skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump tells Justice Dept. to seek release of Epstein grand jury testimony; NV education advocates blast freeze on federal funds; and VA leaders push EV adoption as economic, national security imperative.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

An asylum case sparks alarm, protests invoke the late John Lewis, Trump continues to face backlash over the Epstein files and the Senate moves forward with cuts to foreign aid.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Trump administration's axe to clean energy funding could hit rural mom-and-pop businesses hard, cuts also jeopardize Alaska's efforts to boost its power grid using wind and solar, and a small Kansas school district engages new students with a focus on ag.

New WI Report Provides Snapshot of Sustainable Farming Efforts

play audio
Play

Friday, September 30, 2022   

Greenhouse gas emissions have been potentially reduced by 50,000 tons in the state, with the help of Wisconsin farmers supported by a statewide coalition.

Farmers for Sustainable Food has released its first progress report, which summarizes efforts and data from last year. The coalition consists of six farmer-led conservation groups across Wisconsin and works with 231 farmers.

The report also showed participating farmers reduced more than 330,000 pounds of phosphorus from leaving their fields.

Lauren Brey, managing director of Farmers for Sustainable Food, said while there are popular practices, such as cover crops, there's a desire to experiment as well.

"That might be different methods of manure application and incorporation into the land," Brey suggested. "How do we try different mixes of cover crops?"

Despite increased awareness of climate-friendly practices in agriculture, supporters acknowledge there is still work to do in convincing farmers who are concerned about their bottom line. Wisconsin's Farmland Preservation Program noted it saw participation decline by 24% between 2010 and 2017.

Brey pointed out if partners boost engagement efforts, it could entice more farmers to embrace the conservation movement.

"Trying to model what impact those practices are having on different sustainability metrics," Brey advised. "Carbon or greenhouse gas emissions or water quality. And we're taking that a step further in our sustainability projects even with an addition of a financial analysis component."

Farmers who responded to a 2018 landowner survey cited a burdensome application process, as well as limited tax credits for not signing a farmland agreement.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Department of Education has frozen grants that support summer learning, teacher professional development, after-school programs, English-language classes, support for children of migrants, school-based mental health and adult education. (Syda Productions/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Public education advocates are sounding alarms about the upcoming school year because the federal government is holding up about $60 million in funds …


Social Issues

play sound

An Eau Claire resident is speaking out about how federal cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could affect his life and …

Environment

play sound

A cleaner environment through less waste is the goal of a new state organization, the Indiana Composting Council. The council will enlist …


Just 30% of U.S. solar and 57% of wind projects are expected to survive under the new GOP tax and spending law signed by President Donald Trump. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

More than $7 billion in Colorado's GDP and 9,600 jobs are projected to be lost under President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending bill which cu…

Environment

play sound

California receives high marks in a report on the fight against plastic pollution. This is Plastic-free July and the United States of Plastics report…

April's Clean Water Lobby Day was held by Oregon Rural Action and the Stand Up to Factory Farms Coalition in Salem. (Oregon Rural Action)

play sound

Environmental groups say Oregon's new groundwater law, meant to curb pollution, has been diluted to the point they can no longer support it. …

Social Issues

play sound

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing simila…

Social Issues

play sound

New Mexico demonstrators will join nationwide protests today to oppose policies of the Trump administration. The "Good Trouble Lives On" nonviolent …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021