Agriculture

EPA says 'further actions' needed to protect human health from nitrate in southeast Minnesota
Environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saying nitrate in the groundwater in southeast Minnesota’s karst region — largely from fertilizer and manure applied to crop land — poses an imminent danger to human health.
The battle over land use: Farm crops versus solar farms
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the U.S. will need 10 million acres of solar panels by 2050 to meet the nation’s net zero-carbon goals. That means acreage currently used for farmland will become solar farms.
 Mixing solar and farming could be key to clean energy future
As Minnesota and the nation shift to cleaner energy, there’s a growing demand for land for new solar farms. At the same time there’s growing interest in what’s known as agrivoltaics.
Southeast Minnesota struggles for common ground on nitrate pollution as health worries rise
In a petition filed in April, environmental groups asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use its emergency powers under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to intervene in what they call an “imminent and substantial endangerment to human health.”
Canadian strike could impede 'salties' bound for the Duluth-Superior harbor
Hundreds of striking workers in Canada have brought shipping to a standstill on the St. Lawrence Seaway, a move that could potentially have impacts on ocean-going ships traveling to and from the Duluth-Superior harbor — including a ship loading grain that’s bound for Algeria.
In the Netherlands, a farmers party taps into widespread discontent with government
What began as a movement of farmers opposed to environmental rules is now one of the country's dominant political parties. The nation's agricultural exports are second only to the United States.