Editor’s Desk: The fight for America’s farming communities

By Theodore Ross

I’m excited to announce that our latest story, out this morning, is our first in partnership with The New York Times. At FERN, our mission is to transform the food system through powerful journalism and storytelling. We do that by working with partners who can help our stories have impact. Collaborating with The New York Times, especially the op-ed section, means connecting with perhaps the most influential audience in modern-day journalism. We are part of a select group of nonprofit news organizations that appear in its pages, and it sends a clear signal to our readers and supporters: Our work moves the needle. 

In “Vance Thinks He Knows Rural America. Walz Begs to Differ,” longtime FERN contributor Ted Genoways travels to La Vista, Nebraska, to write about a powerful struggle between America’s two major political parties. It is an ideological tug-of-war between Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, and his Republican counterpart, Senator J.D. Vance. At stake is who will be the standard bearer for the rural, agricultural communities in the middle of the country:

“For a generation or more, most of the politicians who visited towns like La Vista were Republicans who told their audiences a familiar story: that the government was in their way, that the welfare state was leeching their sweat and tears to service the lazy poor, that rugged individualism still reigned supreme. It’s the same story that Mr. Vance and his fellow Republicans are telling today. Mr. Walz is making a bold play to claw back the narrative by telling a different story.”

Ted Genoways is one of the smartest reporters and commentators on America’s interior – what politicians like to call “the heartland” – that we have today. And what he does that is so meaningful is take the stories that these candidates want to tell and compare them to real life​:

“Mr. Walz knows from bruising experience just how much Republican politicians have failed rural America by draining funding from public institutions critical to the survival of small towns and farms  …. The question now is whether Mr. Walz and Ms. Harris can convince voters who distrust and even despise the Democratic Party that they have a better vision to restore rural America.”

The Food & Environment Reporting Network is independent and nonpartisan. That does not mean that we shy away from coverage of politics. This story is about more than just who will be the vice president. It’s about how our candidates understand themselves and the country. The stakes for the food system, environment, and our society are high. We need to think clearly about who wants to speak for the “real Americans” and why. I hope you will read it and share it with people you know.

As always, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who contributes to the work we do at FERN. We need your support, and I hope you will consider making a donation to FERN so we can continue to bring you this kind of reporting and writing.