Welcome to the Midwest Healthy Ag project!

We're a group of farmers, food activists, and researchers learning what Midwest farmers and community members think about agriculture and its impact on community health and the environment.

Clearly ag communities are under considerable demand these days. People like food. And people need to be fed. But farming communities are having a rough go at meeting these demands while also paying their bills and protecting the landscape on which they raise their families and meet up with their friends. That's a lot to juggle!

Our project is dedicated to learning as much as we can from rural residents living and working across all the different kinds of agriculture now in play. How do farmers balance all their demands and expectations? How do these efforts relate to community well-being and the environment?

How have things changed over time? How has rural life been impacted by what might seem like new bouts of drought or flooding? How have things been affected by the COVID outbreak? Are there other ways of doing this kind of work (and in such a way that community life is best supported)?

We'll be interviewing farmers, officials, and community members of two counties in each of six Midwest states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. We're also conducting analysis at the county level, using USDA and Census data. But it's the interviews that are critical here. We want to listen and learn what people in rural communities think of their present circumstances and where they think the future might be headed.

This website introduces the project—the people involved and the research we're conducting. Feel free to walk across our fields and paddocks here. If you have any questions or suggestions, we'd be glad to hear from you.

You can reach out to either of us, Ann (awolf@midwesthealthyag.org) or Rob (rwallace@midwesthealthyag.org), the co-directors of the project, or the state coordinator working to recruit participants in your home state.

Our team is thrilled to be working on this project! We look forward to listening to you and learning more from you!

 Ann Wolf

Project co-director and head coordinator, Midwest Healthy Ag

 Rob Wallace, PhD

Project co-director and research director, Midwest Healthy Ag