Investigate Midwest

06/02/2026

Beef prices are making headlines again, but questions about competition in the cattle industry haven't gone away.

Earlier this year, Investigate Midwest reported that staffing cuts affected federal offices responsible for enforcing antitrust laws in agriculture, even as the Trump administration pledged to scrutinize consolidation in the meatpacking industry.

Just four companies control roughly 85% of U.S. beef processing.

Story in the comments.

05/28/2026

Three-fourths of Illinois counties report cancer rates above the national average. Many also have significantly higher pesticide use rates.

One of our latest stories in this week's newsletter breaks down the data, plus new developments involving Bayer seed contracts and Deere stock disclosures tied to Trump’s portfolio.

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05/27/2026

Check out this week's Data Harvest: In Illinois, the counties with the highest cancer rates are most often in the central part of the state, a high crop-growing region where pesticide and herbicide use is highest.

05/22/2026

Loyalty programs have been part of the seed and chemical industry for decades. Some critics have termed them “velvet handcuffs” that are designed to fend off generic competitors, which sell cheaper options to resellers.

Loyalty programs have been part of the seed and chemical industry — typically, the seeds and pesticides required to grow commodity crops are sold together — for decades. Some have termed them “velvet handcuffs” that are designed to fend off generic competitors, which sell cheaper options to ...

05/21/2026

After one purchase, Trump touted Deere & Co.’s stock price at a rally in Iowa, where he also announced a major investment by the company.

The person who controls Donald Trump’s investment portfolio purchased stock in John Deere three times since January, according to the president’s financial disclosure released last week.  The largest stock purchase was listed as “unsolicited,” meaning it was not recommended by a broker — ...

05/20/2026

“In every room, every hand would go up.”

That’s how one panelist described asking Iowa residents during listening sessions last summer whether they or someone close to them had experienced a cancer diagnosis.

On May 7, researchers, journalists, cancer survivors and medical experts joined Investigate Midwest’s live panel discussion on pesticides, cancer risk and rural health. Attendees raised questions about groundwater contamination, pesticide drift and environmental exposure, and nearly 90% of survey respondents said the conversation improved their understanding of these issues.

Support more reporting and public conversations like this by becoming a monthly donor to our newsroom today:

https://investigatemidwest.org/donations

05/19/2026

Part of the reason for higher food prices is the war Trump started with Iran, which predictably closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route. The war has led to high gas prices across the country, and food prices have followed suit.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2026/05/19/food-prices-just-had-their-highest-month-to-month-jump-in-years/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=jetpack_social

05/19/2026

“From the moment that I said ‘cancer,’ it was like everybody snapped to attention,” she tells Sentient over the phone, a few weeks after speaking in front of her colleagues and just days after she publicly announced that her surgery was successful and that, for now, she is cancer free.

In January, State Sen. Catelin Drey stood at a podium on the Senate floor in front of her colleagues representing all corners of Iowa. She told them that she was about to speak candidly on a topic both “personal and political.” Behind her, legislators and staffers appeared to be half-listening, ...

05/18/2026

Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease and just a sip is fatal, but tens of thousands of pounds of it are being released in the Mississippi Basin.

WAYNESBORO, Miss. — Wayne County, Mississippi, in a quiet southeast corner of the state, is home to about 20,000 people surrounded by forest and farmland. But Wayne distinguishes itself in two ways: it is home to a Sipcam Agro plant that processes the toxic herbicide paraquat. Within the U.S., the...

05/13/2026

The report comes a year after the Trump administration approved some of the most sweeping staffing cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in recent memory.

The number of complaints filed about the safety of meat, poultry and egg products jumped nearly 40% last year, from 1,443 to 2,016, according to a new federal report. The report comes a year after the Trump administration approved some of the most sweeping staffing cuts to the U.S. Department of Agr...