GREAT FALLS, Mont. - The next farm bill is expected to be voted on in the U.S. House this week, after already winning approval in the Senate. There are big changes, as funding for many programs is being scaled back or eliminated, so stretching every dollar has become the focus of an amendment suppor ...Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia citizen groups say they're helping landowners prepare for potential air and water contamination from Marcellus natural gas drilling. Doddridge County landowner Christina Woods works with her local watershed association and with West Virginia Host Farms, a group that ...Read More

BEMIDJI, Minn. - A major new initiative from the American Heart Association aims to save lives in Minnesota by improving and streamlining heart attack care in the state. According to Mindy Cook, director of Mission Lifeline, the project will ensure that all ambulances have the proper equipment to a ...Read More

WHITESBURG, Ky. - A federal report has found that beyond the obvious fact that broadband is less available in rural areas, there is also "considerable variation in availability" in both rural and urban communities. Bottom line: There is "not a simple rural/urban divide." A rural community's proximit ...Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Farm Bill passed by the Senate this week cuts spending by about $24 billion over 10 years, with most of the reduction targeting conservation programs, farm subsidies and the food stamp program. The bill now heads to the U.S. House. Traci Bruckner, assistant director of policy ...Read More

YANKTON, S.D. - The approval of the Farm Bill in the U.S. Senate this week is a step in the right direction, Traci Bruckner, assistant director of policy, Center for Rural Affairs, said, because the legislation contains needed help for agricultural development, small rural businesses and those just ...Read More

POWDER RIVER, Mont. - Montana exports 75 percent of its wheat crop overseas, and half of that goes to Japan, a country with a strict ban on genetically-modified wheat. Japan shut down U.S. imports recently when GM wheat created by Monsanto was unexpectedly found in a field in Oregon. Walter Archer ...Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio - This summer, Ohioans can find fresh, locally grown food by using their computer or smartphone. The Good Earth Guide is a searchable, online directory that connects consumers to growers and food producers in their own communities. Maplestar Farm in Geauga County has been featured f ...Read More