Harvest Public Media

  • Harvest Public Media

Harvest Public Media reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues through a collaborative network of reporters and partner stations throughout the Midwest and Plains.

Our goal is to provide in-depth and unbiased reporting on complex issues for a broad, diverse audience, often connecting the Heartland to the rest of the country. Primary topics include, but are not limited to, agribusiness, biofuels, climate change, farming and ranching, food safety, rural life and public policy.

Harvest Public Media reports on KOSU are sponsored by Oklahoma's Electric Cooperatives, powering and servicing Oklahoma and committed to bringing rural communities to life. Find out more at oaec.coop.

Harvest Public Media reports on KOSU are sponsored by Oklahoma Farm Bureau, supporting family farmers and ranchers to improve the lives of all Oklahomans. More at okfarmbureau.org.

Harvest Public Media reports on KOSU are sponsored by Oklahoma Farm Bureau, committed to ethical animal agriculture and providing a safe work environment. More about responsible farming and videos on real pig farming online at okpork.org.

Ways to Connect

The Country Has Plenty Of Meat, Despite COVID-19 Plant Closures

By & • Apr 29, 2020
NICK TORKELSON

As meatpacking plants across the country have temporarily closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, consumers might be seeing less meat on the shelves at the grocery, but farmers are dealing with animals they can’t sell.

Meatpacking plants slaughter livestock and send packaged meat into wholesale and retail channels. Companies spent the better part of the 20th century mechanizing every possible aspect of the process, to maximize efficiency.

Animal Disease Labs Step In To Help Meet COVID-19 Testing Needs

By & • Apr 20, 2020
Amy Mayer

Many of the public health labs determining whether people have COVID-19 have become at least overworked or, at worst, overwhelmed. Some of the country’s animal disease labs have stepped in to help.

Rodger Main, director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at Iowa State University, says early in the COVID-19 outbreak, he and leaders from the University of Iowa’s State Hygienic Lab got on the phone to discuss how they could collaborate.

How Tribes And Other Partners In Southeast Oklahoma Are Preparing For The Next Big Drought

By & Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton • Mar 30, 2020
LENZY KREHBIEL-BURTON / FOR HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA

Southeastern Oklahoma averages at least 40 inches of rain per year, so its agricultural industry focuses primarily on livestock and timber. But an extended drought in 2011 and 2012 cost Oklahoma’s farmers and ranchers more than $2 billion in losses statewide. 

Many Internet Providers Pledge To Waive Late Fees, Not Shut Off Service During Coronavirus Pandemic

By & • Mar 19, 2020

Demand for internet access has shifted from workplaces to residential ones during the coronavirus pandemic, as more adults are working from home and some students are expected to continue their classwork online.

For Plant-Based Eaters, Veganizing Thanksgiving Is Easy As Pie

By • Nov 27, 2019

The holiday season is officially upon us, and so are its classic dishes. For some home cooks who are vegan or vegetarian, Thanksgiving can be a time to flex their culinary creativity, and make the well-loved new.

The sky is dark and cloudy, but inside Rutabaga’s Comfort Food in downtown Lincoln, the light is warm, and it smells like Thanksgiving.

Sara Brown and her kitchen team are bracing for the lunch rush. Though the restaurant opened just two months ago, the dining room already tends to be busy by noon.

2019's Many Challenges Keep Farm Incomes Down, But Can't Squelch Perennial Farmer Optimism

By & Amy Mayer • Nov 19, 2019

During 2019, the curveballs thrown at farmers began with the partial government shutdown in January, when some U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies were closed. Spring brought a storm system—called a bomb cyclone—that dumped rain on top of frozen fields unable to make use of it, kicking off weeks of flooding exacerbated by additional precipitation. Planting ran later than usual and some farmers never got a cash crop into certain saturated fields.

Why It's Hard To Help Children Through Mental Health Challenges In Rural Communities

By & Christina Stella • Nov 6, 2019
CHRISTINA STELLA / HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA

Between late planting, floods, and trade turmoil, many families in agriculture are operating under an extra layer of stress this year. But, addressing mental health in rural communities is more complicated than increasing resources.

Pregnancy On The Farm Comes With Its Own Set Of Risks

By • Oct 8, 2019

In the fall, livestock veterinarian Dr. Bailey Lammers is often busy with vaccinating calves and helping wean them from their mothers.

A herd of auburn cattle greeted her at the barn gate during one of her house calls in northeastern Nebraska, peering from behind the dirt-caked bars. Lammers and her technician Sadie Kalin pulled equipment from tackleboxes in the back of Lammers’ truck.  

Japan's Parliament To Take Up Trade Deal With U.S., But No One Knows What's In It

By & • Oct 3, 2019

Japan’s Parliament is convening this month and will likely take up a new trade deal with the United States. If enacted, the agreement might bring some good news to farmers, but no one really knows. 

Official language of the deal has not yet been made public, though the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it would increase access to the Japanese market for U.S. wheat, pork, and beef.

The Latest Generation Gap In Farming Is About Robots

By & Christina Stella • Sep 26, 2019

On a recent bright, clear day in eastern Nebraska, a small red machine crept through a lush field of soybeans. From the highway, it looked like a small tractor. Up close, its mess of wires came into focus. So did the laptop strapped to the back.

This is the Flex-Ro (Flexible Robotic Unit), one of several robots across the world being designed and tested to help farmers maximize crop yield, use fewer pesticides, and manage the industry’s dwindling labor market.

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