With the sweet hum of a tractor throttle in the background, John Bartman was happy to share an update from an active field in Marengo. “We’re getting ready to plant corn,” he said Monday. “Even though this time last year we were done, today we’re just getting started.”   Listen

A warm, sunny forecast should have planters moving this week. “We should be done with corn by the end of the week then have two to three days left of soybean planting,” FarmWeek CropWatcher Ron Moore told RFD’s Jim Taylor. Listen to his interview to find out what challenges he still faced this spring.   Listen

Just days after the running of the 148th Kentucky Derby, it’s off the the races for most farmers in Illinois this week. “We finally broke out of a pattern we’ve been stuck in a while,” Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions said on RFD’s Profit Watch. “That’s good news overall as we start to open up some planting windows. I mean wide open.” Read more

RFD Radio’s Jim Taylor talks to CQ Roll Call’s Ellyn Ferguson about the U.S. Forest Service committee meeting and all things farm bill. “I would doubt there’s going to be a draft bill ready by the end of the year. That would be very ambitious,” she said. “One of the big question marks over this is who will be in control after November when you’ve had the elections for the House and the Senate.” Listen

Flowers shouldn’t be the only thing growing this spring. May is a timely reminder to grow healthy minds and bodies. Senior Nutrition Educator Monica Nyman discusses the 13 essential nutrients dairy products offer and shares a sweet spring recipe   Read more

Grundy County farmer Chris Harford wanted to provide a simple way for customers to access high quality, locally grown and beautiful specimen trees, and iTrees.com was born. Partnering with local nurseries, customers can choose from 50 to 60 tree species, including from Harford’s family’s nursery. “I just always wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Harford said. Read more