As national debates heat up over SNAP and school meal cuts, Missouri leaders are stepping in. Born out of the Ferguson movement, A Red Circle has been working since 2017 to fight racial and economic gaps in North St. Louis County, using food, education, wellness, and the arts to uplift the community.

A bipartisan push in Congress could bring new hope to young farmers in Missouri and beyond. A newly introduced bill would launch a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program to help the next generation of producers overcome key barriers such as affording land, accessing capital, and reaching markets.

Matt Bowyer, Southeast Region Administrator for the Missouri Department of Conservation, provided an update on the wildfires in southern Missouri. The fires are primarily in Wayne, Reynolds, and Iron Counties, with some scattered throughout the Ozarks. The fires started before a tornado, with high fire weather conditions contributing.

Matt Bowyer, Southeast Region Administrator for the Missouri Department of Conservation, provided an update on the wildfires in southern Missouri. The fires are primarily in Wayne, Reynolds, and Iron Counties, with some scattered throughout the Ozarks. The fires started before a tornado, with high fire weather conditions contributing.

MDC staff, partner federal agencies, and partnering fire departments fought more than 224 wildfires covering more than 15,500 Missouri acres from March 10th to 16th. Some are still blazing this week.

A nonprofit farming organization in Missouri has joined others from around the nation to fight for small farmers and the increasing corporatization of agriculture.

A diverse Midwest coalition of consumer, farmer, and rural groups, including those in Missouri, is advocating for mandatory food origin labels, or M-COOL. They want clearer country-of-origin labeling for meat, poultry, seafood, fruits, vegetable,s and some nuts.

The National Forest Service will not release details on the number or job duties of people let go from the Mark Twain and Shawnee National Forests.

More than 130 farmers, ranchers and advocates converged on Capitol Hill last week, urging action on the federal funding freeze and farm bill. Missouri ranks second in the nation with more than 95,000 family-owned farms, many of which depend on federal support.

The 2018 Farm Bill allocated $75 million to the Feral Swine Eradication Program, to reduce the billions of dollars in annual damage caused by wild hogs. But the program's funding expired this month, leaving farmers in Missouri and across the country battling these destructive animals without the added funding.