House "now fully embraces the fight against book bans, entering a sensitive debate that is playing out in school boards and statehouses across the country. At risk: potentially alienating a large chunk of customers on an issue at the crux of culture wars that have polarized the nation in ways not seen in decades."

Those who push for book bans often "believe they are targeting titles that are pornographic or otherwise inappropriate for young people," Trachtenberg writes. "The publisher's stance is that teachers, librarians and school administrators, as expert educators, already make decisions about what is appropriate for young readers, and should be left to do their jobs. . . . Despite the risks, Penguin Random House's leadership said that failing to act had moral and financial costs."

To that end, Penguin Random House has used its media might to resist bans, educate consumers and share "censored" content. "Penguin Random House has started hosting anti-book-banning events, giving away several thousand copies of its most-frequently banned titles," Trachtenberg reports. "School boards and school districts removed more than 1,500 book titles from an assortment of publishers from public school classrooms and libraries in the 12 months through June 2023, according to a recent study by PEN America, a literary and free-speech organization that has been vocal in opposing bans."

Trachtenberg reports, "When Dan Novack, Penguin Random House's associate general counsel, learned the law firm Ballard Spahr was working on a book-banning lawsuit against Escambia County School District in Florida with PEN America, he called an attorney there and asked, 'Can we get in? . . . In an early victory, a federal judge ruled the plaintiffs in the Florida case can pursue their lawsuit on First Amendment grounds."

Taking a hard line against book bans has opened Penguin Random House to deeper probes by media and well-funded book ban advocates. Despite the added scrutiny, the company's leadership feels their position supports educators. Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya told Trachtenberg: "There is always the potential for people to misinterpret our actions. We aren't pushing anything on anyone. We're supporting the experts who make decisions about books."

The Institute for Rural Journalism thrives at the University of Kentucky; its outreach is for rural news nationwide

Benjy Hamm

Twenty years ago, some forward-thinking journalists began discussing the future of news in rural America. One of the more vibrant and committed conversations would take center stage at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, where the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues was created and thrives, with a continuing passion for helping "journalism work in rural areas and to provide training and other resources for small news organizations," reports Bob Miller for Editor & Publisher magazine.

Benjy Hamm serves as the new director of the IRJCI, succeeding Al Cross, who had spent 20 years developing the Institute's foundations. Hamm told Miller: "We have a mission that spreads across the country. The people who developed it at the time were well ahead of the curve and anticipated where we are today. They were interested in supporting and sustaining rural journalists and rural communities because of concerns about how things were going in those communities for local newspapers. Local newspapers were the only local news and information source in many areas."

In July 2023, The Institute's summit hosted live
and remote participants from across the country.

IRJ has hosted three national rural journalism summits, bringing reporters, editors, stakeholders and philanthropy representatives together to focus on problem-solving and share success stories while promoting a sense of community for people who are often hundreds of miles from each other.

Craig Garnett

The Institute also honors the courage, tenacity and integrity needed to do important reporting in rural communities through the Tom and Pat Gish Award. This year's award is going to Craig Garnett, the publisher of the Uvalde Leader-News newspaper in Uvalde, Texas. "The rural newspaper pushed for answers in the wake of the mass shooting at Uvalde Elementary School," Miller reports. "Hamm said the award recognizes that investigative and watchdog journalism can be more difficult in smaller communities where resources are spread thinner and the journalists may have to hold to account the very community members they see and interact with."

Why focus on rural journalism? Hamm told Miller: "One of the main reasons for that, historically and what led to the origin of the Institute, was the belief that there's a lot of great work being done in rural communities, but they don't always have the same support staff. They don't always have the same training opportunities, and they don't always have the same issues that are taking place in larger cities. So, for example, agriculture is huge in many rural communities in Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky."

Erika Engstrom

The Institute benefits from UK's vital campus and a growing School of Journalism. Miller writes, "Of the 30,000 students on campus, 719 are enrolled in journalism classes. That's larger than many small towns dotted across America. Of those, 204 are majors or pre-majors in the journalism program. . . ." Dr. Erika Engstrom, director of the School of Journalism and Media in the College of Communication and Information, told Miller that some of the program's entry-level courses have exceeded capacity.

While many news organizations across the nation have suffered setbacks and financial woes, the future for rural journalism is full of challenges and opportunities. Hamm told Miller: "With the state of local news and just how many of these smaller newspapers have gone out of business, that's one of the main reasons we're creating a new emphasis on helping us sustain the journalism in these communities. We work with newspapers, radio and online news sites, but it's still true that, in most rural communities, the primary if not the only source of independent news coverage is a newspaper."

