Alfalfa

Snowfall and rain showers during the past month have improved the soil moisture conditions for Rahn family farm in northern Illinois.

The function of soil is to support crop life, human life and livestock.

The Rahn family operates a centennial farm in northern Illinois that includes row crops, hay production, cattle feeding and a cow-calf herd.

Research continues to shed light on the importance of microorganisms to plants, according to experts at Corteva Agriscience.

One of my annual routines to kick off a new year is to replace our big family calendar that is posted in our mudroom and begin filling it out.

2023 was a year of wins and continued challenges that will extend into the new year for the corn industry.

Who knew that false indigo and alfalfa had a common enemy? Not me, that is until recently when I had an encounter with Epicauta fabricii, more commonly known as the ash-gray blister beetle.

The Southwest continues to endure a “megadrought,” a term used to describe drought conditions lasting at least two decades.

A pasture is a high-quality crop — not a place — for graziers utilizing managed intensive grazing systems.

One question that Ryan Reeverts might be asked is how he prepared for the Illinois Farm Bureau Discussion Meet, which he won at the IFB’s annual meeting in Chicago earlier this month. A better question is — how did he find the time? “I definitely try to stay busy,” Reeverts said.

Rain has been falling as it was needed for most of the growing season without any severe events at the Mitchell farm until the beginning of August.

Justin Rahn has grazed his cattle herd on cover crop fields for several years.Justin and Ellen Rahn manage a cow herd on their 1,200-acre Carroll County farm where they grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa and rye.

Harvesting 240 acres of high-quality haylage for the Mitchell Holstein herd is two-day activity. “We are looking for a relative feed value in the 170 to 200 range,” said John Mitchell who together with his brother, Aaron, are partners in Mitchell Dairy and Grain LLC.

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. Whew, our annual holiday lamb slaughter just ended for our ethnic customers, and even though we had fewer ram lambs to offer because of last year’s flock reduction it was still kind of hectic.

Summer interns for Phibro Animal Health prepared for their summer work during an on-farm training day at the Mitchell dairy farm. The Phibro Animal Health interns traveled to northern Illinois from across the United States.