Between wrapping up a challenging wheat harvest and managing other farm tasks, From the Fields reporter Clay Geyer has had little time to slow down.

It has been an exceptional year and all-around extremely wetter-than-normal growing season. When it rains, we see inches — not tenths.

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

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.

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.

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

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

A trio of new herbicide products to control tough weeds with anticipated launches in 2027 were highlighted at the recent BASF Showcase Plot Tour.

Heat stress is not something to ignore.

At Christmas, I told my wife we’d do one of her bucket-list items: go to Alaska for two weeks.

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

I’m working with this grower, Wendell Good, that I love working with here in central Illinois. His passion is wheat, whereas a lot of people don’t care to plant wheat or harvest wheat in the middle of July when it’s 100 degrees outside. He loves wheat. I do, too.

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.

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

Farmers for Soil Health, the farmer-led initiative launched in 2022 to double cover crop acres on U.S. farmland by 2030, has reopened enrollment for 2026 with increased per-acre payments and a simplified one-year contract designed to remove barriers for growers.

An expected large shift away from corn acres didn’t happen, based on a planted acres survey of farmers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“I” state farmers shifted to more soybean acres and less corn and winter wheat acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s planted acres survey.

Grain stocks are higher than a year ago heading into the last quarter of the 2025-2026 marketing year.

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

Rain showers over the past several weeks have resulted in challenges to spray for weeds and sidedress anhydrous on Wessels Family Farm.

Corn and soybeans struggled for a week or two after planting during the flash drought, but a few passing showers have sent corn past "knee-high by Fourth of July" by leaps and bounds.

The wheat crop is maturing at a rapid rate. I’m hopeful we can skirt the threats of large hail and damaging winds from now until after harvest.

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?

For most of my life, I assumed everyone’s dad worked as hard as mine. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized what I witnessed growing up wasn’t something everyone experienced.

Agricultural conditions were unchanged or declined in most of the Federal Reserve Districts, while cost pressures intensified from fuel and fertilizer spikes.

Total U.S. winter wheat production estimates were reduced to its lowest since 1965 as a severe drought continues in the Plains.

Wheat stocks fell on lower production estimates, and corn and soybeans supplies were steady in the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture’s supply and demand estimates report.

The winner of the Star in Agricultural Placement award will be announced during the Wednesday afternoon session of the Illinois FFA State Convention starting at 2 p.m.

The number of acres managed by Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers members increased substantially in 10 years.

With summer just around the corner, Agronomy Days will soon return to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

A demonstration farm dedicated to farmer-focused research designed to answer real-world questions is into its sophomore year.

Once we got going, spring went really quick. We had a window there from mid-April to the end of April where a lot of guys went and then the last 10 days has just been hammer down and get her done.

An overwhelming majority of America’s farmers who responded to a nationwide survey say they cannot afford to purchase enough fertilizer to get them through the year.

Corn and soybean planting is complete on Wessels’ Family Farm in DeKalb County in northern Illinois, even though planting started a little later than originally planned.

“Shocking” wheat was taken into a different context in the U.S. Department of Agriculture crop production estimates.

U.S. winter wheat production is projected 25% lower than last year, and record low harvested acreage is projected in Indiana.

The initial crop balance sheet forecasts for the 2026-2027 marketing year were unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

I’m praying we have everything planted by the end of May, but it sure doesn’t look promising. The cover crops and wheat crop looks fantastic, despite the challenges of the daily freeze and frost watches.

Farming is a gamble every year when challenged by the weather and the cost of crop inputs, so there is no thought of gambling the future of the farm away at the casino.

“Giving back to the community” isn’t just a cliché. It’s a lifestyle for folks like Matt Rush and his family.

Tyler Main took a temporary westward detour after graduating from Illinois State University 10 years ago this month.

Farmers are entering the critical spring planting season under a cloud of uncertainty as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupts global trade, causing fertilizer and diesel costs to spike.

We are nearly a month now post-inaugural production sale. All the nervousness and concerns were brushed aside, as the sale in all facets turned out to be a great success.

Southern Illinois planters began rolling in the latter half of March after an extended stretch of warm, dry conditions.

Thirteen Illinois Farm Bureau members and agricultural professionals graduated from the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow program, an extensive leadership development program designed to help participants develop leadership and advocacy skills.

Today’s higher fuel prices will be the norm regardless when, or even if, a U.S.-Iran ceasefire comes together, say market experts.