With optimism for the cattle business remaining strong, nearly 700 cattle producers from across the country gathered in Colorado, for the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting.

Organic corn earned substantially more than conventional corn over the past five years. So, why aren’t more farmers making the switch?

Illinois Soybean Association marketing efforts were highlighted during the recent Agronomy Farm Field Day, tying together the production of a high-quality product and its relationship with global demand.

Every farm lost takes with it generations of knowledge, community leadership and the heartbeat of local economies.

Additional financial support is critical to offset trade-related losses, rising input costs and the deep financial pressure facing U.S. row crop and specialty crop producers.

The Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition wrapped up the 2026 Heart of America Grazing Conference by recognizing three Illinois producers with the Master Grazier Award: Rick Adams, Terry Becherer and Perry Hottes.

Seed Genetics Direct’s 2026 Wheat Yield Contest entries averaged 119.1 bushels per acre, with an average test weight of 58.1 pounds per acre.

Although Trinette Olin worked on writing a children’s book for many years, it took retirement for her to complete the project.

This is the final Farm & Food File. None of it would have been possible without you.

After nearly six decades of dairying and then writing deadlines, Alan Guebert has typed his final “-30-” as a weekly columnist.

Alan Guebert experienced countless changes over his long career as an ag journalist, ranging from technology to news coverage.

Farmer leaders of the Illinois Corn Growers Association recently advocated for their peers on Capitol Hill.

Led by its 77 farmer-leaders, United Soybean Board approved a $122.5 million budget for the 2027 fiscal year, strategically allocating funds across vital research, promotion and education investments.

Speeding in your car to work, to pick up your children from school, or go from one errand to the next not only wastes money in gas and sends harmful emissions into the air, it barely saves you time, new research says.

Volkswagen reported weak sales numbers, a day after the giant German automaker announced plans to slash the number of models by nearly half as sales plunged, particularly in China.

Social Security's 2027 cost‑of‑living adjustment is projected at 3.7%, the biggest rise since 2022, but higher Medicare Part B premiums and other Medicare costs may offset the benefit increase for retirees.

Overall agricultural conditions in the Corn Belt continue to be dampened by lower commodity prices, higher input costs and tighter credit.

With new-vehicle prices hovering near record highs and monthly payments consuming a growing share of household budgets, many shoppers are looking for ways to make every car-buying dollar go further.

Too many officials in the Trump administration and several farm-state Capitol Hill leaders believe that just saying something is true makes it true.

Few phrases in rural America carry more weight than eminent domain.

Public lands offer quality grazing grounds for livestock, which in turn reduces wildfire risk and contributes to the vitality of rural communities across the West.

Already feeling pinched since the start of the Iran war, consumers are likely to feel more pain ahead as oil prices pushed past $100 a barrel amid renewed fighting and military strikes that have left global oil supplies stranded in the Middle East.

U.S. gas prices have climbed back above $4 a gallon nationally, driven by renewed military conflict and supply disruptions involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

It’s been nearly a decade since Congress last passed a farm bill, making a new one long overdue.

Without federal assistance, the economic situation in rural America will only get worse, warns Jim Henry.

At a time when farmers are facing the toughest economic environment we’ve seen in a generation, we need every tool available to help strengthen farm income and create new opportunities for agriculture.

The new officers of Indiana FFA will travel the state in a car that runs on E85 fuel and has tires made with soybean oil in the tire tread compound.

Heat stress is not something to ignore.

While weather and markets continue to test farmers, southern Indiana farmer Deidra Roell said there are reasons to be hopeful as harvest approaches.

Chad Bell harvested his two fields of wheat and once the straw is baled he will be planting a cover crop on these acres.

Farmer sentiment dropped again in June as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index declined from 119 points in May to 113 points in June.

The National Corn Growers Association released a study highlighting the economic contribution of corn farming in the United States.

United Soybean Board director Barry Alexander sees a bright future for soy-based products — and some of it is right under our feet, or tires.

The economic value of food and agriculture — and the fact that so much of it remains within the United States — is essential not just for food security, but for long‑term economic stability.

Continued low prices, government subsidy programs and high input costs will continue to weigh on farmer profitability and their ability to maintain current cash rents. These factors will all be important to consider when 2027 rents are negotiated in the fall of 2026.

From supporting rural communities to marketing products internationally, the Illinois Department of Agriculture provides a wide range of programs.

There are many current issues important to Illinois cattlemen including the development of a new farm bill.

The ag real estate market is showing signs of softening in 2026, said Howard Halderman, president and CEO of Halderman Farm Management and Real Estate Services, during a recent webinar.

Farmers are invited to deepen their agronomic knowledge at Precision Planting’s free, full-day summer sessions: the Radicle Summit and Precision Technology Institute Agronomy Days.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers Program that will provide temporary support for eligible beef processing establishments.

Old- and new-crop ending stocks for corn and soybeans fell below trade expectations in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s balance sheet estimates.

Wheat harvest is underway in key states including Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, although some farmers, particularly in far western areas of the Wheat Belt, have found little to no grain to gather.

With the updated data from the latest quarterly grain stocks and acreage reports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made some slight adjustments in the crop balance sheets.

We are hosting a cattle farm wagon tour here at River Oak — 15703 E. 1600th St., Macomb — on the morning of July 11, beginning at 8:30 a.m. You can register with University of Illinois Extension.

The fat cattle market continues to roll along with setbacks followed shortly with new highs.

The official start of summer started off with a vengeance down here as the last week of June was a scorcher.

This country was built by ordinary men and women willing to do extraordinary things.

At a time when commodity prices remain under pressure and margins are already thin, higher operating expenses will place additional strain on farm viability, reports Jim Henry.

State and local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of Incobrasa Industries’ new facility that doubles its annual soybean processing capacity.

The United States is the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn. But that global market — and corn superpower status — is not guaranteed.