According to most accounts, the desert was uninhabited. But Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project knew from the start that the bomb testing site in southern New Mexico was far from uninhabited. (From August 2023) barnraisingmedia.com/oppenheimer-...

Rural Schools Struggle to Rebuild Fresh Food Programs Cut by Trump Without funding from the USDA, some states are stepping up to fund locally grown produce for rural school districts who could not afford it otherwise.

From October 2025: After the Department of Agriculture cut funding for schools to buy fresh, locally grown food, some states are stepping up to help schools purchase food they could not afford otherwise. barnraisingmedia.com/rural-school...

Rural History Teachers Choose Education Over Politics Rural public school history teachers who remain resilient amid culture wars battles and attempts by the Right to censor what is being taught

Since 2020, hundreds of federal, state and local laws have censored history education and outlawed ideas deemed “controversial” or “divisive.” Barn Raiser spoke with rural history teachers about how they teach while in the culture war crosshairs.

barnraisingmedia.com/rural-histor...

Living With the Freedom Caucus Wyoming, the first state where the Freedom Caucus gained control, shows what happens when “limited government” advocates direct public policy.

Wyoming, the first state where the Freedom Caucus gained control, shows what happens when “limited government” advocates direct public policy: barnraisingmedia.com/living-with-...

I Taught My Students Slavery Was Wrong. Then MAGA Came After Me I found myself at the center of the nation’s culture wars over education. The real casualty is rural public schools.

"The bullying by a local politician, the unwillingness of school officials to offer support and an unspeakable tragedy had pushed me out of the classroom."

barnraisingmedia.com/iowa-rural-s...

Republicans Use Little-Known Law to Open Minnesota Boundary Waters to Mining Legal experts say the use of the Congressional Review Act to open mining near the Boundary Waters could drastically reshape U.S. public lands protections.

From @grist.org: Republicans’ decision effectively bypasses the rights of tribal nations and could drastically reshape U.S. public lands protections

barnraisingmedia.com/republicans-...

Small Towns Say ‘No’ to PFAS Treatment Plant Upstate New York towns have been hard-hit by PFAS pollution. Citizens in Fort Edward are organizing to keep their town from being next.

Residents in upstate New York fight back against a decades-long legacy of toxic exposure

barnraisingmedia.com/small-towns-...

What Rural America Can Learn from Haitian Immigrants Haitian workers often find their humanity stripped away for the value of their labor. Yet they have found means of resistance and dignity in harsh conditions.

Immigrant communities have developed sophisticated survival strategies. Those lessons can serve rural people facing their own crisis of abandonment.

barnraisingmedia.com/what-rural-a...

The Truth About Roundup Herbicide On April 27, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Monsanto Company v. Durnell to decide whether federal law preempts legal claims people can bring against chemical companies, and whether states…

The Supreme Court will soon determine whether corporations get a free pass for poisoning the public

barnraisingmedia.com/the-truth-ab...

Iowa’s High Cancer Rate Linked to Nitrate, Pesticides, PFAS and Radon A new report combines science on environmental risk factors with the lived experiences of Iowans battling cancer.

A new report combines science on environmental risk factors with the lived experiences of Iowans battling cancer

barnraisingmedia.com/iowas-high-c...

Iowa’s High Cancer Rate Linked to Nitrate, Pesticides, PFAS and Radon A new report combines science on environmental risk factors with the lived experiences of Iowans battling cancer.

A new study by the Harkin Institute, the Iowa Environmental Council and the Iowa Farmers Union shines light on why Iowans have the second highest incidence of cancer of any state in the country. barnraisingmedia.com/iowas-high-c...

The Truth About Roundup Herbicide On April 27, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Monsanto Company v. Durnell to decide whether federal law preempts legal claims people can bring against chemical companies, and whether states…

On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Monsanto v. Durnell. The court’s verdict could determine whether corporations are immune from legal action by Americans seeking justice for cancers linked to herbicide exposure. barnraisingmedia.com/the-truth-ab...

Trump Promised to Investigate Meat Monopolies. He Gutted Antitrust Staff Instead. In November, President Trump called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate major meatpacking companies. Where have those investigations gone?

The Trump administration had slashed budgets and staffing for offices responsible for protecting farmers and consumers against consolidated power in the agriculture sector

barnraisingmedia.com/trump-promis...

My Life in Funerals At 93, the author has attended many funerals and now discovers that they have become a mainstay of her social life,

"At my age, farewells to the departed are now the mainstay of my social life"

barnraisingmedia.com/my-life-in-f...

Defusing the Christian Right Requires Understanding It and Offering Something Better Fear and loathing of the Christian Right does not constitute a political strategy to counter would-be theocrats. Here’s how we can defuse its power.

Respectful dialogue begins by listening to people’s beliefs and values

barnraisingmedia.com/defusing-the...

