USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced four natural disaster declarations after tornadoes and drought resulted in sufficient production losses for Illinois farmers. Find out which primary and contiguous counties are eligible for Farm Service Agency emergency assistance.   Read more

Golfers hit the links for the IAA Foundation’s 27th Annual Golf Outing, raising $42,000 for Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom at The Oaks at River’s Edge, Pontiac. WATCH

Lean hog prices as of June 29 averaged $95 per hundredweight in July and $92 in August but just $79 in October and $75 for December. “This is looking to be one of the worst years we’ve ever had,” said Steve Meyer, lead economist with Partners for Production Agriculture. “I think it will drive some large liquidation in the business.”   Read more

In the first national look at acreage estimates since planting, USDA pegged corn acres at 94.09 million nationwide. That’s just over 2 million more acres than its March estimate. Soybean acreage, meanwhile, is currently sighted at 83.5 million acres nationwide, down considerably from USDA’s March projection of 87.51 million acres. CommStock Investment’s Joe Camp talked with RFD’s DeLoss Jahnke about the annual report.

USDA is now accepting nominations for county committee members who make important decisions on how federal farm programs are administered locally. And to make the process easier for producers to participate in the nomination and election process, USDA’s Farm Service Agency is unveiling a new GIS tool. Learn more about the elections and nominating process.   Read more

Global uncertainty last year pushed fertilizer prices into the record books. But now that many of those questions are better understood, does that mean prices should keep coming down? For farmers, the price may not have come down as quickly as hoped.   Read and listen