Cover crops are expanding across Iowa, but many farmers quit after just one year. Desk reporter Olivia Cohen of The Gazette explores why.

Agricultural and builders’ groups have called it a win for private property owners. Environmental groups warn that it will exacerbate costly challenges like flooding that already plague the river and its tributaries.

Tariffs have brought significant and varied trade impacts across the Mississippi River Basin over the last few months. This week in the newsletter, we've brought together a few recent local pieces from Desk reporters as we continue to monitor these changes.

Today we’re launching our annual fundraising campaign, in partnership with NewsMatch. Your support powers the Desk’s mission to connect communities across the Mississippi River Basin with important local news and information. Will you help us start strong, and donate today?

Climate Central has brought back the U.S. Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database, tracking the nation’s costliest storms, floods, and fires. In the first six months of 2025, there were 14 events totaling $101 billion in losses. Read more from Desk reporter Hêctor Alejandro Arzate.

Lake Pepin, a hub for recreation and local economies in Minnesota and Wisconsin, is filling with sediment. A project is digging into a culprit: ravines and gullies sending soil downstream. Learn more from Desk reporter Madeline Heim and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

We’re thrilled to welcome two new Expert Journalists: Kathleen Davis and Michael Hawthorne, @scribeguy.bsky.social. Both bring deep experience in science, environment, and investigative reporting. They’ll mentor early-career reporters and help expand collaborative coverage across the Basin.

For three decades, the USDA’s Food Security Supplement helped the country understand hunger, where it’s rising, who’s most affected, and how programs like SNAP make a difference. Now, the agency has canceled it. Read more from Harshawn Ratanpal and @kbianews.bsky.social:

The monks of New Melleray Abbey see their 1,500-acre forest as more than timber. They’re working to build a genetically diverse ecosystem, where every harvest is balanced by careful management. Read how faith + conservation meet in Iowa from Olivia Cohen and @thegazette.com

The Mississippi River is running low for the 4th year in a row. Ports in Arkansas can’t fully load barges. The NOAA says without more rain, the river could hit critical lows. Follow for more from Lucas Dufalla and the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette 📸: Andrew Breig, Daily Memphian

Minnesotans have done everything they can to protect Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi begins. But the lake just earned a C+ health grade, putting it on par with lakes in downtown Minneapolis. Why is one of Minnesota’s most protected waters declining? Full story from @startribune.com here:

Newsrooms: Be a part of the Desk! Apply now for a full-time reporter through @reportforamerica.bsky.social to cover water, climate & energy with the Desk. Includes salary support, editing, peer network + more. Apply and find more information here: https://agwaterdesk.org/2025/09/16/applycohort3/ 

We’re excited to share news from our friend @boyceupholt.bsky.social. He’s launched Southlands, a new journal celebrating the South’s landscapes and the ways people connect with them. The first issue explores Gulf Coast managed fire, family traditions, and more. Learn more and subscribe here:

New from me: More than 100 mayors met this week to announce a new disaster relief effort that will be available to communities along the Mississippi River Basin “within 72 hours” of emergencies. @agwaterdesk.bsky.social www.wwno.org/coastal-desk...

Low water can mean delayed barges, saltwater creeping upriver, and challenges for farmers moving crops. A new Mississippi River dashboard makes it easier to track those risks. Explore the new dashboard from Harshawn Ratnapal and @kbianews.bsky.social www.kbia.org/kbia-news/20...

With skunks, storms & even alligators, paddling the full 2,400 miles of the Mississippi River is no small feat. Some do it for adventure. Others, like the Drift South Expedition, are turning the journey into citizen science & education. Read their story here:

The Ag & Water Desk has passed a big milestone: 2,200+ stories since 2022, with reporters in 15 local newsrooms and more joining. We’re proud to bring trusted local and regional reporting on agriculture, water and climate to communities across the Basin. Read more from this week's newsletter.

20 years on, Katrina’s legacy is still written in the lives of people who never returned. WNNO asked listeners to write “love letters” to the city, sharing their memories of the community. If you wrote a “love letter” to New Orleans, what would it say?

Thrilled to share: the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk has won @LIONPubs’ Collaboration of the Year Award! This honor recognizes the power of partnerships to strengthen local news and expand coverage of vital water + ag issues across the basin. http://bit.ly/41ApERD

Eight Missouri School of Journalism students are finalists for a national award for Waste Land, their Columbia Missourian investigation into meatpacking waste dumping on Missouri farmland. Their reporting spurred new state rules and revealed a national problem with sewage sludge.

Aboard the Pelican, researchers spend long days in Gulf heat & waves tracking the low-oxygen “dead zone,” a critical annual mission now facing trouble from funding cuts. Read more from Elise Plunk of Louisiana Illuminator.

In this week’s Ag & Water Desk newsletter, our team reflects on the media we’ve been reading & watching. These stories span swamps, rivers, archives, and re-imagined histories. See the full roundup & subscribe:

Invasive carp are threatening native fish in Arkansas’ rivers and the state thinks the solution might be to get more Americans eating them. Read more from Phillip Powell & Lucas Dufalla for @reasonstobecheerful.world‬

We're honored to be featured in @reportforamerica.bsky.social 2025 Impact Report, highlighting our big collaborative series on wetlands, “Down the Drain.” Read more: issuu.com/groundtruthp...

Iowa’s nitrate pollution is among the worst in the nation and experts say it’s linked to cancer and birth defects. Recent river levels have exceeded safety limits for drinking water, and some are calling for change. Read more from Olivia Cohen at @thegazette.com. www.thegazette.com/environment-...

Journalism is meant to inspire conversation. In this week’s newsletter, Desk reporter Elise Plunk of @lailluminator.com reflects on the responses to her story on oyster farming and climate adaptation. Readers engaged with Elise, and she’s glad to respond. See more here: bit.ly/3UPDKdW

Hemlock is spreading across the Midwest and it’s more dangerous than it looks. With tree loss from storms and accidental seed movement, this toxic plant is thriving. Even tiny amounts can be fatal to livestock and risky to people too. Read more from Olivia Cohen at @thegazette.com bit.ly/45uJrUN