Markup of the new farm bill is underway and Illinois pork producers got a first-hand account of the legislation by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee chair.

While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made an important investment in strengthening the farm safety net, it did not replace the need for a new, modernized farm bill.

The farm bill moved through the House Agriculture Committee with a 34-17 bipartisan vote, encouraging ag organizations that have been worried about the bill’s uncertain future.

From progress on the farm bill to new trade agreements and growing momentum for year-round E15, there’s been meaningful movement that shows agriculture’s priorities are being heard.

The latest federal farm income forecast reinforces the difficult reality for U.S. agriculture.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture set its federal policy focus for 2026, prioritizing five main issues.

House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson must not be a superstitious man. If he were, he would not have introduced the biggest bill of his congressional career, the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026,” on Friday the 13th.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now sharply lowered its 2025 farm income outlook by $25 billion, reinforcing that this downturn is deeper and more persistent than many anticipated.

Farmers and ranchers have been promised a “new” farm bill every year since before the “old” law expired Sept. 30, 2023.

University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Farm Bureau are partnering for a series to help farmers and landowners build, sustain and share their farm’s legacy.

A word of caution: Do not get between reality and political forces in Congress when Republicans and Democrats agree to spend more money on farm programs rather than reform the very programs that are failing farmers and rural America.

Draining excess water from farm fields in Illinois is vital to food and renewable fuel production. However, the lack of adequate farm drainage is a serious problem.

Mark Gebhards, retired Illinois Farm Bureau executive director of governmental affairs and commodities division and chief strategy officer and adviser to the IFB president, was honored with the IFB 2025 Eagle Award for Excellence.

It’s fair to say that 2025 has been a year of meaningful progress for agriculture, on top of some very big challenges. Farm Bureau helped farmers and ranchers across the country navigate the roller coaster ride.

As 2025 draws to a close, Jim Henry looks back on some of the key moments that shaped the year in agriculture.

There was so much blarney and puffery flying around the Cabinet Room during the White House farmer and rancher gathering Dec. 8 that it became impossible to tell fact from fiction.

Financial stress is severe and persistent across farm country, according to a new Market Intel report from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Mark Bunselmeyer was elected president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association for 2025-2026 at its annual re-organizational meeting.

Jim Henry forecasts an unprecedented financial crisis, a perfect storm of soaring input costs and plummeting commodity prices.

While farm equity slipped this year, it remains relatively stable due to large “contemporary,” or same-year, federal payments. Overall, however, farmers remain under threat in 2026.

The past few years have tested even the most seasoned farmers. Facing rising input costs, unpredictable market access and many other challenges, farmers and ranchers are working harder while margins grow thinner.

Together, we can help farms of all sizes succeed to ensure America’s ability to be food independent long into the future.

Did farm and ranch leaders forget the enormous impact SNAP spending has on rural America’s bottom line?

Jim Henry notes that federal shutdowns and late farm bills aren’t unusual – but having both at once complicates the path forward.

A new economic impact report shows there’s more to Illinois farms than just corn, soybeans and wheat along the highways.

Work at a new research farm dedicated to advancing the Illinois Soybean Association’s farmer-focused efforts was featured at a media event.

The sobering reality is that many farmers are hurting. Talk to any farmer who grows row crops, and he or she will tell you they’re struggling with the lowest prices in almost 20 years.

With low commodity prices, high input costs, weather, taxes, personnel and other concerns, farmers and ranchers face a myriad of stresses in their lives — and free resources are available to help get through those tough times.

Sending the nation’s dwindling number of farmers ever-bigger federal checks isn’t a solution. It is, in fact, an admission of failure.

Eliot Clay didn’t know it in his youth but his later career as an advocate for conservation was in his DNA.

Several provisions specific to crop insurance that the industry pushed for were included in the budget reconciliation package that Congress recently approved.

Budget reconciliation legislation that includes farm safety net enhancements, higher reference prices and biofuel tax credits was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

U.S. cattle producers with an interest in strengthening the economic position of their individual farms and ranches and in ensuring the health and safety of their livestock herd would not knowingly support policies that conflict with their own interests and goals.

August recess is a prime time for Farm Bureau’s grassroots members to make their voices heard and share their stories.

The goal of the Federal Milk Marketing Orders is to spread the benefits of the higher fluid milk prices to more dairymen.

Lost in the breathless reporting on the huge federal budget cuts and even more massive federal tax cuts just passed by the heel-clicking Congress was a report on just how rich America’s mega-rich now are.

Agriculture leaders voiced support for the massive spending and tax package bill that includes significant new farm program funding.

Despite all his accolades and achievements, Dwight D. Eisenhower remained modest and plainspoken.

In February 2018, this space outlined my assessment of Congress’s meandering approach to the overdue farm bill. It was a waste of ink.

The opening lines in a recent farmdocDAILY post should have raised an eyebrow or two among farm bill geeks both in and out of Congress.

Hundreds of National Farmers Union members gathered in D.C. to ask Congress for the swift passage of a comprehensive farm bill that supports family farmers.

Across the country this morning, men and women in every region and every state are rising to grow the food, fiber and renewable fuel Americans depend on.

Agricultural economic conditions remained relatively weak across the Corn Belt, driven by concerns over drought conditions, trade, balance sheets and the lack of farm bill clarity.

The National Farmers Union held its 123rd annual convention in Oklahoma, where members finalized the organization’s upcoming policy priorities.

Farmers were more optimistic about the ag economy in February, according to the latest reading of the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Crop insurers gathered for the industry’s annual convention, where leaders celebrated significant growth and charted a course for the future of American agriculture’s most important risk management tool.

There are a lot of new faces in the nation’s capital with the ushering in of 2025. Crop insurance may be familiar to some of the incoming officials and staff, but it will be brand new for others.

A freeze on federal loans and grants is creating turmoil for some rural U.S. business owners who fear they won’t get reimbursed for new, cleaner irrigation equipment or solar panels they purchased with the promise of a rebate.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Executive Committee approved the organization’s policy priorities at CattleCon 2025.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture set its federal policy focus for 2025, prioritizing five key issues.