Anne Schechinger

Anne Schechinger

@anneschech.bsky.social

Data, regenerative agriculture, factory farms, climate change, water, farm policy. Former Michigander and Iowan, current Minnesotan. Views are my own.

4.6K followers690 following342 posts

Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

This is one of those things that keeps me up at night. New research finds that houses that were closer to a larger number of animal feeding operations in Iowa had a higher likelihood of having antibiotic resistant bacteria in the dust of their bedrooms. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comResidential proximity to intensive animal agriculture associates with increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in homes - Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental EpidemiologyJournal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology - Residential proximity to intensive animal agriculture associates with increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in homes
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

These farm bailouts are sending taxpayer money to farmers to compensate for Trump's own poor decisions. "It was the second time in two years that the president authorized billions of dollars in bailout money for farmers harmed by his administration’s policies..." www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/b...

nytimes.comTrump Announces $8 Billion Plan to Cover Farm LossesUnder the Harvest Fuel Relief program, the Agriculture Department will provide economic aid for farmers hurt by high diesel prices.

Anne Schechinger reposted

Ben Lilliston
@benlilliston.bsky.social

With each new crisis, global fertilizer companies seem to get stronger. More public subsidies, less tariffs and more profits - even as proven farming strategies to reduce fertilizer use are sidelined. I wrote about the industry's crisis management playbook.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy@iatp.bsky.social

This week, the fertilizer industry celebrated “Global Fertilizer Day,” amid high fertilizer prices & tight global supply. But as farmers feel the squeeze, fertilizer companies continue to profit from a food & farm system that is dangerously dependent on chemical inputs. www.iatp.org/fertilizer-i...

iatp.orgCapitalizing on Crisis: How fertilizer companies are profiting from supply chain disruptionsFertilizer costs for U.S. farmers are 15% above last year and expected to remain high into next year.

Anne Schechinger reposted

Inside Animal Ag
@insideanimalag.bsky.social

Will definitely give a listen. Everyone should.

Anne Schechinger@anneschech.bsky.social

It was great talking with @adamjshriver.bsky.social on the Canary in a Cornfield podcast about @ewgofficial.bsky.social's recent geospatial analysis of livestock operations in Iowa. We talked about how CAFOs damage water quality, and much more. canaryinacornfield.substack.com/p/s3-e4-mapp...

canaryinacornfield.substack.comS3, E4 Mapping Iowa’s CAFO Problem with the Environmental Working GroupEWG’s Anne Schechinger discusses a new study using aerial imagery to map Iowa’s animal feeding operations
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

It was great talking with @adamjshriver.bsky.social on the Canary in a Cornfield podcast about @ewgofficial.bsky.social's recent geospatial analysis of livestock operations in Iowa. We talked about how CAFOs damage water quality, and much more. canaryinacornfield.substack.com/p/s3-e4-mapp...

canaryinacornfield.substack.comS3, E4 Mapping Iowa’s CAFO Problem with the Environmental Working GroupEWG’s Anne Schechinger discusses a new study using aerial imagery to map Iowa’s animal feeding operations
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Very exciting to see our analysis of factory farms in Iowa, that we released in July, still getting media coverage months later. Our geospatial analysis found over 15,000 factory farms in Iowa, thousands more than the 11,000 that Iowa DNR has in their dataset. 1/2 www.ewg.org/research/dro...

ewg.orgDrowning in manure: How livestock farms threaten Iowa’s drinking water and public healthIowa – the nation’s top hog producer – had more than 15,000 factory farms in 2025 producing over 107 million tons of manure, a first-of-its-kind EWG analysis finds.

Anne Schechinger reposted

Elizabeth Warren
@warren.senate.gov

While RFK Jr.'s been shouting "Make America Healthy Again" from the rooftops, over 160 foods have been recalled so far this year. There’s nothing healthy about food-borne illness.

Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

And the GOP Senate farm bill that passed out of the ag committee yesterday would cut EQIP funding by almost $2 billion. This would mean over 56,000 farmers would not get their applications funded, and at least some of those unfunded contracts would've been for regenerative practices. 2/3

Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

This is another betrayal by GOP leadership of MAHA. These officials talk about supporting regenerative agriculture, but then cut funding for it. And the Regenerative Pilot Program doesn't involve any new funding, meaning it won't accomplish much, if anything. 3/3

Anne Schechinger reposted

Iowa Capital Dispatch
@iowacapitaldispatch.com

Some Iowa producers argued Wednesday that the federally proposed Save Our Bacon Act will harm farmers by taking away diversified markets and by sending a message to consumers that they are not entitled to a choice in what they eat, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/09/09/i...

iowacapitaldispatch.comIowa farmers argue Hinson's Save Our Bacon act would hurt small producers • Iowa Capital DispatchSome Iowa producers argue the Save Our Bacon Act will harm farmers by taking away diversified markets and by sending a message to consumers.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

The Admin announcing that cattle producers will be allowed to sell their products directly to consumers without any USDA inspections, during a summer of multiple extensive foodborne illness outbreaks on both meat and produce products, is really something. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...

subscriber.politicopro.comPOLITICO Pro: Trump signs pro-rancher actions amid beef import outrageThe White House’s latest plans are designed to boost U.S. ranchers who were largely worried about the administration’s moves to lower beef prices.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Just a reminder that 300,000 tons is a very small fraction of total U.S. beef supply. So this is likely to not actually reduce beef prices much if at all, and U.S. ranchers won't be effected much if at all. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

politico.com‘Trump in purgatory’: A White House plan to lower beef prices is dividing the president’s supportersMany ranchers and Republicans argue that boosting imports won’t tangibly lower beef prices in the short term — in a rare break with the president’s policies.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

New analysis from me for @ewgofficial.bsky.social released today. While agriculture produces around 10% of U.S. greenhouse gases now, that could jump to 18% or even higher by 2050. That's because other sectors are reducing their emissions, while ag's still go up. 1/3 www.ewg.org/research/agr...

ewg.orgAgriculture’s climate emissions are rising but fully funding conservation can slow themAgriculture could become the nation’s leading producer of greenhouse gases by 2050.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Ag GHG emissions are expected to increase a quarter of a percent every year through 2050, while transportation and electricity emissions will go down markedly. Nitrous oxide is the biggest GHG from ag (from fertilizer and manure applications), and then methane from livestock. 2/3

Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Some regenerative ag practices can help reduce climate emissions from farming. But both House and Senate GOP farm bills plan to cut funding to the major conservation programs that fund these practices. Instead, these programs should stay fully funded, and $ should be better prioritized. 3/3

Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Very thorough investigation of the climate, environmental and community impacts of what will be the the country's largest feedlot, in Nebraska. From @georginagustin.bsky.social for @insideclimatenews.org and @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social. flatwaterfreepress.org/a-very-ameri...

flatwaterfreepress.orgA very American invention, pushed to an extreme - Flatwater Free PressIn far southwest Nebraska, Blackshirt Feeders LP is building the country’s largest feedlot for 200,000 cattle on a square-mile slab of concrete.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Taxpayers are paying an extremely high crop insurance subsidy rate so that farmers can grow corn in Arizona. At a time when Arizona is experiencing major water supply issues because of low levels in the Colorado River. Make it make sense. farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2026/08/2026...

farmdocdaily.illinois.edu2026 Area Add-On Insurance Purchases by US Farmers - farmdoc dailyCarl Zulauf, Henrique Monaco, Jonathan Coppess, and Gary Schnitkey - Over the last two years, administrative actions and the 2025 Farm Bill have raised to 80% the federal premium subsidy rate for area...

Anne Schechinger reposted

Kevin J. Kircher
@kevinjkircher.com

Underappreciated: US farmland *already substantially produces energy, not food*, and does so very inefficiently. Corn ethanol (~40% of all US corn) requires about 100 times more land per vehicle-mile driven than solar photovoltaics -> electric vehicles. Shifting corn to solar *would free up land*.

