The Daily Dirt — Morning Edition
Rio Grande Valley's labor crisis hits differently, Big Tech and Big Oil team up on carbon capture, and USDA pumps $50M into local meat processing.
- Rio Grande Valley growers can't find workers while farmworkers can't find jobs paying enough to live on, exposing wage stagnation in agricultural labor.
- Tech companies partnering with oil companies on carbon capture and storage at data centers, a union environmental justice groups say poses risks to farming communities.
- Shelby County families who fought data-center sprawl invite community members to a virtual conversation about their experience and what's at stake.
- USDA unveils Stand Up program with $50M to help states expand local meat processing and strengthen regional cattle markets.
- Iowa faces potential water quality regulation as farm pollution and political pressure collide; Section 45Z could incentivize farmer adoption of clean-water practices.
Morning. This is what moved overnight and early across the ag news desk.
The Rio Grande Valley is in a bind: growers say they can’t find workers, but farmworkers report they can’t find jobs worth showing up for. The gap isn’t a mystery once you start asking questions: wages have flatlined while rent, gas, and food have climbed. Growers want workers at 2015 rates. Workers need 2026 pay. Nobody budges and both lose.
In California, tech companies and oil companies are teaming up on carbon capture and storage at data centers, and environmental justice groups are calling it dangerous. The pitch looks clean on paper. The cost and the risk land on farming communities and rural counties that don’t have a say in the deal.
Speaking of data centers: Shelby County families who fought the sprawl are hosting a virtual conversation with Investigate Midwest and UpRoot to talk about what they learned, what they’re still fighting, and what they want people to understand about what’s happening in their county. If you’re in a region watching data centers creep onto farmland, this is worth tuning in for.
The USDA is moving: Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled a Stand Up program with $50 million to help states expand local meat processing options and strengthen cattle markets. It’s a direct play to build supply chains that don’t depend entirely on the big consolidated meatpackers.
Iowa water quality is turning into a political fight. Regulation is now on the horizon, and not everyone’s happy about it. Farmers concerned about their bottom line are pushing back. Residents tired of polluted water are pushing harder. The outcome matters for how the Midwest farms going forward.
And quietly, Section 45Z of the Inflation Reduction Act could be the stick that actually moves the needle. Tax credits for low-carbon fuels can sweeten the economics of cover crops and conservation practices that clean up runoff. If the money flows right, it could flip the incentive structure for farmers deciding what to plant and how to manage water.
That’s the board. We’re monitoring the data center front and the water fight. Check back this evening.
Save US Farms Desk
- MyRGV.com — Growers wrestle with labor as RGV farmworkers struggle to find jobs
- Food & Water Watch — Data Centers and Carbon Capture: A Dangerous Alliance
- Investigate Midwest — Your access code for our data center conversation is inside
- Farm Progress — USDA announces $50M to boost state meat inspection programs
- Farm Progress — Water quality regulation may be on horizon in Iowa