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Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is muscling in on one of the fastest growing segments of American agriculture: local food.

Two years ago, the chain announced its intention to step up local sourcing as part of a larger sustainability platform and a commitment to buy from small businesses. In that time, Wal-Mart says its percentage of produce sold from local farms has increased from 4 percent to 11 percent.

There’s no doubt Wal-Mart’s move into local foods has shaken up the food supply chain, but small family farms aren’t necessarily seeing the benefits.

Harvest Public Media, based at KCUR, is a collaborative public media project that reports on important agriculture issues in the Midwest.

KCUR-FM is a service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Farm photo courtesy of Shutterstock.