Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest

GRAPHIC: Seed and fertilizer make up more than half of the operating costs for corn and soybean producers

Seeds and fertilizers make up 62% of the operating costs to produce corn and 51% of the operating costs to produce soybeans, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

By Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest

/ 18 Mar 2021

GRAPHIC: Seed and fertilizer make up more than half of the operating costs for corn and soybean producers

GRAPHIC: Fines for environmental violations dropped during Trump administration

Fines have ebbed and flowed over the years, but there was a drop off in the past four years.

By Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest

/ 18 Feb 2021

Contaminants from the coal ash ponds are currently entering the Middle Fork through several discolored seeps on the riverbank

The Trump Administration told an Illinois health department to leave Rochelle Foods alone. Then a second COVID-19 outbreak struck the plant.

A May 1 conference call with federal, state and local health officials sent one message: Despite a COVID-19 outbreak amongst it workers, Rochelle Foods was to remain open. This fall, a second outbreak at the plant wasn’t publicly reported.

By Derek Kravitz, Brown Institute for Media Innovation, Georgia Gee, Stabile Center Investigative Journalism, Columbia Journalism School, Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest and Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow, Investigate Midwest

/ 17 Jan 2021

The Trump Administration told an Illinois health department to leave Rochelle Foods alone. Then a second COVID-19 outbreak struck the plant.