Midwesterners typically head to the woods to find morels because the mushrooms have a lifecycle that’s hard to replicate at farms, but that could change. Plus: Why it’s so hard for the farming industry in Kansas to switch crops.

Springtime in the Midwest means mushroom hunters head to the woods. They’re typically looking for morels. But as Harvest Public Media’s Kate Grumke reports, some Midwesterners are also working on a way to farm the elusive mushroom.

Western Kansas has a scarcity of water, and farmers there may need to switch the crops they grow if they want to conserve the precious resource. But it’s incredibly hard to make major changes to the massive Kansas agriculture industry. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports on some of the barriers to alternative crops.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.