Farmland

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Executive Committee approved the organization’s policy priorities at CattleCon 2025.

Lawmakers and farmers mingled at the Indiana Statehouse to enjoy a bacon brunch and discuss farm policies.

The number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States has dropped to its second-lowest mark in nearly three decades as pesticides, diminishing habitat and climate change take their toll on the beloved pollinator.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture set its federal policy focus for 2025, prioritizing five key issues.

On rural Texas farmland, beneath hundreds of rows of solar panels, a troop of stocky sheep rummage through pasture, casually bumping into one another as they remain committed to a single task: chewing grass.

After a four-year run of substantial gains, agricultural land values in the Seventh Federal Reserve District saw a 1% annual decrease.

It’s common knowledge that weeds impact cash crop yields, but they can also impact farmland values.

New Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers officers were installed at the group’s annual conference.

Over his 30-year career, Tim Harris has never strayed far from his multigenerational family farm southeast of Princeton, but his volunteer work for various organizations and his impact expands far beyond Bureau County.

Illinois agricultural and forestry producers who want to address or improve natural resources are encouraged to sign up for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

With a new Congress and administration sworn in, it’s time to get back to work in Washington. Just like there’s never a shortage of work to be done on the farm, there’s a full list of issues that our lawmakers need to tackle.

Corn and soybean prices for this marketing year are projected below the 20-year average, but expenses aren’t following the trend.

Think water is not an issue in Indiana or the Midwest, like it is in Arizona or California? Think again, cautioned Brianna Schroeder, a partner at Janzen Schroeder Ag Law, during an educational seminar at the Fort Wayne Farm Show.

A major grower said it was abandoning its citrus growing operations, reflecting the headwinds Florida’s signature crops are facing following a series of hurricanes and tree diseases.

Smithfield Foods’ CEO hopes everything the company has done to make working in its plants more attractive since COVID tore through the industry will help it weather the impact of President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations.

When Russell Maichel started growing almonds, walnuts and pistachios in the 1980s, he didn’t own a cellphone. Now, a fully autonomous tractor drives through his expansive orchard, spraying pesticides and fertilizer to protect the trees.

The ebb and flow of crop prices creates a never-ending challenge for farmers’ financial positions.

We took a little break from the basketball season to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with a bunch of gatherings of family and friends. Cow work gets sandwiched in where a little time and help allows.

The Fort Wayne Farm Show, to be presented Jan. 14-16 by Tradexpos at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, will feature daily educational seminars provided by Northeastern Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts and Purdue Extension.

Family farms accounted for 96% of total U.S. farms and 83% of the total value of production, according to the Agricultural Resource Management Survey.

Conservation practice adoption, pesticide regulations and biofuel tax credits are just a few of the issues for agriculture entering 2025.

A west-central Illinois leasing company nears its 50th year of providing a broad range of agriculture and construction equipment.

Illinois and Indiana had the highest amount of agricultural land lost to development in the Midwest over a 20-year period.

The legacy of Mike Plumer’s soil conservation work continues to live on through those he taught.

For the first time since the end of 2019, farmland values in the 7th Federal Reserve District did not see a year-over-year increase.

Pheasants Forever provides a program that works hand-in-hand with farmers to combine wildlife habitat with farming profitability.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service unveiled a new easement option that offers long-term protection of the land and ensures timely transfer of ownership to qualified producers.

Area farmers and farmland owners with an interest in local sustainable agriculture will have the opportunity to network at the upcoming Common Ground Gathering.

Marshall, Putnam and Stark counties in Illinois have been approved for funding to address damages from tornados and severe storms.

The U.S. agriculture sector is responsible for nearly 6% of the nation’s gross national product, yet it is operating on farm bill policy set six years ago.

USDA announced that one Illinois county will be accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program and two Illinois counties are accepting applications for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program.

It’s a new day. No more campaign text messages. No more political ads. We open a new chapter and prepare for a new dialogue with a new Congress and new president come January.

The leading soybean-producing country in the world is projected to see the slowest acreage growth in a decade while still reaching record production.

A constructed wetland designed to receive tile drainage water from 73 acres of corn and soybeans is doing its job of removing nitrates.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $1.5 billion investment for 92 partner-driven conservation projects, including one in Illinois and Indiana, through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Craig Stevenson, an Air Force veteran from Monon in northern Indiana, learned many skills during his time in the military that have aided him in his most recent job.

Ron Dykstra knew from a very young age that he wanted to farm.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin issuing more than $2.14 billion in payments to eligible agricultural producers and landowners — providing much needed support through key conservation and safety net programs.

Indiana Farm Bureau will focus on issues like property taxes and water rights during the 2025 legislative session.

Alternative energy sources such as wind, geothermal, hydro and solar have grown increasingly popular as ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the grid by decentralizing power production.

Over its 50-year history, the Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s causes may have shifted, but it has never lost its focus on advocating for local farmers and communities.

Owning farmland goes well beyond simply growing a crop, and the upcoming second annual Farmland Owners Conference will help sort out and clarify questions and concerns.

In an episode of Purdue Agriculture’s “Managing Strategic Risks on Your Farm” podcast series, agricultural economists discussed how you can position your farm to not only survive, but actually thrive in a risky world.

Indiana farmland prices reached record highs in 2024, according to Purdue Farmland Value and Cash Rents Survey results.

Indiana Republican gubernatorial nominee U.S. Sen. Mike Braun shared a plan called the Freedom and Opportunity Agenda, aimed at supporting rural communities.

Farmer sentiment about the ag economy is on a downward trend, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer reading.

America’s farmers and ranchers are getting hit hard this year with low commodity prices and another record-setting agricultural trade deficit.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting offers for more than 2.2 million acres through this year’s Grassland, General and Continuous Conservation Reserve Program sign-ups.

Prices paid for Prairie State farmland declined across all categories during the first half of 2024, according to Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers survey respondents.

More than 200 Indiana Farm Bureau members gathered to determine the organization’s policy positions for 2025.