Jeannine Otto

Brian Duncan took a minute before he stepped to the podium. His title was just a few hours old when he was introduced to media as “the president of Illinois Farm Bureau, Brian Duncan.”

Evan Hultine can relate to what the then-vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau was going through. “I’m glad you said you had to pinch yourself six years ago. I think that’s pretty much how I’m feeling right now,” he said.

With a look back at successes and a look forward at the changing face of the Illinois Farm Bureau membership and a list of thank-yous “a country mile long,” Richard Guebert Jr. gave his last President’s Address.

For the immediate past president of Illinois Farm Bureau, there is no fear that he won’t have enough to do, after retiring from the leadership of the state’s largest farmer membership organization.

VT4PRO isn’t a customized corn hybrid. But it acts like one. “This is a nice option for those low pressure areas, where we still want rootworm protection, but we don’t need SmartStax PRO,” said Rachel Willis.

For corn growers, rootworms are a problem. But how much of a problem they are — and how often — depends on where you farm.

A two-year research project at Northern Illinois University is taking a deep dive — and a big listen — into farming and the impacts of climate change on farming in northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois and the entire Midwest could be facing a warmer, drier winter, thanks to a patch of warm water near the equator. But there is no need for snow lovers to panic — or for summer lovers to break out the patio furniture.

Even as harvest wraps up throughout northern Illinois, farmers already have their thoughts turned to spring planting. That includes the management of pests, from insects to weeds, that can harm corn crops and cut yields.

For the farmers of Will and Kankakee counties who volunteer with Wreaths Across America, the time and labor to receive, unload and transport over 10,000 Christmas wreaths to a national cemetery goes beyond a good deed.

“I have seen it 58 times now — and it never gets old,” said Steve Garrington, the director of the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, a regional hub of the national Honor Flight program.

Illinois high school football teams have entered the final weeks of playoffs, but one team already has a championship title.

For Eric Brammeier and many of his neighbors and other farmers throughout southwestern Illinois, June 30 was the day that saved the crop.

How do you get a group of excited fourth-graders to pay attention and learn something about bird migration? You teach them to fly.

When it comes to the farm bill, every entity involved with the legislation has a different perspective. For state departments of agriculture, which are charged with administering some — but not all — parts of the farm bill, the legislation can bring confusion.