Mississippi River

For 150 of Knox County’s 198-year history, Dave Rylander and his ancestors before him have been farming in this west-central Illinois locale.

The unknowns facing the agriculture sector are much greater today than in the past few years and possibly decade.

Demeter is a common name in the grain trade. For example, Indiana-centered Demeter LP was a family-owned, regional grain business for more than 50 years.

The combination of high interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar is beginning to take a disproportionate toll on rural industries like agriculture, forest products, mining and manufacturing.

The impact of drought conditions across much of the Corn Belt on crops and water transportation were a common theme in the Federal Reserve’s recent survey.

Dave Kestel is well known on social media for his consistently positive attitude and his upbeat and patriotic photos that salute the American flag and the American farmer.

Evidence continues to pile up that today’s political and grain market pileups will be bigger and messier than first thought. Right now, it’s political carnage that’s making headlines.

In southern Illinois, as in most of the Corn Belt, the 2023 corn and soybean harvest is shaping up to be a year of averages — and variability.

A visit to an Illinois Department of Natural Resources exhibit at the Illinois State Fair not only educates but also stirs fish stories. The IDNR fisheries exhibit in Conservation World includes a see-through aquarium featuring sport fish from Illinois’ rivers and lakes.

A coalition of nearly 70 organizations from the Mississippi River headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico are advocating for full funding for farm bill conservation programs.

Four state legislators toured a newly constructed wetland to learn firsthand about the natural solutions to reduce nutrient loss from cropland into streams.

A new constructed wetland and restored wetland site in Livingston County was among the stops as part of the Mississippi River Network’s River Days of Action.

Legislation creating the Illinois Waterway Ports Commission Act was unanimously passed by both chambers of the General Assembly and awaits the governor’s signature.

Eric Brammeier looks at crops from two perspectives. The first is as a farmer. Brammeier farms his family farm with his wife, Kim.

The geography of Illinois predestined the state to be an area for growing corn and soybean crops.