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Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates

(4/27/26) Close to 20% of Americans are exposed to water polluted with high levels of potentially cancer-causing nitrates, known to come mostly from agricultural runoff, according to a study reported on in Inside Climate News. Highlights:

• In a first-ever review of nitrate levels in public water systems across the country, the Environmental Working Group found that 6,114 of them — from heavily agricultural rural areas to major cities — have elevated levels of nitrates.
• The government set the legal limit of nitrate in water at 10 milligrams per liter in the early 1960s to help prevent cases of “blue baby” syndrome, a condition in which infants have low levels of blood oxygen. But research has since found that concentrations at five milligrams per liter and even lower are linked to colorectal and other cancers, thyroid disease, and birth defects.
• The states with the highest exposure to nitrate in drinking water are heavily agricultural, the EWG analysis found, and many of the highest levels of pollution were in agricultural areas in those states.
• A recent study from Yale University researchers found that proximity to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) was linked to increased cancer rates in three of the states with the most CAFOs—California, the country’s leading dairy state, Iowa, the country’s leading hog producer and Texas, the leading producer of beef. Nitrate-contaminated water, the researchers found, was a major risk.
• Climate change is making the situation worse. Drought conditions across agricultural areas have led to more concentrating of nitrates in soils. When it rains during a drought — whether a normal shower or an extreme deluge — the water tends to wash more of the nitrates into waterways.

In Minnesota, the Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program has helped farmers reduce nitrate leaching across thousands of acres. Now, the Minnesota Legislature is considering expanding that program to 10 neighboring counties with $2.8 million in voter-approved Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund money. We need lawmakers to hear from constituents this week about the importance of expanding this program. To make your voice heard before Thursday, May 14, click here. The Minnesota Senate recently hosted a special oversight hearing on nitrate pollution. Check out LSP’s report on the hearing here.

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“Not Every Shiny Robot Is a Solution.”

(4/27/26) Offrange reports that what University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers call a “cost adoption mismatch” between expensive and complex agricultural tech and what farmers can reasonably afford and incorporate into daily operations has led to 18 ag tech startups around the world ceasing operations in 2025. Highlights:

• Ag and food tech venture investment worldwide peaked in 2021 at almost $11 billion, before falling to $6 billion last year, largely fueled by concerns about paths to profitability and the long period for ag tech investments to pay off in the face of higher interest rates.

• Back in 2023, California-based startup FarmWise released a product that promised to upend modern agriculture: a next-generation, AI-enabled weeding robot called Vulcan, able to distinguish weeds from crops and then kill the interlopers, using computer-controlled blades. And yet, FarmWise’s Vulcan proved too capital-intensive for most farmers and wound down operations last year — in spite of raising $65 million in venture funding.

• The most hard-hit category in ag tech start-ups has been indoor vertical farms — six of these companies failed around the world in 2025. Vertical farms require a lot of energy and generally yield products that have to compete with inexpensive, conventionally produced crops like lettuce. Three different makers of insect protein — as a low-carbon-footprint source of livestock feed, pet food, or fertilizer — also failed. And in addition to the FarmWise weeder in the ag robotics category, the drone chemical spray company Guardian Agriculture also went under.
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers estimate that given low prices and high input costs, producers of row crops like corn or soybeans can afford to invest only about $4 per acre before new tech starts to become too pricey.
• In a recent blog post, an Iowa popcorn producer railed against the way that AI and robotics companies can take away decision-making from farmers and fieldworkers — while seeking to hoover up data using opaque terms of service agreements. “Not every robot is a shiny solution,” the post concluded.

Through its Farm Beginnings course, LSP offers an opportunity for beginning farmers to learn the kind of holistic business planning that pencils out the plusses and minuses of adopting various practices. Details are here.

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Researchers Examine the Health of Soils in Dairy Forage Fields

(5/7/26) Morning AgClips reports that sampling of dairy farms in the Driftless Region shows that practices that reduce disturbance and maximize living roots improved soil health. Highlights:

• Three key measurements were taken: soil organic carbon, aggregate stability, and carbon mineralization potential.
• Mara Cloutier, a research soil scientist and program director at the Soil Health Institute, said the sampling showed that well-managed rotationally grazed pastures have the greatest soil health in the region. In addition, putting soil health principles — minimizing disturbance and maximizing living roots, soil cover, and biodiversity — into practice in row crop systems showed measurable soil health improvement.
• “We need to be profitable from year to year to year, but these practices I view more as generational,” said Jack Herricks, a Driftless Region dairy farmer who participated in the sampling. “We need to … build our soil health, and it’s something that takes a long time. It doesn’t happen fast. You’ve got to have some knowledge and a little faith.”

Looking for information on how to build soil health profitably? Check out LSP’s Soil Health web page. You can sign-up for our Soil Builders’ Network e-letter here.

