Christopher Walljasper, Journalist

For this weekend's special episode of Reuters World News, I got to chat with some REALLY smart Reuters reporters about the voters and issues that could decide this year's general election.

I hope you will listen, and share.

Beyond Super Tuesday: Voters and issues shaping the general election How some key voting groups are thinking about the race for the White House.

Ok, who do I know that is attending a Republican caucus in Iowa this year? I'm covering them for Reuters' daily podcast, and need some place to visit.

House Democrats have chosen Georgia Rep. David Scott as the chairman of the House Ag Committee.

Scott is the first African American and first Georgian to fill the role.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSL1N2IJ2YS?__twitter_impression=true

Georgia lawmaker selected as first African American to chair U.S. House Agriculture Committee Congressman David Scott has beenselected chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives'Agriculture Committee, becoming the first African American andfirst representative from Georgia to lead the panel.

"Thanksgiving's carrying us. I don't know what's going to carry us after thanksgiving," said Greg Gunthorp, who runs pasture-raised turkeys and pigs on his farm in NE Indiana.

Small farm operators and retailers are reeling this thanksgiving, and millions are facing hunger as we gather (or don't) this holiday. Please be thankful for what you have, careful with those you love, and support those individuals and businesses in need this season.

https://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSKBN2831D5

'Very stressful': COVID-19 surge slices U.S. demand for big Thanksgiving turkeys All summer, Greg Gunthorp slaughtered and froze 15- to 24-pound turkeys on his northeastern Indiana farm for Thanksgiving sales to retailers, restaurants and families across the Midwest.

While Mitch McConnell has decided we don't need anymore aid before the election, the number of people who can't afford groceries just keeps going up. It's especially hard to talk to folks in the food industry who can't buy those own food.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN27C1IM?__twitter_impression=true

Food workers, rural Americans go hungry despite U.S. government farm aid Yessenia Cendejas pulled up to a moving truck filled with donated food in northeastern Wisconsin, arriving at the mobile food bank straight from her job at a pizza-crust factory, to get sustenance for herself and five children.

When the CDC's moratorium ends in January, there will be a flood of evictions and back rent owed.

Humbled to have been able to contribute to this story.

Time’s up: After a reprieve, a wave of evictions expected across U.S. On Sept. 1, U.S. health officials announced they would suspend evictions across the United States to help stem further spread of the novel coronavirus.

USDA's food box program came in 37% short in its first round. Nearly all companies that fell short in June had contracts renewed for July & August.

Meanwhile, overburdened food banks are being asked to carry an even greater load when these companies fail.

My latest, for Reuters.

https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/07/07/us/07reuters-health-coronavirus-food-aid-exclusive.html?searchResultPosition=6

Exclusive: U.S. Government's Boxed Food Aid Promise Falls Short The U.S. government delivered far less food aid than it had pledged by the end of June, according to food bank managers and data from the agriculture department sent to Reuters, after it hired inexperienced companies to box food during the pandemic.

The USDA's trying to get food once bound for shuttered restaurants and docked cruise ships into the hands of hungry Americans.

But in its rush for a quick solution, the agency awarded millions of dollars to some companies that may not be up to the challenge, including a wedding planner that has never worked with farmers or distributed food.

My latest, for Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-foodbanks/u-s-food-aid-program-launches-with-companies-scrambling-to-deliver-idUSKBN22R1H3

U.S. food aid program launches with companies scrambling to deliver Texas-based CRE8AD8 LLC bid for a federal government contract to quickly rescue food from struggling farmers and deliver it to U.S. food banks as fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has put millions of Americans out of work and driven many to seek help putting food on the table.

Most Washington state potatoes get turned into French fries for fast food, schools and restaurants. So what do you do with a billion unused potatoes?

Give them away.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN22J3J6?__twitter_impression=true

The great potato giveaway: U.S. farmers hand out spuds to avoid food waste When Tina Yates pulled her truck up to a mall in western Washington state on Thursday, workers waved her past hundreds of cars waiting to pick up free russet potatoes.

Food banks are scrambling to keep up with the added demand from so many out of work. Donations from food companies and grocery stores are down, and USDA is trying to find a way to bridge the gap between farmers who can't get crops to restaurants and people who need food.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN2261AY?__twitter_impression=true

U.S. food banks run short on staples as hunger soars It’s pitch black in El Paso, Texas, when the minivans and pickups start lining up at 4 a.m., snaking for more than a mile down the desert roadway leading to the city’s largest food bank.

