As we gather this Fourth of July, it’s worth remembering and mentioning that the safest, most abundant and affordable food supply in the world happens because farmers and ranchers continue showing up every day despite the challenges.

The latest projections highlight the challenges farmers continue to face as input costs remain elevated with historically low commodity prices.

U.S. gasoline prices decreased an average of 49 cents a gallon in the last month as expectations rose for an end to the war with Iran. But they’re not falling fast enough for President Donald Trump.

Around 160 people attended the 2026 Livestock Summit in Indianapolis, bringing together leaders and farmers from across the state.

Why are today’s farm programs heavily skewered to support cotton, a crop we can’t give away, while wheat, a principle food grain and feed grain the world over, continues to lose planted acreage and production?

I am excited to invite you to join us Jan. 8-13 for the 2027 American Farm Bureau Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. This year’s theme is “Driven to Lead. Fueled by Community.”

The National Corn Growers Association elected Bill Leigh as the organization’s next first vice president, putting him on track to become board president in 2027.

Matt Raben, a White county farmer and Illinois Corn Marketing Board director, was elected to serve on the executive committee of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council during the organization’s 37th annual meeting.

The Illinois Soybean Association is seeking candidates to fill an at-large director seat that recently became vacant.

Data centers create both economic opportunities and resource pressures, particularly around land, water and energy.

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin visited Incobrasa Industries to meet with representatives from the Illinois Soybean Association, the company’s leadership and Illinois soybean farmers to discuss the importance of biofuels and issues impacting the industry.

Major shipowners have begun moving vessels through the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Iran signed an interim agreement to end their war, maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said.

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.

Indiana sits at the intersection of human health, animal health and plant science — a rare concentration of expertise where breakthrough science creates real-world impact.

As cases of New World screwworm spread and threaten the beef and cattle industry, the Trump administration is rolling out a familiar playbook: Blame former President Biden.

One of Indiana’s Republican U.S. senators attended the Indiana Spray Drone Association Education Day at the Southeast Purdue Ag Center in Jennings County.

With a mandatory July 1 deadline for the trilateral joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement approaching, an economic study detailed the trade pact’s overall impact on U.S. agriculture.

Few special ag interests today slide on more lard than the nation’s highly integrated pork giants.

The use of AI in agriculture has potential to enhance efficiency through precision agriculture, optimize resource use and improved production.

As I walked through the exhibits and visited with producers, industry leaders and exhibitors at the 2026 World Pork Expo, I couldn’t help but reflect on how dramatically pork production has evolved over the years.

A look at women whose contributions significantly shaped agriculture — trailblazers at the national, state or local level — is illuminating.

Bryer Nelson is excited for the opportunities he will be given and the opportunities he will be sharing with FFA members during the upcoming year as the president of the Illinois Association FFA.

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

Corn and soybean stands look good on Cliff Lane’s farm, and he has not found any issues with emergence.

The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer declined from 121 in April to 119 in May, driven primarily by worsening views of current conditions on the farm.

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

Pesticides are an important tool for farmers, protecting billions of dollars in damages each year from weeds, insects and other pests.

State lawmakers approved a $55.9 billion budget that included current-level funding for the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

State funding appropriations for Soil and Water Conservation Districts were kept at current levels for the third consecutive year, while legislation to create a sustainable funding source for the agency stalled.

The 2026 farm bill marks a new opportunity for Congress to take a bold step to upset the status quo by rebalancing the grazing livestock sector’s legal and regulatory framework.

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.

While no one actually says an ag trade deal with China is in trouble, many find it troublesome that China is playing the cool customer.

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.

Deidra Roell is a fifth-generation grain farmer in Washington County in southern Indiana.

Despite the fluctuation in available funding, farmers are still encouraged to utilize the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood visited the Illinois Soybean Association’s headquarters to meet with ISA leaders, staff and soybean producers to discuss biofuels and other key issues impacting farmers across the state.

USDA and software company Palantir Technologies announced the signing ‌of a $300 million blanket purchase agreement.

Expanding access to American-grown fuels is one more way agriculture can help keep our country moving.

If we want this way of life to be here for the next generation, we must be willing to speak up for it by showing up in conversations where decisions are made and making sure rural voices are heard.

Honda racked up a $2.7 billion loss, the first-ever full year loss for the Japanese automaker, acknowledging heavy costs for its electric-vehicle plans, stemming from President Donald Trump’s pro-U.S. policies.

Toyota’s profit fell 19% in the last fiscal year from a year earlier, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs bit into earnings at Japan’s top automaker.

The U.S. Forest Service will abandon its nine regional offices as its parent U.S. Department of Agriculture consolidates out of Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden visited Indianapolis to meet with leaders across Indiana’s ag and bioscience community.

Americans paid more for their groceries last month, but high gasoline prices resulting from the Iran war were only one of the reasons why.

Red meat consumption in Argentina — historically one of the world’s biggest consumers of beef — has fallen to its lowest level in two decades amid economic austerity measures imposed by libertarian President Javier Milei.

Across Oahu’s North Shore, an area famed for its big-wave surfing, the small farms that help supply the island’s food are struggling after back-to-back storms in March brought the state’s worst flooding in two decades.

Farm Bureau has long advocated for reforms to the H-2A guest worker program to ensure workers are treated fairly and that farmers can afford to fill their labor needs.

The Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers’ comprehensive annual farmland values report also includes various tidbits of interest.

We know that retail beef prices have been increasing for more than a decade, so let’s determine how much of that increased beef price is attributable to higher input costs versus the concentrated retail sector’s leverage over beef pricing.

Two weeks after the U.S. House passed its “skinny” farm bill — the law’s usual lard had been cut into last July’s reconciliation bill — applause is still yet to be heard in either Washington, D.C., or rural America.