Tyson pays $4 million penalty for air pollution • South Dakota subsidizes lawyers to work in small communities • North Florida broadband program struggles with local support.

For generations, African American farmers in the Alabama Black Belt have stuck through tough times. Now they see new opportunities, thanks in part to the 121-year-old Tuskegee Farmers Conference.

 The 2010 deaths of a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man working inside an Illinois grain bin highlight unsafe practices and spotty enforcement. Victims' families work to raise awareness of the dangers of "walking down grain" and call for tougher penalties against operators who allow the illegal practice to continue.

When it comes to grinding the sausage that becomes the farm bill and other laws of the land, Congress relies on recipes from lobbyists -- the real cooks in the new system.