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USDA in Minnesota, Already Hit Hard by DOGE Cuts, Faces More Lost Jobs

(5/12/26) The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the White House wants to reduce the USDA’s 2027 budget for discretionary conservation funding from $850 million to just $111 million. If the latest USDA cuts are approved, farmers could face a virtual ground-stop to programs that help them adopt new practices. Highlights:

• Three years ago, Congress passed environmental farming legislation that invested some $20 billion in promoting a suite of sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices.

• In the first six months of last year, 22% of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff across the U.S. left their jobs, according to a USDA Office of Inspector General letter.
• Southwestern Minnesota farmer Jerry Ackermann said he’s concerned that not having a point person to handle NRCS requests means fewer farmers will make the daunting transition to cover crops, low tillage, or any number of sustainable practices that can clean the water and reduce erosion. “Many people want to try it,” Ackermann said. “But NRCS runs out of money.”

In episode 351 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast, Jerry Ackermann talked about how he’s used government programs to transition into soil-friendly practices. LSP has long worked on the state and federal level to support funding of farm conservation programs. 

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The Last Days of Butter Ridge

(4/16/26) A The New York Times feature describes the final days of a 90-cow Pennsylvania dairy farm. The Watson family had been involved in dairying in the region since before the Civil War, but high input prices and low milk prices had finally forced them to get out of the business. Highlights:

•  Brian Watson had been working in the same barn for 45 years, starting out with a small herd of a few dozen cows right after high school and milking five hours each morning and four more every night. His cows had won acclaim for their milk quality with a high percentage of butterfat, but each year he kept losing more money.
• The number of dairy farms in the United States has fallen to fewer than 25,000 from a peak of nearly 700,000 in the 1970s. Milk prices have barely risen in half a century, held down by overproduction and a handful of large corporations that dominate the dairy market. The costs of running a family farm has skyrocketed by as much as 500%.
• Farm bankruptcies across the country rose 55% in 2024, 46% in 2025, and another 70% so far in 2026 as nearly a third of the world’s fertilizer exports were impacted by conflicts in the Strait of Hormuz.

As state regulators consider an unprecedented proposal for creating the largest dairy operation in Minnesota, it’s clear a convergence of rapid consolidation, economic distress, and large-scale expansion raises urgent questions about whether existing policies are adequately protecting fair competition, rural communities, and public resources, argues a new LSP white paper. Check it out here.

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House Passes Farm Bill With Pesticide Liability Shield Removed

(4/30/26) Civil Eats reports that the U.S. House passed the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026” (its version of the Farm Bill) after several controversial amendments nearly tanked the process. Highlights:

•  An amendment to remove a provision that would have given pesticide companies immunity from some liability claims passed at the last minute.
• A complicated deal Republicans struck to get the Farm Bill to the floor means that it cannot be sent to the Senate until a stand-alone bill on the year-round sale of higher ethanol blend gasoline, called E15, is put to a vote.
• Even if the bill does get to the Senate, insiders doubt it will move forward. It still contains controversial provisions, including a section that would overturn state animal welfare laws. Instead, the Senate will likely write its own version.
• But Democrats have said they will not vote for any Farm Bill without rollbacks to the food assistance cuts made in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year. Recently, more than 300 food and farm groups urged lawmakers not to pass the House Farm Bill because it failed to address farmers’ most pressing challenges.

 LSP is a member-group of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). NSAC has issued a letter, which LSP signed onto, urging House leaders to reject the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. With Farm Bill reauthorization already more than two-and-a-half years overdue, the letter stressed that urgency cannot be an excuse for bad policy. “Congress must reject H.R. 7567 and deliver a bipartisan Farm Bill that strengthens the safety net, invests in local and regional markets, protects workers, and advances a just, climate‑resilient food system for all,” the letter states. Read the letter here.  

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Betting on Whole-Grain Baking

(5/6/26) Civil Eats reports that a growing number of bakers in the U.S. are moving away from industrial white flour in favor of whole grains — often sourced from local, sustainable farms and milled fresh in-house, with all parts of the grain intact. Highlights:

•  Some want to reduce their carbon footprint and support local grain economies, the networks of seed breeders, farmers, millers, bakers, and distributors that used to exist all across the country.
• Others are drawn to flavors that are more complex. And many appreciate the nutritional benefits of genuine whole-grain baked goods, made from milling the entire grain, versus products labeled “whole grain” that are often far shy of being 100% whole grain.
• But working with whole grains comes with challenges. These include managing relationships with farmers, seasonal fluctuations in the types of grains available, adapting baking methods originally developed for conventional grains, and higher costs.

LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast recently featured a handful of episodes on how food entrepreneurs are working to add value to locally-raised small grains. Check them out here. Check out LSP’s Small Grains web page here.

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