Livestock

Janna Morgan is the fifth generation of teachers in her family.

A lot of growth has occurred in the agricultural department at Peotone High School since Abby Cowger started teaching and advising the FFA chapter in 2018.

During the months of December through February, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show that feeders who sold fed cattle were profitable, after suffering significant losses the previous six months.

Heat stress not only impacts lactating dairy cows, it also affects dry cows, as well as first-gestation heifers.

Golden Owl Award finalist Kenna Slough was inspired to be an agricultural educator for a combination of reasons.

Students at Grant Park learned how to “bend don’t break” during a project developed by the Grant Park FFA Chapter that focused on mental health.

Authorities in Central Europe are working to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle populations that has caused widespread border closures and required the killing of thousands of animals.

Rancher Brett Kenzy hopes President Donald Trump’s tariffs will make imported beef expensive enough that Americans will turn to cattle raised at home for all their hamburgers and steaks.

The theme of the 2025 Indiana State Fair is “The Soundtrack of Summer” presented by Get Prepared Indiana.

More than a dozen years after higher-fat milk was stripped from school meals to slow obesity in American kids and boost their health, momentum is growing to put it back.

The International Dairy Foods Association pledged to eliminate artificial colors for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.

U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, the largest U.S. egg producer, fell in after-hours trading after the company acknowledged it is being investigated by the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who pollsters say “voted for change” last November, boy, are you getting it now.

Illinois Farm Bureau secured statewide black vulture depredation permits through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

AgriNews is happy to welcome back Clay Geyer as northern Indiana’s From the Fields contributor for 2025.

On any given day, Dan Parker could be advocating for agriculture with legislators, helping his daughters with 4-H projects, supporting the local FFA chapter, selling seed, or working on the farm.

Brooke Taylor stumbled into becoming an inspirational speaker. It was not something she had set as a career goal.

The focus at TWG Ranch is to raise reproductive, maternal cattle with longevity and product merit.

To celebrate May Beef Month, the Illinois Beef Association is inviting people to join the May Beef Month Beef Eaters Club.

On my family’s farm, we achieve Earth Day objectives throughout the year, guided by respect for the blessings natural resources provide. We must conserve and protect natural resources to grow food and sustain our farm for future generations.

Meet Mindy Orschell, AgriNews’ new From the Fields contributor in southern Indiana.

Science plays a massive and multifaceted role in the world today. It is woven into pretty much every aspect of our lives, whether we notice it or not.

Cow size has been on the rise for decades. Cows today weigh 1.4 times as much as their predecessors in 1980. In fact, cow weight is rising 100 pounds every 10 years.

Shepherds should consider what diseases are on their farms to develop a disease prevention strategy.

Tags on bags of livestock feed must meet specific standards.

With over 90% of the business wholesale, nearly every day is delivery day for Ken Ropp. “I spend a majority of the time on the road,” said the Ropp Jersey Cheese proprietor.

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching on May 11, and this year the Illinois Beef Association aims to give mothers from beef cattle operations special recognition.

The Annual Report highlights how Midwest Dairy grew trust, increased sales, invested in research and developed leaders in 2024.

Animal monitoring systems are a trusted solution for accurate heat detection, but their impact extends beyond that.

Agricultural operations in Illinois have been significantly impacted by recent severe weather, tornadoes and flooding.

Free trade dogma suggests that more imports benefit consumers by affording them more choices and lower prices. Let’s see if this holds true in the U.S. beef market.

The Western Illinois University School of Agriculture hosted its 53rd annual Bull Test Sale at the WIU Livestock Center.

The animals are smelling green grass and are tired of eating their winter vittles. The rye looks great, but the cool temps have slowed its growth enough that I have decided to delay the usual turnout a few days.

Some of the highlights I came away with from the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition’s 2025 Grazing Conference are: soil microbes help the water percolate through the soil and cover crops help feed the soil microbes which make them multiply.

It is great to see several tractors in the fields around northern Illinois. They are putting fertilizer down and soil finishing the fields. No planting yet, but it will not be too long.

Farmers were less optimistic about the agriculture economy in March due to trade and farm policy concerns, according to the latest reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

The rural version of the Golden Rule is this: Do unto your neighbors’ farms that you’d have your neighbors to do unto yours.

Twenty-five Illinois Farm Bureau members recently graduated from the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow, an extensive leadership development program designed to help participants develop leadership and advocacy skills and to become a voice for Illinois agriculture.

R-CALF USA is aggressively pursuing tariffs for cattle, sheep, beef and lamb. And it seems we’re the only national livestock association that is doing so.

Grass will be ready for turnout soon. It is hard to hold out, but so important to give grass a fair start.

The futures market is reacting as expected with all this tariff news creating plenty of uncertainty which usually trends lower as most players look to eliminate risk.

We have faced several consecutive days over a six-state area where there have been multiple tornados causing damage, a lot of rain, lightning, hail and serious flooding and washouts of roads and bridges.

Plant-based and lab-grown protein products enjoyed a moment in the sun several years ago, but it didn’t take long for the free market to kick in and push these companies down a very steep decline.

Vegetation management is a vital part of the development plan for solar arrays since shade is the No. 1 enemy for collecting sunlight by the panels.

If you ask most working adults about their required annual certification processes, you may get an eye roll with their response.

Merck Animal Health announced it will donate $50,000 to the National Professional Agricultural Student Organization to support its newly established Educational Advancement Program.

Illinois cattlemen have an abundant supply of low-cost feed available for their herds with the millions of acres of corn grown each year in the state.

Disruption is the key to adaptive grazing systems.

Agricultural economic conditions remained relatively weak across the Corn Belt, driven by concerns over drought conditions, trade, balance sheets and the lack of farm bill clarity.