The number of U.S. farms has shrunk to the smallest level since 1850; many of the remaining farmers are over 65

Treehugger photo by Dan Amos via SF

The decreasing number of U.S. farms and the increasing age of the country's farmers are concerning factors for a country considered an agricultural powerhouse. U.S. farmers feed America and their exports support the country's trade surpluses with other nations. "The United States has the smallest number of farms — 1.9 million — since 1850, when there were only 31 states and four territories, said the USDA Census of Agriculture," reports Chuck Abbott of Successful Farming. "Nearly four of every 10 farmers were over 65 in 2022, when the data was collected, an abrupt surge from the 2017 census, when one in three farmers was retirement age."

During the Great Depression, there were 6.8 million farms, but "mechanization, hybrid seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides allowed vast increases in productivity while reducing the need for labor," Abbott explains. "Farm output is so large that one-fifth of production is exported."

While many Americans may think that farm families simply pass down land to their progeny, that is more a myth than a reality. As it becomes harder for farmers to turn a profit due to regulations, labor shortages and extreme weather, fewer of the next generation view farming as a viable profession. Abbott reports, "'The number of producers [age] 65 and over increased 12%, continuing the trend of an aging producer population,' said a highlight sheet for the census, describing changes since 2017. There was a 9 percent decline in the number of farmers aged 35-65 years."

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Abbott: "The hope would be that we would continue to encourage people to get in and remain in the farming business and that we would be able to preserve our farmland. But survey after survey continues to show a decline in the number of farms and farmland." 

The Census of Agriculture is available here.
A USDA chart of farm numbers over the years is available here.

Uvalde editor, honored for his work, wishes he had done more before tragedy struck

Craig Garnett will receive the Tom and Pat Gish
Award Feb. 29. (Oklahoma Press Association photo)

By Al Cross
Director Emeritus, Institute for Rural Journalism 

The town of Uvalde, Texas, pop. 15,000, and its same-named county of 25,000 were very unlucky in May 2022. That’s when an 18-year-old with an assault rifle at an elementary school killed 19 students and two teachers – a toll that probably would have been less had police not botched the response.

But Uvalde was also lucky – that it had a newspaper with an editor-publisher, Craig Garnett, who had long been willing to tell hard truths about things that matter, and who kept doing that in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The day after the shooting, the twice-weekly Leader-News published a black front page, with “MAY 24, 2022” in reverse type. The next front page had portraits of the 19 children and the start of a story with biographies of each one. Inside was a column from Garnett, addressing the police delay in confronting the shooter.

He said a regional police official "could not answer why it took an hour to end the attack," quoted him as saying police were “measuring," and wrote; "The question is how much measuring is permissible, while children are being murdered. Or perhaps they were already gone. It pains to write these words of criticism about law enforcement, but parents and the community have the right to know. They must be told why police, whom parents at the scene begged to go in and save their children, failed to act. They have to know, to ever begin to heal."

In an editorial a month later, Garnett named names and was blunt: “No mass school shooting in the United States has ended with such glaring failures in both the law enforcement response and school district security. . . . Neither [school] Police Chief Pete Arredondo, acting city chief Mariano Pargas, Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco nor any state or federal officer among the 376 responders to the scene was willing to take the helm of what was clearly a rudderless ship cast into a hurricane.” That didn’t sit well with local law enforcers and their supporters, but Garnett’s initial reporting and commentary had already spoiled his good relationship with the school district and police agencies.

Meanwhile, Garnett spent much time “sitting with families who lost children, siblings, friends; interviewing survivors, teachers and students, about their experience,” Leader-News Managing Editor Meghann Garcia said in nominating him for the 2023 Tom and Pat Gish Award from the Institute for Rural Journalism at the University of Kentucky, which I ran at the time. Garnett wasn’t able to attend our awards banquet in October, but in a recorded video for it, he reflected on his experience – and offered some advice for community editors and publishers:

“What happened in Uvalde was crushing. It continues to be an enormous weight on many of our shoulders, especially the families of victims. And we have endeavored to cover every aspect of that shooting. We still are working for information, accountability from various institutions, particularly our city and our school district and our law enforcement officials. We plan to follow that to its conclusion, whatever time it may take.