Cameron 🇺🇸🗽🦅@cameroncorduroy.bsky.social

anytime people raise concerns about land use for solar projects or anything like that i just want to point out that half the corn we grow in this country gets used to make gasoline slightly worse

Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

In the analysis released yesterday we found that poultry in North Carolina produced 3.59 million tons of manure in 2024- close to the same weight as 1.8 million Ford F150 pickup trucks. This huge amount of waste is applied to farm fields, generating many water quality and public health problems. 3/3

Anne Schechinger reposted

Robert Hirschfeld
@rfhirschfeld.bsky.social

Pesticides are drifting onto Illinois schools and parks. The ag industry demands not only the right to chemically trespass onto schools & parks, but also the right to do so without even warning anyone. New reporting from @chicagotribune.com, featuring Prairie Rivers Network monitoring. 🧵

chicagotribune.comAs study shows pesticides drifting onto Illinois schools and parks, residents push for better trackingWith statewide monitoring limited, Prairie Rivers Network researchers tested 10 locations in 2025, finding pesticides over 200 times and identifying 18 different kinds of pesticides at the sites.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

As expected, the farm bill failed. It did not get voted out of the Senate ag committee. So next chance to get brought up again is potentially after the August recess. www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/...

dtnpf.comSenate Farm Bill Markup Fails Committee Vote Over SNAPAlthough lawmakers agreed on several farm policy priorities, the Senate Agriculture Committee failed to advance the farm bill, 10-11, sending the fight over a two-year SNAP cost-share delay into Septe...

Anne Schechinger reposted

The New Lede
@thenewlede.bsky.social

🚨The EPA has backed off its re-assessment of cancer-causing nitrates despite decades of research suggesting the contaminant is more harmful than previously thought and that nitrate pollution is at crisis levels in US drinking water. www.thenewlede.org/2026/08/epa-...

thenewlede.orgEPA stalls long-planned nitrate cancer review as pollution crisis growsThe US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has backed off its re-assessment of cancer-causing nitrates despite decades of research suggesting the contaminant is more harmful than previously thought ...
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Really great editorial from @artcullen.bsky.social discussing @ewgofficial.bsky.social's recent analysis of Iowa livestock facilities. "Iowa loses farmers and fosters cancer because of consolidation forced by a tight group of agribusinesses that do just fine."

Art Cullen@artcullen.bsky.social

www.stormlake.com/stories/edit...

stormlake.comEditorials: Consolidation’s toll - Storm Lake Times PilotIowa’s pork consolidation started in earnest about 50 years ago when swine started to move indoors. In 1976, Iowa had an estimated 60,000 hog farms producing 15 million head. Today, according to …
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

This is the recording of me on @iowapublicradio.org's River to River show talking about our new Iowa livestock report. Found the ag industry's response to be the same talking points we always hear, easily debunked. www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/rive...

iowapublicradio.orgEnvironmental group maps livestock operations, manure output in IowaA report from the Environmental Working Group claims thousands of feeding operations are off the DNR's radar. A representative with the Iowa Pork Producers Association says the DNR is following state ...
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

I will be on Iowa Public Radio's River to River show today at noon CT, talking about @ewgofficial.bsky.social's new Iowa animal feeding operation analysis! Fair warning there will be an ag industry person interviewed as well. www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/rive...

iowapublicradio.orgRiver to RiverRiver to River is a conversation about the news — from an Iowa perspective. Together, we dig into the story behind the headlines, talking with newsmakers and experts to find out how the news affects y...
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

One of very few articles about the Cyclospora outbreak that mentions how Taylor Farms was also the source of E. coli in McDonald's onions outbreak in 2024. When I read Taylor Farms was the Cyclospora source yesterday, their 2024 E. coli outbreak was my first thought. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/b...

nytimes.comTaylor Farms to Remove Products After Lettuce Is Linked to Cyclospora Cases (Gift Article)The Salinas, Calif., company grows produce in more than 12 states, and in Mexico and Canada. Some Taylor Farms lettuce suspected of causing sickness ended up at Taco Bell.
Anne Schechinger
@anneschech.bsky.social

Great piece in @thegazette.com from @fernjalling.bsky.social about our new analysis. Me at the end: "There should be state bodies or federal bodies that are tracking every animal facility in the country, and we know there aren't." www.thegazette.com/news/iowa-li...

thegazette.comIowa livestock produced 108M tons of manure last yearAn analysis by advocacy nonprofit the Environmental Working Group found a discrepancy in the number of animal feeding operations in Department of Natural Resource data and USDA imagery.