By Caleigh Wells for KCRW.
Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KCRW-Public News Service Collaboration

When Scott Beylik's grandfather started the now four-acre Beylik Family Farms in Fillmore in the 1970s, it was a radical idea to grow tomatoes indoors without soil. Back then, they were pioneers of what has since become a growing trend in the agriculture industry: hydroponic farming.

The technology involves lacing water with all the nutrients a plant needs, which eliminates the reliance on soil. That means no water is wasted in keeping dirt moist. This type of farming uses less than 10% of the water needed to grow tomatoes in the field, according to the National Park Service.

Since Beylik mostly grows tomatoes, it made more sense to grow them in a place where they'd thrive year-round. In the fall when his outdoor competitors sell the last of their summer tomato crop, Beylik keeps making money.

"In a way, it balances out. We're able to grow 365 days. With ... crops in the field, you're only going to do maybe one a year because it's seasonal," he says.

On a typical day, Scott Beylik walks between rows of tomato vines that climb wires strung in a greenhouse. He reaches down and checks on a water dropper that drips some life into the plants' stunted roots every second.

As the drought drags on, the future of water-loving crops like tomatoes hangs in the balance. And as water in drought-ridden California gets more scarce and more expensive, that option isn't just good news for the planet - hydroponics seem more affordable for some farmers than ever.

But the cost of growing a tomato is more complicated than it seems.

About a third of fresh tomatoes in the U.S. are grown hydroponically. But that doesn't account for the bulk of the tomatoes grown nationwide. Most tomatoes are "processing" crops - meaning they get canned, bottled and jarred into soups, ketchups and salsas. And hydroponic technology isn't catching on at all in that sector. That's because the cost of water - used sparingly with hydroponics - pales in comparison to the cost of labor - which hydroponics relies on heavily to function.

Companies that provide processing tomatoes have machines that can pick for them outside - so they have lower labor costs. Moving the tomatoes inside and using hydroponics would require paying people to pick them. And people are more expensive than machines.

"If the water price doubles, that raises the cost of production by 5%. Not because the water is cheap for them, but because the labor and the capital of a greenhouse, for example, is so much more than the water cost," says agricultural economist Dan Sumner.

He says processing tomatoes still make money in California for now, but if their profitability is ever threatened, they likely won't move to greenhouses. They'll move to somewhere like Mexico, where labor is cheaper.

"I haven't heard anyone talk about a period of time in which we'd grow indoor tomatoes in California for processing. It's much more likely that they might be grown somewhere else, some other part of the world," he says.

Hydroponics has the best chance of catching on with the small, local farms, where big machines and international relocation aren't really an option.

Because yes, hydroponics are catching on, but they don't make financial sense for all growers yet. Samantha Watson with Sunrise Organics in Santa Barbara says greenhouses are a big investment.

"At the size that we are, they're very expensive," she says. "We deal with a lot of wind in our community as well. So you could spend days building them, pay your whole crew, and then you get a bad wind and you're like, 'There goes the greenhouses.'"

For now, Sunrise Organics makes more money selling tomatoes seasonally, and other crops the rest of the year.

Caleigh Wells wrote this article for KCRW.


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Federal programs supporting local food purchasing by food banks and schools have helped feed communities and support farmers but the Trump administration has cut those programs.

Last fall, the Biden administration announced more than $1 billion for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food for Schools program, originally designed to bolster local food networks during the pandemic.

BJ Edwards, executive director of the Wyoming Food Coalition, said farmers and ranchers plan seasons and even years in advance, to fulfill those orders and make infrastructure improvements.

"Those are the people I worry about the most," Edwards explained. "The ones that have already invested their time and effort and money in those projects and now they're unsure of what's going to happen."

The cuts mean there will not be another round of funding, like the $500,000 Food Bank of Wyoming received in 2023 to buy roughly 200,000 pounds of locally grown food for distribution. The changes also affect the amount of local food schools can purchase, which grew by 2,000% in the last year, according to the Wyoming Department of Education.

Other programs potentially affected by further USDA cuts are part of the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Mike Lavender, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, noted because those are more landscape-focused, they could have long-term effects.

"It's not only about the immediate impacts to farm viability and livelihoods," Lavender pointed out. "It's about what the future of the food and farm system looks like, and what opportunities we are or are not creating for growers in the mid- to long-term future."