“But being successful at that and community journalism, as most publishers know, depends on your people. And I happen to have a group of journalists who are beyond amazing. None of us graduated from elite universities, some of us don’t have college degrees, but after the tragedy on May 24, each one of them brought something extremely important to our coverage. And our grand total [is] five of us, so there wasn’t a lot. It didn’t take long to have our discussions with each other and to plan our day. And it’s true in most of the newsrooms across this country and community journalism. But it brings you together in a way that nothing else can, I don’t suppose, unless it would be a foxhole. We learned from that. And one of the things we’ve taken away from May 24 is that we didn’t do enough before.

“We have a wall full of plaques from the South Texas Press Association, the Texas Press Association, but we didn’t do enough. We didn’t ask enough questions. We didn’t hold people running for elected office to account like we should have. We didn’t question people who wanted to run our institutions closely enough. What motivated them? What experience do they have? What would they do in a crisis? And we certainly didn’t hold our law enforcement to a high enough standard, the people who swore to protect us.

“So, we will work harder in the future to do that, to make sure that we know as much as we can about people who intend to lead our community, especially in the aftermath of a tragedy. We want to know how they’ll react. It’s not entirely possible. There are all kinds of things that pop up that you can’t plan for, but you can get a sense of where people’s souls lie and what their commitment is to your community. And that’s what I would advise to my fellow publishers in small towns. Pay attention. Pay attention to everything, to those people who run institutions, to the kid who’s slipping between the cracks, who might one day become the same school shooter we had. Be invested beyond what you are now, if that’s possible. I know most of you work your hearts out. But if there’s one thing we would like to do better, it would’ve been that.”

Garnett will share more of his experiences and receive the Tom and Pat Gish Award Feb. 29 at the University of Texas during a symposium, “Courage, Tenacity, Integrity and Innovation in Rural Journalism,” sponsored by the Institute for Rural Journalism, the Texas Center for Community Journalism at Tarleton State University, and the Center for Ethical Leadership in Media in the University of Texas School of Journalism and Media. He will be joined by fellow Texans Laurie Ezzell Brown of The Canadian Record, Randy Keck of The Community News in Aledo, Tara Huff of The Eagle Press in Fritch, John Starkey of Rambler Texas Media and Daniel Walker of the Vernon Daily Record, the Burkburnett Informer Star and the Clay County Leader. For more information about the event, go to https://tccjtsu.com/community-journalists-will-talk-courage-tenacity-innovation-and-integrity-at-ut-austin-feb-29/. The event is free, but registration is required; here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/4fpvwcwu.

Al Cross edited and managed rural newspapers before covering politics for the Louisville Courier Journal and serving as president of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is director emeritus of the Institute for Rural Journalism and a professor at the University of Kentucky.

Private equity-owned health care is guided by expansion and profits; many are calling for more regulation

As Americans age, the home health care sector will
continue to grow. (Photo by G.A. Pflueger, Unsplash)

Home health care businesses may go by nurturing names, such as "Senior Helpers" or "At Home Angels," but the much industry is funded by private equity investors looking to make hefty profits, reports Anna Claire Vollers of Stateline. "Proponents of private equity investment in health care say the infusion of capital helps smaller companies expand into new markets." But skeptics point to places where care companies suddenly pulled out of entire regions when profits waned, leaving elderly people at home with no care.

Private equity-owned health care companies exist to make money for investors. "Private equity firms pool investments from pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and wealthy individuals to buy controlling stakes in companies," Voller explains. "In health care, critics say, that business model can diminish the quality of care, increase costs and narrow access for patients — particularly in more lightly regulated industries such as home care and hospice care."

Home health care is an appealing business venture because it doesn't face the same level of scrutiny as hospitals and nursing homes, the profit margins are robust, and there's an aging population where "around 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day," Voller reports. There will be "millions of people who will need care in the coming years," which will guarantee strong business growth. Plus, insurance companies encourage their customers to use home health care, which again, bolsters profits.

Even with all those benefits, private equity firms tend to pile debt on their companies to fund expansion. "Private equity firms typically aim to acquire a company and boost profits before selling it within five to seven years," Voller reports. "They often purchase companies with borrowed money, using the company's assets as collateral for the loans."

Mary Bugbee, senior research and campaign coordinator for health care at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a research and advocacy group, told Voller, "We leave a lot to the whims of the market and allow private players to dictate access to and quality of health care."

State policy and lawmakers are looking at home health care companies as businesses needing more regulatory oversight. "Improving transparency, requiring certain health care staff-to-patient ratios and boosting wages for health care workers can also help protect patients and communities," Voller reports. 

