A support group and a lab in the St. Louis area provide resources for people with the allergy to mammal products — and evidence that its effects can be reversed.
Desk reporter Bennet Goldstein reported from a field in Wisconsin. Credit: Coburn Dukehart, Wisconsin Watch
Thank you for following the Ag & Water Desk as a trusted source for news about agriculture and the environment throughout the Mississippi River Basin. Our journalism makes a real difference in communities from the headwaters to the Gulf by providing deeply reported stories in areas that may not have access to such reporting otherwise.
This is a special week for the Ag & Water Desk. For the first time, we’re participating in NewsMatch, a collaborative fundraising movement to support independent journalism.
Starting Friday, we're asking for your financial support to help us maintain our in-depth, insightful journalism. Any contribution you make up to $1,000 from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 will be doubled through NewsMatch.
Erin Jordan of The Gazette and Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco of WNIJ reported on carbon capture projects for the Ag & Water Desk in 2023. Credit: Nick Rohlman, The Gazette
Why do we need your support? We’re a nonprofit newsroom, funded by grants and donations. Our journalists work in newsrooms throughout the river basin, collaborating with each other and our central editorial staff to create original stories that connect and uplift us. We share those stories for free to a wide distribution network. In just two years of operations, our journalists have created more than 1,200 stories, shining a light on common problems and shared solutions. All of this work costs money to produce.
This is the first time we’ve asked our followers directly for help, and we hope we can count on you. Would you be willing to support the Ag & Water Desk and its vision of a greener, more informed region?
Watch your email for a special kickoff newsletter on Friday, and get ready to have your donation doubled!
Sincerely,
Sara Shipley Hiles Executive Director, Ag & Water Desk
This fall Eric Schmid reported on a perennial grain called Kernza. Many agricultural staples today, like corn, soy, wheat and barley are planted into the ground each growing season. Kernza, by contrast, stays in the ground for several years, and can produce multiple harvests in that time. “It holds soil in place, helps build new soil, absorbs water, takes up nutrients, hosts a hugely diverse microbiome, and it also sequesters carbon,” said biologist Allison Miller. Science Friday interviewed Eric about his reporting.
Greg Campbell, 66, left, and his wife Cheryl Sachtleben, 66, right, enjoy their beer during the release party of New Roots, a beer made using Kernza seeds, at the Blue Jay Brewing Company in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, on Sept. 4, 2024. Credit: Sophie Proe/ St. Louis Public Radio
Desk reporter Avery Martinez interviewed fellow Desk reporter Harshawn Ratanpal about his recent reporting on how using the U.S. Drought Monitor to determine aid eligibility for farmers affected by dry conditions could leave some struggling growers without help. The segment appeared on KMOV. Working across outlets, media formats and partners allows the Ag & Water Desk to get information to more people.
Wilburn Harris calls out to his cows on his farm in Drexel, Mo., Sept. 16, 2024. He owns about 70 head of cattle and would have had to sell many of them last year if not for federal drought relief. Credit: Harshawn Ratanpal/KBIA
