Mississippi River

If you’re waiting for water, then the weather outlook headed into the first weeks of November will be good news. But if you’re ready to break out the cold weather gear, you may have to wait a while.

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.

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

Agricultural economic activity has been flat to down modestly since early September, with some crop prices remaining unprofitably low.

Low rainfall levels throughout the Midwest in the late summer and early autumn have caused water levels on the upper and lower Mississippi, as well as the Illinois, Missouri and Ohio rivers, to drop.

The water level of the Mississippi River is unusually low for the third straight year, forcing barge companies to put limits on how much cargo they can carry and cutting into farm profits.

A late-summer drought across much of the Midwest certainly altered the landscape. The cows are moving slowly, single file as they often do, coming from a pasture to get a drink from the automatic waterers.

Whether they’re taken to heart to taken with a grain of salt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly crop and livestock estimates are crucial for the entire farm supply chain.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2024. The Senate’s version of the bill includes provisions for lock and dam improvement along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

Trying to stem the flow of money in politics is like trying to hold back the Mississippi River. It’s dirty, dangerous work that is almost always washed away by a flood of even more money.

This June, producers can get answers to their questions about installing edge-of-field conservation practices by connecting with farmers who have first-hand knowledge.

The farm-to-port export chain from Illinois to Oregon and beyond was the focus of a recent tour for 12 South Koreans hosted by Kansas State University’s International Grains Program.

Total farms and ranches and average acreage size all decreased in Illinois, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

Point source and urban stormwater sectors have been making progress in meeting the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy goals.

American Farmland Trust recently completed a Section 604B Clean Water Act grant to prepare a nine-element watershed-based plan for the Vermilion Headwaters Watershed.

Leaders from the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Indiana Soybean Alliance traveled to Panama to see how checkoff dollars are being used to boost markets in Central America.

The 2023-2024 marketing year corn outlook hinges on two factors that sway the supply and demand balance sheet — Brazil’s safrinha and ethanol production.

Algal blooms pose a significant challenge in both in Illinois and the Gulf of Mexico. One of the leading causes of these algal blooms is excess nutrients — primarily nitrogen and phosphorus.

The fat market has moved lower now that the holiday buy is completed, but I don’t see the justification. There are no more cattle out there and demand seems to be just as good.

About 36.4 million tons of food and food products, including corn and soybeans, are shipped annually via Illinois waterways and are dependent upon locks and dams that were built in the 1930s.

For 150 of Knox County’s 198-year history, Dave Rylander and his ancestors before him have been farming in this west-central Illinois locale.

The unknowns facing the agriculture sector are much greater today than in the past few years and possibly decade.

Demeter is a common name in the grain trade. For example, Indiana-centered Demeter LP was a family-owned, regional grain business for more than 50 years.

The combination of high interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar is beginning to take a disproportionate toll on rural industries like agriculture, forest products, mining and manufacturing.

The impact of drought conditions across much of the Corn Belt on crops and water transportation were a common theme in the Federal Reserve’s recent survey.

Dave Kestel is well known on social media for his consistently positive attitude and his upbeat and patriotic photos that salute the American flag and the American farmer.

Evidence continues to pile up that today’s political and grain market pileups will be bigger and messier than first thought. Right now, it’s political carnage that’s making headlines.

In southern Illinois, as in most of the Corn Belt, the 2023 corn and soybean harvest is shaping up to be a year of averages — and variability.

A visit to an Illinois Department of Natural Resources exhibit at the Illinois State Fair not only educates but also stirs fish stories. The IDNR fisheries exhibit in Conservation World includes a see-through aquarium featuring sport fish from Illinois’ rivers and lakes.

A coalition of nearly 70 organizations from the Mississippi River headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico are advocating for full funding for farm bill conservation programs.

Four state legislators toured a newly constructed wetland to learn firsthand about the natural solutions to reduce nutrient loss from cropland into streams.

A new constructed wetland and restored wetland site in Livingston County was among the stops as part of the Mississippi River Network’s River Days of Action.

Legislation creating the Illinois Waterway Ports Commission Act was unanimously passed by both chambers of the General Assembly and awaits the governor’s signature.

Eric Brammeier looks at crops from two perspectives. The first is as a farmer. Brammeier farms his family farm with his wife, Kim.

The geography of Illinois predestined the state to be an area for growing corn and soybean crops.

Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200% their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too.

When it comes to showing the benefits of cover crops, for Joey Deloian of the Rock Island County Soil and Water Conservation District, the proof is in the planting.

The current crop marketing year price trends have been unusual compared to past trends. “We’ve been through this old crop/new crop inverse for the entire year with 2022 old crop prices remaining above 2023 new crop prices since Jan. 1, 2022,” said Joe Janzen.

Tighter domestic and global corn supplies have resulted in a new trading range for the time being.

Indiana Farm Bureau members continue to step up and make sure their voices are heard by making phone calls and sending texts to lawmakers, beamed INFB President Randy Kron at the organization’s annual state convention.

When it comes to moisture in the fall, the lack of rainfall has been a good news/bad news story. Dry conditions helped farmers in the Midwest complete harvest and fieldwork faster than they have in other years.

U.S. hay stocks decreased in 2022. “We’re not at the record lows we saw in 2007, 2013 or 2019, but we’re getting close to that level,” said Mike Rankin, managing editor of Hay & Forage Grower. “There is not as much hay in the barn as we had from 2015 to 2017.”

A potential rail strike, Mexico’s possible ban on GMO corn imports and the good news/bad news issues with waterway transportation were a few of the issues weighed during the Illinois Corn Growers Association’s annual meeting.

Harvest of corn and soybeans in the U.S. Midwest is at full throttle, but whether — and how — those crops will make it to export markets has become a real concern for U.S. inland waterway authorities and shippers.

I was recently standing on the edge of a river outside Minneapolis. The water flowing past would travel another 1,854 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Big Pine Creek Watershed program is helping farmers and landowners implement conservation practices. Leslie Fisher, project coordinator, shared details during a webinar hosted by Purdue Women in Agriculture.

A partnership between the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Illinois Farm Bureau is making headway in its goal to develop strategies to improve the nation’s water quality.