Quick hits: Film explores Christian nationalism; human brain limits; sun activity and the eclipse; Marvel & HBO go rural

'Christianity is about the values of inclusion,' one of the
film's interviewees says. (God + Country photo)

A new documentary that explores the rise of American Christian nationalism and the threat its increasing influence poses to democracy has been released in select theaters, reports Russell Contreras of Axios. Directed by Robert Reiner, the film, "God + Country" features interviews with Black evangelicals, religious leaders and scholars, as well as Charlie Sykes of The Bulwark, a conservative anti-Trump website, and Russell Moore, a theologian who "resigned from the Southern Baptist Convention amid a backlash over his criticism of Trump." The film asks interviewees from all walks of life if/how the movement is based on Christian principles and what are the risks to the democratic process when Christianity becomes a political ideology.

For many Americans, maybe the post-pandemic "new normal" could be best described as "living with constant uncertainty," which is not a comfortable position for humans. "To stay motivated as we encounter unprecedented levels of uncertainty in every aspect of our lives, we should understand that the human brain simply was not built for this," report Heidi Grant and Tal Goldhamer of Harvard Business Review. "Knowing what your brain does well — and what it does surprisingly poorly — can give you a much clearer sense of the strategies you need not just to endure but to thrive." Read some comforting and helpful coping strategies here.

A NASA satellite captured this image
of sunspots. (NASA image via WP)

Greeting Earthlings! The sun is putting on some incredible shows this year. "Solar flares, eruptions on the sun's surface and sunspots are expected to multiply and intensify throughout this year, as our yellow star enters its most active period in two decades," reports Kasha Patel of The Washington Post. "That could lead to more beautiful dancing aurora far and wide, but also radio blackouts and satellite disruptions."

From outlawing gender discrimination in federally funded programs to bolstering cleaner air to reducing child poverty, the U.S. government has achieved some landmark policy successes, writes Darrell M. West in his opinion for Brookings. Read here for all 10 success stories.

The path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. (NASA Science Visualization Studio graphic via Mashable)

Unusual, dark and spectacular -- the solar eclipse is coming this spring. "Witnessing a total solar eclipse — wherein the moon completely blocks out the sun — is a rare opportunity," reports Mark Kaufman of Mashable. "But on April 8, 2024, millions of Americans will be in the 'path of totality,' allowing many to experience something that's at once astonishing, unsettling, and thrilling."

Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez in 'Echo' (Photo
by Chuck Zlotnick, Marvel Studios via DY)

New films featuring remote places are getting noticed. Even Marvel Studios left New York City to stage its new mini-series "Echo" in Tamaha, Oklahoma, where a Choctaw Nation adventure unfolds. Adam B. Giorgi of The Daily Yonder writes, "It follows Maya Lopez, a closely held associate of a New York-based criminal magnate, as she returns to her Oklahoma hometown after a violent falling out with her boss."

Night Country detectives face
unending darkness. (HBO photo)

 

For those who love rural and seek darker twists, HBO's newest "True Detective" season, Night Country, is set in Alaskan's northernmost place, the North Slope Borough, which is 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The story "follows the disappearance of eight men from a research station and how it might be linked to the unsolved murder of an indigenous woman," reports Kristian Bert of NBC Today.

North Slope Borough, Alaska
(Wikipedia map)

"The show gets its name from the concept of a Polar Night, a phenomenon that occurs at the north and south poles, where night lasts all day during the winter."

The plot involves two detectives -- Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) -- who must work together to solve the crimes without the help of Anchorage police.

Grist offers webinar for journalists who want to report on "land-grab" data involving universities in 14 states

Fourteen public universities were founded with land taken from
Indigenous nations. (Illustration by Marty Two Bulls Jr., Grist)

Grist is offering a free webinar on Feb. 21 for reporters who are interested in reporting on state trust land data involving public universities in 14 states. 

The webinar will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern time. Webinar participants will learn how to use Grist's "land grab" data set from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming to see how institutions got their land and money.

Using state data on land grant universities, Grist's data report examined how these entities established their provenance and how much revenue those lands produce for their associated colleges. The data shows how states use these lands in to generate income, such as timber harvesting, oil and gas extraction, and agriculture.

Grist's investigation explains how about 8.1 million acres of land, which produces income for 14 land-grant universities, was taken from 123 Indigenous nations through more than 100 violence-backed land cessions. Grist's editor at large Tristan Ahtone and spatial data analyst Maria Parazo Rose will explain how journalists can use the data for their own stories.