Agriculture
Demand for raw milk is strong, even as bird flu in cattle adds new concerns about health risks
Raw milk continues to grow in popularity, despite bird flu in dairy cattle bringing increased scrutiny from health experts.
Pork producers face longer drives and higher costs after tough years lead to packing plant closures
Over the last two years, several large pork packers have closed plants in California, Minnesota and most recently Iowa. For some pork producers, this means additional miles and more money to deliver hogs on top of tough economic times.
A rediscovered soil archive – more than a century old – could show how years of farming alters soil
Soil science is a relatively new field and becoming more critical in the work to keep soil healthy and productive. The discovery of century-old soil samples at a land-grant university could offer big clues into how soil has changed over time.
Peaches are bountiful again after last year’s poor crop. But it’s more mixed in one Midwest state
The peach crop across the U.S. is much better this summer than it was last year when cold temperatures affected crops in Georgia and South Carolina. Yet in southern Illinois, while some orchards are getting a bumper crop, others are having yet another year of low production.
$51 million awarded to Champaign-Piatt-Macon biomanufacturing tech hub project
A year-long campaign to promote biomanufacturing in central Illinois has paid off for the University of Illinois and its partners. The U-S Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration has awarded an approximately $51 million grant to a consortium led by the University of Illinois, to establish the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (or iFAB) tech hub in Champaign, Piatt and Macon Counties.
Drought lingers in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains. ‘You have to have some hope’
Planting is well underway across the Midwest, but farmers are still grappling with dry conditions that led to lower than normal corn yields last fall. It’s the third year of a near historic drought for parts of the Corn Belt.
NASA is helping farmers — how researchers are using satellite images to address big ag issues
It’s been a year since NASA kicked off an effort to provide farmers with useful information garnered from satellite images of Earth. The program includes
Wool prices are so low, Midwest sheep producers have to find new uses — or raise sheep without it
A strong spring wind rattles the metal, corrugated barn on the Cory Family Farm where inside, a few dozen sheep cluster next to a wall.
Cutting SNAP benefits is ‘not the right policy’ for farm bill, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack says
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the food program for low-income individuals — has become one of the hottest topics in farm bill negotiations, as
Biochar — an ancient farming method — is finding new life improving soil and burying carbon
Nick Cuchetti is mixing up something special in a bucket on his family farm in Luebbering, Missouri. The dusty substance looks a lot like charcoal,
New facility in Decatur makes animal feed ingredients from insects
A new facility that raises fly larvae for animal feed has opened in Decatur.
Governor J-B Pritzker helped cut the ribbon Thursday for the North American Insect Innovation Center, built by the French biotech company Innovafeed SAS.
The 10,000 square foot facility, with a staff of ten, is the company’s first facility in the Americas. And it is a precursor to a much larger growing and manufacturing plant, with 100 to 300 employees, that Innovafeed plans to build adjacent to the current facility over the next two years.
Bird flu is spreading in dairy herds. Midwest farmers say they’re vigilant but not alarmed
The flu has been found in cows for the first time, but most cattle seem to be showing only mild symptoms and recovering from the