Farmers, Facing Labor Shortages, Push for Immigration Reform Farmers, feeling the pinch on labor, are venting their frustration with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

A lack of immigration reform has defined American policy for decades, but “cows still need to be milked,” says Hans Breitenmoser, who has about 460 dairy cows on his Wisconsin farm. barnraisingmedia.com/farmers-faci...

My Life in Funerals At 93, the author has attended many funerals and now discovers that they have become a mainstay of her social life,

Jane Miller, Barn Raiser’s “From the Old Country” columnist reflects on how, at the age of 93, bidding farewell to friends has become a mainstay of her social life. barnraisingmedia.com/my-life-in-f...

Defusing the Christian Right Requires Understanding It and Offering Something Better Fear and loathing of the Christian Right does not constitute a political strategy to counter would-be theocrats. Here’s how we can defuse its power.

Fear and loathing of the Christian Right does not constitute a political strategy to counter would-be theocrats, writes Erica Etelson. To defuse its power, we must begin by understanding the movement and the values of its adherents. barnraisingmedia.com/defusing-the...

Pete Hegseth’s War on Religious Freedom and the Constitution Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense in an advocate for a revolutionary theocratic vision that would undo the Constitution

The theocratic actions of Secretary of Defense Hegseth have schocked democratic sensibilities. But they are not surprising considering his record. Too bad Senators did not ask him about it at his confirmation hearing.

barnraisingmedia.com/pete-hegseth...

White America Gets a Look in the Mirror “Natchez,” by filmmaker Suzannah Herbert, asks white Americans: Who are we if we’re not the heroes of our own myths?

“Natchez” is a snapshot of all America, not just the South

barnraisingmedia.com/white-americ...

The Trojan Hog in the Farm Bill Proposed farm bill legislation claims to fix interstate commerce for livestock producers. In reality it is an unprecedented federal takeover of state agriculture law.

How the Save Our Bacon Act threatens family farmers and state sovereignty

barnraisingmedia.com/the-trojan-h...

What Rural America Can Learn from Haitian Immigrants Haitian workers often find their humanity stripped away for the value of their labor. Yet they have found means of resistance and dignity in harsh conditions.

Immigrant communities have developed sophisticated survival strategies. Those lessons can serve rural people facing their own crisis of abandonment.

barnraisingmedia.com/what-rural-a...

White America Gets a Look in the Mirror “Natchez,” by filmmaker Suzannah Herbert, asks white Americans: Who are we if we’re not the heroes of our own myths?

In Natchez, filmmaker Suzannah Herbert explores how a Mississippi small town grapples with opposing narratives around slavery’s legacy. barnraisingmedia.com/white-americ...

Man’s First Best Friend Wolves were once our ancient companions, yet our pursuit to eliminate them has had devastating consequences. Can we co-exist with wolves again?

The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to delist, that is remove, wolves from protections of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This is despite a recent poll showing that nearly 80% of Americans favor safeguarding wolves. barnraisingmedia.com/mans-first-b...

Farmers, Facing Labor Shortages, Push for Immigration Reform Farmers, feeling the pinch on labor, are venting their frustration with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

“It is this sort of great big fat open secret that everybody understands, that there’s tons of undocumented folks working in production agriculture, and specifically the dairy industry.” barnraisingmedia.com/farmers-faci...

Trump Promised to Investigate Meat Monopolies. He Gutted Antitrust Staff Instead. In November, President Trump called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate major meatpacking companies. Where have those investigations gone?

The Trump administration had slashed budgets and staffing for offices responsible for protecting farmers and consumers against consolidated power in the agriculture sector

barnraisingmedia.com/trump-promis...

Maine Listened to Farmers and Confronted the PFAS Crisis Inescapable by Marina Schauffler reminds us that rural communities can lead the way in confronting the environmental challenges of our time like PFAS.

“The story of PFAS and agriculture is not always about disaster,” says Nancy McBrady, Deputy Commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture. “There are glimmers of hope, and if we’re going to tackle this on a national scale, we can’t lose sight of that.” barnraisingmedia.com/maine-listen...

Trump Deportations Have Dairy Farmers on Edge In recent weeks, ICE has stepped up raids on immigrant dairy farm workers, casting a sense of deep unease across the industry.

You can read the article here: barnraisingmedia.com/trump-immigr...

Congrats to Andrew Sharp @asharpwriter.bsky.social for winning first place in Specialty Articles - Agriculture in the Delaware Press Association 2026 Communications Contest for his article on how deportations are affecting dairy farmers: delawarepressassociation.org/wp-content/u...

Letters March 2026 Sweet nostalgia I recall my dad back in the 1960s would always buy a jar or tin of sorghum [“Are Americans Getting Sweet on Sorghum?”] in the fall. He would mix a dollop of sorghum with a little…

See what Barn Raiser readers had to say about some of our recent articles. barnraisingmedia.com/letters/lett...

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