They include conservation initiatives for grazing lands, wetlands, watersheds, wildlife habitats and forests, as well as agricultural and other easements.


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By Nina B. Elkadi for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Trimmel Gomes for Mississippi News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

The cost to feed a family in the United States has increased by 50 percent since the early days of the pandemic in 2020. Wages have not increased at the same rate, causing many families to feel burdened by the struggle to make ends meet. Still, corporations are finding ways to make it by; in fact, corporate profits are higher than ever before, including in the egg industry.

A new report from Food & Water Watch details how egg companies have recorded record-profits in spite of the avian flu outbreak. The report looked at the corporate profits of one of the country’s largest egg producers, Cal-Maine, and found that despite not initially being affected by avian flu, the egg producer jacked up its prices. Even though the American Southeast “remained free of bird flu in its table egg flocks until January 2025 …retail egg prices in the Southeast rose alongside January 2023’s national price spikes.”

Amanda Starbuck, Research Director at Food & Water Watch, tells Sentient that corporations are “profiting off this crisis.” In January, a group of Democratic lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump asking him to investigate price-fixing in the egg industry.

On March 6, the United States Department of Justice announced it will be investigating Cal-Maine and other corporations for price-fixing. This isn’t the first time the company has been investigated for such actions. In 2023, Cal-Maine and other egg producers were ordered to pay $53 million after being found guilty of price-fixing.

Yet by mid-March, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency announced it was taking aim at the DOJ to begin cutting costs at the agency. Attorney General Pam Bondi has agreed to help with this effort and the agency created a committee to do so: JUST-DOGE. Some of the first cuts being made target consultants on anti-trust cases.

The increase in corporate profits illustrates the ability corporations have to increase their revenue in times of crisis, the Food & Water Watch researchers say. During the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, Cal-Maine experienced record-breaking corporate profits and high dividends for shareholders. If, and when, avian flu abates, these egg producers could keep prices high — unless the federal government intervenes or consumer interest in eggs wanes.

In some regions, like the Midwest, egg production was about the same at the end of 2024 as it was in the middle of 2024. Yet prices for a dozen eggs almost doubled. Without intervention, Starbuck says, corporations do not have an incentive to bring prices back down, assuming market demand stays at least constant.

“Even if we were able to eradicate this disease, prices might go down a little bit, but I don’t foresee us ever going back to the days of a carton of eggs for one dollar,” Starbuck says.

The DOJ investigation is in the “very early stages.” Since the investigation was announced, egg prices have fallen to their lowest levels since December in some parts of the country, a trend largely being attributed to decreased demand and fewer avian flu outbreaks. Just as quickly as they increased prices, egg producers are now, in-part, responding to market conditions driven by consumers feeling the squeeze.


Nina B. Elkadi wrote this article for Sentient.


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School staffing shortages can affect nutrition in Kentucky school districts, as many districts across the state rely on frozen, processed breakfast and lunch options from conglomerates.

Now, some cooperatives are helping schools with the bidding process to use their dollars for locally sourced produce, dairy and meat.

Alex Smith, food service program coordinator for the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative, said the food service industry is complex and involves a hefty amount of paperwork but his organization simplifies the process.

"When staffing is an issue, it means your food service directors or your managers are having to work the line," Smith observed. "They have less time to do the admin tasks so important to food service."

Smith added even if a local farmer then wins the bid but is unable to meet all of a school's needs, gaps can be filled by other producers. He pointed out the approach ensures small, rural businesses can realistically meet expectations without overextending their resources.

A study from the American Society for Nutrition found schools with unhealthy school food environments saw steeper trends in the prevalence of obesity compared with schools with healthier food options.

Smith pointed out schools where there are not enough local farmers face the highest barriers to getting produce into cafeterias. He cited an example of the Lee County schools' food service director's quest for local foods.

"There's no one producing flour or breads or any kind of local produce next to him," Smith noted. "I'm constantly just reaching out to people and seeing what I can do for him."

Smith added interested school districts should reach out to the cooperative to see how they can benefit from reduced barriers around the procurement of local foods.

"I think that's where the KVEC bidding process really works," Smith stressed. "It just makes it easy."

Research from the National Institutes of Health has found schools offering more junk foods are more likely to see increased Body Mass Index among students.


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