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 Latest Stories
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Row crop farmers in Iowa are facing a third consecutive year with costs generally exceeding prices, according to a new report. While lenders are seeing more signs of financial stress, researchers say the conditions are not the same as the 1980s farm crisis. -
The Iowa DNR will move forward with demolishing an education center at Springbrook State Park after approval from the Natural Resource Commission. The center in Guthrie County made a big impact on thousands of students, educators and conservationists. -
The Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas is looking for volunteers to net bumblebees and collect data that could help conserve the native pollinators. Organizers of the statewide community science project are hosting three field day trainings this month. -
Many states face a fast approaching deadline to lower their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payment error rates or shoulder some of the federal program’s benefit costs. Food security groups worry this and other changes brought on by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could result in people losing aid. -
The Iowa chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America says the space will make it easier to educate the next generation of professional contractors, along with government employees, lawmakers and students, to help conserve soil and water in the state through edge-of-field practices. They're a key part of Iowa's strategy to reduce nutrient pollution. -
With the return of New World screwworm in the U.S., animal health experts say Iowans should carefully monitor livestock and pets and report suspicious signs. The larvae of the adult fly eat the living flesh of warm-blooded animals. -
An official review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement begins in July. President Trump already has suggested the U.S. would be better off without it. -
Every week on trash day, truckloads of waste are hauled off to three dozen landfills across the state. But some Iowa landfills are nearing the end of their lifespans, prompting communities to look elsewhere. -
In late April, the USDA confirmed five boars shipped from Texas to a farm in central Iowa had pseudorabies, which is highly contagious and often fatal for pigs. It marked the first case of the virus in commercial swine in the U.S. since 2004. -
Central Iowa Water Works — the regional water authority that serves one in five Iowans — has issued a lawn watering ban in the Des Moines area. It’s the result of a demand spike and consistently high nitrate levels in the rivers and other sources that provide water for the system.
