North Dakota Teacher Shortage ~ Sue Balcom ~ Sustainable Beef ~ Jessie Veeder

Thursday, August 10, 2023 - Nick Archuletta is president of North Dakota United, the labor group that includes the state’s teachers. He joins us to discuss the state’s teacher shortage, and the emergency rules giving student teachers more responsibility. ~~~ Sue Balcom is here for “Main Street Eats.” Today’s topic is Top Soil. ~~~ Just four companies dominate about 85% of the beef processing market. That means higher prices for consumers, and lower returns for the people raising the animals. In an attempt to break away from that control, ranchers and cattle feeders are organizing to build their own meat plants in the Midwest and Great Plains. Harvest Public Media’s Elizabeth Rembert reports on Sustainable Beef, one rancher-led meatpacking project in Nebraska. ~~~ We continue with some touching thoughts about life on the ranch from Jessie Veeder of Watford City. This essay is titled “Cousins.”