This was from last week - just in case you were thinking our food supply is all back to normal from this pandemic ... it's not. We've got hungry people at empty food banks, while farmers are plowing under crops, because they can't sell them to distributors, who've lost restaurant business.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN21Y02M?__twitter_impression=true

California farmer plows under lettuce after coronavirus shutters restaurant market There should be tractors rumbling across Jack Vessey's ranch, pulling wagons full of fresh-cut romaine lettuce to be packed and shipped to restaurants and grocery stores across the United States.

Gardening is growing as people are stuck at home and worried about the food supply. My latest for Reuters.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2220D3?__twitter_impression=true

Home gardening blooms around the world during coronavirus lockdowns Jaime Calder all but gave up on gardening after moving from the fertile soils of Illinois to dusty Texas, but the coronavirus changed her mind.

"You put your blood, sweat and tears into a crop ... to just disc it into the ground, it's painful."

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN21Y02M?il=0&__twitter_impression=true

California farmer plows under lettuce after coronavirus shutters restaurant market There should be tractors rumbling across Jack Vessey's ranch, pulling wagons full of fresh-cut romaine lettuce to be packed and shipped to restaurants and grocery stores across the United States.

The U.S State Department has loosened restrictions for farmworkers coming to the U.S. from Mexico. But confusion south of the border is still preventing workers from getting to the fields.

That could lead to unharvested produce, less of it in the grocery stores, at higher prices for consumers.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-produce/the-watermelons-will-rot-us-visa-confusion-in-mexico-keeps-out-agriculture-workers-idUSKBN21H1AO

'The watermelons will rot:' U.S. visa confusion in Mexico keeps out agriculture workers It’s watermelon season in Florida. But as the top U.S. watermelon-producing state prepares for harvest, many of the workers needed to collect the crop are stuck in Mexico, unable to secure visas.

Produce harvest is in jeopardy for many growers this summer, after the U.S. embassy in Mexico has severely limited visa processing for temporary workers.

My first byline for Reuters.

https://news.trust.org/item/20200317211126-8602d/

U.S. limits Mexico guest worker visas, sends farmers scrambling HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/CROPS-MIGRATION:U.S. limits Mexico guest worker visas, sends farmers scrambling

Written by my colleague at the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. An important look at mental health in rural America.

SEEDS OF DESPAIR: Isolated, and with limited access to mental-health care, hundreds are dying by su***de. American farmers produce nearly all of the country’s food and contribute some $133 billion annually to the gross domestic product. Yet they now are saddled with near-record debt, declaring bankruptcy at rising rates and selling off their farms amid an uncertain future clouded by climate change and...

A look at the numbers in Trump's budget, rather than just the promises.

Crop insurance, farm safety programs get big cuts under Trump’s budget Crop insurance and other farm support programs are set to receive big cuts in President Trump’s proposed 2021 budget.

New legislation could make it easier for farmers to hire immigrant labor. If passed, it would be the first immigration reform legislation since the 1980s. But some say it doesn't go far enough, while others claim it's too lenient on immigrants already working in the country.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/12/09/farm-immigration-reform-aims-to-aid-struggling-midwest-dairies/

Farm immigration reform aims to aid struggling Midwest dairies New legislation could make it easier for farmers to hire immigrant labor. If passed, it would be the first immigration legislation to do so since the 1980s. But some say it doesn't go far enough, while others claim it's too lenient on immigrants already working in the country.

‪10 minutes may not seem like long. But when a market-moving report from the USDA hit technical issues earlier this month, it meant millions of dollars of advantage as grain traders and farmers got, then acted on the data, at different times.

The snafu comes at a time when farmers' trust in the USDA is already low. The agency is now hustling to fix it before it drops another market-moving report next month.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/11/19/a-10-minute-delay-of-key-usda-reports-gave-some-people-an-advantage-heres-why/‬

A 10-minute delay of key USDA reports gave some people an advantage. Here’s why. Each month, the United States Department of Agriculture releases a series of reports that analysts, grain traders, investors and farmers use to make decisions or buy and sell commodities. But on Friday, November 8, two of....

