Politics

Voters chose to send Donald Trump, who served his first term as U.S. president from 2016 to 2020, back to the White House in the Nov. 5 national election.

Every preelection poll for the U.S. presidential race saw it as a too-close-to-call nail-biter. Not one predicted the sweeping victory posted by former, now President-elect Donald Trump.

National Farmers Union has sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump urging focus on policy priorities essential to the health and vitality of rural America and the sustainability of the nation’s agricultural system.

Shares of Tesla soared as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Thaddeus Bergschneider is excited about connecting FFA members to opportunities through partners during his year as the National FFA president.

Cabbages are not exactly the typical big university landscaping, but at Northern Illinois University, cabbages — and other vegetables, fruits and herbs — are the first step in what could be a food revolution.

Chef Bryan Flower hurries toward one of the raised “free-to-pick” vegetable, flower and herb beds that flank Neptune North residence and dining hall on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb.

Anchor Ingredients, a provider of high-quality ingredients for the pet food industry, celebrated the grand opening of its new transload and ingredient processing facility in Richmond in east-central Indiana.

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.

There are winners and losers in every election. It is our collective responsibility to find a way forward, regardless of whether our candidate comes out on top.

As a veteran, Jerry Costello II recognizes the trait in other veterans that prompted him to enlist in the U.S. Army.

A 2025 outlook on crop protection products, fertilizer and government regulations was presented at the recent 4R Field Talk, hosted by the Illinois Soybean Association and Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.

We are in that tough phase between decent residue grazing and great stockpile grazing. It is the hardest time of the year for grazing management.

There is much to consider this election season as several critical issues that will impact the citizenry are on the table. Many of those issues will impact us near term, but they will also set the stage for the future of our country.

Election Day, Nov. 5, will end the costliest, dirtiest American political campaign season in memory and it will likely also mark Opening Day for what could be the costliest, dirtiest post-election fight in American history.

Mark Seib, a grain farmer in southern Indiana, has finished soybean harvest and is closing in on corn.

Let’s pause to consider the-above headline. First, it’s a quote; I didn’t write it. That’s important because the third rail of today’s ag journalism — the deadly, high-voltage topic that can burn your career — is Donald Trump.

A group of agricultural diplomats from around the world visited Indiana, including touring a family farm.

A new study revealed a tariff-induced trade war would have a serious impact on corn and soybean farmers via lost global market share.

If you buy nearly two billion pounds of beef a year — an on-the-hoof equivalent of seven million cattle — you’d think you’d get the best deal ever from your suppliers. Think again, says McDonald’s.

Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. took top honors in the National Milk Producers Federation’s annual cooperative communications contest, winning five categories and the competition’s Best in Show: Writing award.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an additional $250 million in automatic payments for distressed direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers under Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act.

National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr. told officials farmers are living through difficult economic times, but they can help by removing barriers so growers can access expanding markets for corn.

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

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission — that toy poodle of a government watchdog overseeing the world’s largest agricultural and financial futures contracts — is being courted by the cryptocurrency industry.

Registration for the 2025 American Farm Bureau Convention is officially open. Whether you are a seasoned attendee or thinking of joining us for the first time, this is an event you do not want to miss.

With the current crises we face on all fronts, foreign and domestic, we need a strong leader and God’s help to get us through.

Ports of Indiana and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding to increase collaboration, expand agricultural trade and create new container shipping opportunities for the state.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is reminding students of internship opportunities available for the spring 2025 semester.

Between harvest and preparing for the state corn-husking competition, From the Fields contributor Clay Geyer has a busy October ahead of him.

We have all but finished our harvest for the year. Corn chopping went extremely smooth with no rain delays and to my recollection only one truck needing pulled all season long — surely a record.

4-H has a greater reach than any other youth development organization — and young people need it now as much as ever before.

Dairymen can reduce the methane produced by their cows with the addition of the feed ingredient Bovaer to the ration.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced up to $7.7 billion in assistance for fiscal year 2025 to help agricultural and forestry producers adopt conservation practices on working lands.

Farmer sentiment about the ag economy reached its lowest levels since 2016, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

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.

The building gloom in today’s ag commodity markets — wheat, barley, oats and cotton farmers all face increased production and decreased prices — has caught the attention of a long-distracted Congress.

Now is the time for the administration and Congress to act on a U.S. trade policy that includes commercially meaningful negotiations on two-way trade with U.S. allies and partners.

The U.S. government’s road safety agency wants the auto industry to design new vehicles including increasingly large SUVs and pickup trucks so they reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced record-breaking attendance totals for the 2024 Illinois State Fair. More than 773,000 people attended the 11-day event, the highest number on record since industry standards were enacted.

Our farms aren’t just another workplace for us. We raise our families on this land. We can’t be expected to play by the rules, though, when the federal government refuses to let us know what those rules are.

It’s easy to see why Eligio “Kika” de la Garza was elected to 16 consecutive terms in the House of Representatives and served his final seven as chairman of the wide-sweeping and often unruly House Ag Committee.

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

The Illinois Wheat Association Checkoff Committee is circulating petitions for a wheat checkoff program in the state. The proposal calls for a 1.5 cent checkoff per bushel of wheat sold.

Every day, rain or shine, farmers rise to do their jobs. Whether we’re tired or stressed, we press on. If we disagree with a family member, we find a way forward. We don’t stall on planting or harvesting or caring for our animals.

As American grocery buyers await a verdict on Kroger’s two-year-old bid to buy Albertsons, the European Commission took just 35 days to give its blessing to the merger between two of the world’s largest grain merchandisers.

One of the goals in FFA is to prepare members “for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”

Rain at the end of August was good timing for the double-crop soybeans growing in northern Illinois.

In an effort to forge relationships and increase export sales of agricultural products, the Illinois Department of Agriculture hosted 31 international buyers from nine countries as part of a four-day tour.

Disaster assistance for producers and training new staff has been among the many focuses of the Farm Service Agency’s Illinois offices over the last several months.