Plenty of younger people are eager to build careers in farming, but more land up for grabs won’t necessarily make it easier to get started. Access to land and capital are two of the biggest hurdles facing first-generation farmers today, and some say they face an extra barrier to both — student loan debt. (Illinois Newsroom)

High-level talks between officials from Beijing and Washington may have broken down into bickering, but American farmers are still selling boatloads of corn to Chinese importers. (Bloomberg)  

U.S. President Joe Biden’s green fuel push using edible oils is helping drive up vegetable oil prices that are already near record highs, hitting key cost-sensitive consumers in India and Africa and stoking global food inflation fears. (Reuters

Instead of a buzz of adrenaline about March Madness, the largest event taking place in Indianapolis since the shutdown last year, some restaurants are cautiously enthusiastic as they fear not having enough workers to serve crowds of fans. (USA Today)

China’s efforts to introduce new content in animal feed that requires fewer corn and soy beans will have no immediate impact on global grain trade, with significant changes only to take place years later, Chinese agricultural analysts said on Friday. (Global Times

Though a seeming majority of bars and restaurants across the Chicago area have welcomed diners and drinkers back inside, a significant number have stuck with the percentage of indoor diners that makes them most comfortable: zero. (Chicago Tribune