Twenty eight biofuel facilities have closed or idled since Sept. '18. EPA has proposed a second fix in 3 months to the Small Refinery Exemptions program that allows big oil companies to avoid blending biofuels into gas and diesel. Farmers aren't satisfied.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/10/22/epas-second-attempt-to-fix-renewable-fuel-standard-loophole-draws-criticism/

EPA’s second attempt to fix Renewable Fuel Standard loophole draws criticism

President Trump claimed he's figured out a deal with China that could include $50 billion in U.S. at going to the country. But the details are still sketchy.

Soybean farmers aren't waiting around for that to come through. They've been working to build new markets for their crop. They say they won't rely on China for as much as 40% of exports like in years past.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/10/15/soybean-promoters-shop-for-new-markets-as-talks-with-china-continue/

Soybean promoters shop for new markets as talks with China continue In Washington D.C. Friday, President Trump announced that China and the U.S. had reached a tentative trade agreement. The announcement came at the end of a 13th round of trade talks between the two nations over 18 months. Though the president's statement was light on details, one promise brought cau...

We've been hearing a lot about the climate this week. Here's some thoughts on how agriculture has contributed to, but can also help solve climate change.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/09/27/agriculture-is-one-of-the-biggest-contributors-to-climate-change-but-it-can-also-be-a-part-of-the-solution/

Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. But it can also be a part of the solution. The global food production system, which includes agriculture, accounts for more than a third of manmade greenhouse gases, according to an August report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental P...

When food companies buy wheat futures, everyone thinks they're about to produce more food. But that's not what happened here.

Kraft, Mondelez agreed to pay $16 million for allegedly manipulating the wheat market. Now, they’re complaining the feds talked about it. Two of the biggest food companies in the U.S. were fined a $16 million penalty for allegedly manipulating the wheat market for its own gain as part of a settlement agreement reached in August. When the federal agency posted a news release about it, the two food companies complained the agency broke....

Hey! Our newsroom is hiring a data fellow! Share with anyone who might be interested! Shoot me a note if you have any questions.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/08/22/join-our-newsroom-as-a-gatehouse-media-agriculture-data-fellow/

And now for something COMPLETELY different!

I'm so excited these two stories are finally coming out. I was able to interview the amazing Clint Parry about his job as the Master Model Builder, for Boys' Life magazine and its Eagle Scout edition, Eagle's Call Magazine.

https://boyslife.org/hobbies-projects/funstuff/164995/6-lego-tips/?fbclid=IwAR0_n0akPvBVBKRIk2rFQiz6S6TuatypIzw1ZRY2SwKFkyRjGxaL56IdoKk

After getting blasted earlier this year for traces of Roundup found in Cheerios, General Mills says that it'll reduce the amount of pesticides in its grain supply chain.

One way of doing that is by encouraging more regenerative farming practices, which will also help curb greenhouse gas emissions and slow the effects of climate change.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/08/16/general-mills-launches-pesticide-reduction-plan-after-traces-found-in-cereal/

General Mills launches pesticide reduction plan after traces found in cereal General Mills has outlined a new company approach to curbing pesticide residues in the grain used to produce its cereal and other products.

Scientists say we could see more than a month of 100 degree heat indexes by 2035. That has big impacts, especially for rural America.

https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/07/29/as-scientists-predict-killer-heat-in-near-future-ag-companies-and-farmers-prepare/

As scientists predict ‘killer heat’ in near future, ag companies and farmers prepare As many as nine states could see heat indexes above 100 degrees for more than a quarter of the year by 2036, according to a new report. Farmers and ag companies are already preparing.

I'm honored and humbled to be selected as a 2019 National Fellow for the University of Southern California's Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. This organization helps reporters tell stories about healthcare that can really impact people's lives. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

Look forward to more on the series of stories I'll be working on for the project.

https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/2019/07/19/usc-annenberg-names-20-national-fellows-and-awards-grants-reporting-health-and-child-well?amp

USC Annenberg names 20 National Fellows and awards grants for reporting on health and child well-being We’re delighted to announce the selection of 20 journalists who will be joining us from across the country to participate in the Center for Health Journalism’s 2019 National Fellowship.

Always cool to see it in print, especially in the home paper. Thanks to Lori Meierotto for sending me the picture! And thanks to The Hawk Eye for picking up the story.

https://www.thehawkeye.com/news/20190706/brazilian-firm-big-winner-for-usda-payments-to-offset-trade-war