Rachel Cramer
Harvest Public Media ReporterExpertise: Telling stories about agriculture, environmental issues and rural communities
Education: Masters degree from the University of Montana, Bachelors degree from Iowa State University
Favorite Iowa Destination: Yellow River State Forest
Experience:
- Has written features on native prairie agriculture, management of bird flu and other disease outbreaks in animal populations, the agricultural industry and sustainability efforts in small towns in Iowa
- Served as a fellow with the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, contributing to a photo story feature with The Guardian, about using latrine waste for compost in Bangladesh
- Launched Cobs & Spikes, a podcast focused on explainers, stories and conversations with experts innovating in the fields of agriculture, food security and nutrition
- Has reported and written features on the challenges and opportunities facing states with aging populations and state values and beliefs as it relates to voting
- Has produced features for Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here & Now and Native News
- Served as a fellow with Crossing the Divide, a cross-country reporting road trip from WGBH and The GroundTruth Project
- Is an award-winning reporter, including a Best Spot News Coverage award from the AP in 2019 for "Threatening Video Tests Emergency Response Plan at Belgrade Schools"
My Favorite Stories
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While corn and soybeans dominate the Midwestern landscape today, some farmers are integrating strips of native prairie back into their fields. This conservation practice has expanded to more than a dozen states. -
Gray foxes, the only canine species in North America that can climb trees, are found across much of the U.S. But over the last two decades, populations in the Midwest have plummeted and multiple state agencies are trying to find out the reasons behind their shrinking numbers. -
Tyson Foods is shuttering its pork processing plant in Perry on June 28. Community leaders are trying to make it easier for workers and their families to stay in the community and find new opportunities.
My Latest Stories
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Under a 40-year-old law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can withhold subsidies, like crop insurance and disaster payments, from farmers who clear, drain or convert wetlands. A company that owns farmland in Iowa says it’s unconstitutional. -
The Farm Bill has been extended for a year as part of a legislative package that prevented a federal government shutdown. While some ag groups applauded the bipartisan measure, many are urging Congress to pass a new Farm Bill next year. -
Fewer than 10 gray foxes have been confirmed in Iowa. State wildlife officials say a female they’re calling GF2 may reveal clues to understand the canines' decline and help the state come up with a recovery plan. -
The recent outbreaks at several poultry operations in northwest Iowa are connected to a virus circulating in wild birds. A different strain infected 13 dairies and 3 poultry operations in late May and June. -
Since 2000, a small team at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been collecting, cleaning and distributing seeds to reconstruct prairies across the state. One of their longest running partners to help fill orders is Iowa’s Department of Corrections. -
Incoming president Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from countries such as China, Mexico and Canada. Many economists and commodity groups say these import taxes could boomerang and harm U.S. agriculture. -
Bird flu cases continue to be detected in northwest Iowa. Follow the latest updates and guidance here. -
The Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling Friday that sided with Summit Carbon Solutions in a land survey case. Kent Kasischke, a landowner in Hardin County, argued that Iowa’s survey law is unconstitutional because it allows the taking of private property without just compensation. -
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case that boils down to local vs. state and federal authority over carbon dioxide pipeline siting and safety. Separately, Summit Carbon Solutions picked up another permit and applied for another — both of which it needs to build a multi-state carbon capture and sequestration project. -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said nitrate and nitrite levels in six sections of the Cedar, Des Moines, Iowa, Raccoon and South Skunk rivers exceed safe drinking water standards and need to be curtailed.
