Monitoring wells at 16 Pillen family-tied operations have tested for nitrate levels far above legal drinking water limit. One was so high, an expert said, “it should be a 911.”
Jim Pillen built one of the biggest hog enterprises in the country. Then he got elected governor. It’s a Nebraska success story — one raising questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Nearly 250 million acres of the Great Plains have been converted to cropland as of 2020. Farmers and wildlife both suffer from the depletion of prairies.
Undocumented immigrants in the state can own and register their vehicles, but they aren’t allowed to drive them, forcing many farm workers to risk fines and arrest. “It’s a Catch-22 for a lot of folks,” advocates say.
A hot summer and dry spring have brought drought to a large part of the Midwest. The lack of moisture has far-reaching implications, including on agriculture and water levels on the country's largest rivers. Experts say it shows that exiting a drought is far more difficult than entering one.
A proposed pig concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) spurred five northwest Wisconsin towns to regulate big farms — triggering heated debate. A lawsuit against one of those towns was dropped after it rescinded its ordinance.
