LEXINGTON – The candidates for Illinois governor faced questioning about their agriculture-related policies Wednesday in an outbuilding on a McLean County farm. Gov. JB Pritzker’s message was one of optimism, billing himself as the state’s “chief marketer.” His challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican from Xenia, told the room full of farmers that Illinois…
LE ROY – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Illinois on Tuesday to announce a new investment of $100 million for biofuel infrastructure. Sen. Tammy Duckworth met Vilsack at a Casey’s General Store in Le Roy. Duckworth pointed out a new, yellow handle at the Casey’s pump – where drivers can fill up their…
NORMAL — Over the next five years, the Diverse Corn Belt project will be conducting research to discover opportunities that can be created from diversified farming systems and investigate the impacts of transformed crop rotations. The multidisciplinary research project funded by a $10 million grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will…
The massive Inflation Reduction Act has equally massive consequences for farmers of color who were promised debt relief more than a year ago. The legislation repeals and replaces a section of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which provided funding to relieve the debt of farmers of color who have been discriminated against…
Pritzker, Secretary of State Jesse White cut the ribbon
Conservation has been a popular part of agriculture for decades. But it’s become controversial since the Biden administration announced a national conservation goal. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has spearheaded a movement that likens conservation to government control. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s60/audio/2022/07/30-by-30-opposition.wav Listen to this story here. LINCOLN – Neb. — It was Earth Day 2022 in Lincoln, Nebraska….
Climate experts say summer nights have gotten warmer. One study found the average minimum temperature in the United States has gotten warmer by 2.5 degrees over the last 50 years. For farmers, this means crops and livestock could suffer. This summer, warm nights hurt Kansas farmers and ranchers. Thousands of cattle were killed in June…
Farmers can use far less chemical fertilizer — which can be expensive and harmful to the environment — and maintain high crop yields, according to a new study. The findings of a new, long-term academic study may lay some farmers’ fears to rest: farming regeneratively, or farming in ways that benefits soil, water and air quality, doesn’t…
NORMAL — A chemical and agricultural behemoth has bought a St. Louis-based startup company that works closely with Illinois State University, where researchers have worked to domesticate the weed pennycress into a cover crop and oil seed plant dubbed CoverCress. That plant is now producing a marketable crop. And Bayer has bought out venture capitalists…
NEWTON — Parts of southern Illinois are recovering after a sudden storm dropped about ten inches of rain and hail in less than 24 hours. No one was injured in Jasper County, according to the sheriff’s department. The casualties in this flash flood were the crops. Farmer Richard Ochs says he expects the remaining flood…
Native American tribes and communities are creating formal programs that focus on their traditional foods to not only combat systemic food insecurity, but also connect people to their culture. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s60/audio/2022/07/foodsovereigntyweb.mp3 Listen to this story here. KANSAS CITY — While on a foraging trip through a wooded area of Kansas City, Jojo Blackwood discovered a plant…
DANVILLE — On a sunny morning in Kennekuk County Park, researchers and veterinary students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scoured the area for Eastern box turtles – a species known for high-domed shells and colorful spots. The University of Illinois Wildlife Epidemiology Lab oversees the largest health study of box turtles in the world….
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — If you take an aerial view of Jason Lay’s farm in mid-April, it would look like a green dot amid a sea of brown. That’s because while most farmers around him in Bloomington, Illinois, leave their land fallow in between harvesting and planting corn and soybeans, Jason plants cereal rye — a…
There aren’t any definite numbers about how many farmers belong to the LGBTQ community in the U.S, but many are making a point to become more visible in their rural communities. COGGON, Iowa — Growing up on her family’s farm in Coggon, Iowa, Shae Pesek couldn’t envision being able to have the life she wanted…
Mark Mueller sleeps anxiously this time of year. Except when it rains. The northeast Iowa farmer said the corn on his farm near Waverly is slightly shorter than normal for this time of year, but he expects that to change very soon. “Every year, I do more pray for rain in July than I do…