Exactly 38 months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, Illinois will no longer be under a disaster proclamation as of May 11, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday. That’s the same day President Joe Biden will end the national public health emergency.   READ MORE

While you might have been wearing an extra layer the last few days, it could have been colder. In fact, January as a whole averaged 7 to 10 degrees above normal. Freese-Notis Weather Meteorologist Dan Hicks joined RFD’s Jim Taylor to recap the month’s weather.   READ MORE

And two companies just got a financial boost to help. The Department of Energy awarded $8.5 million to Marquis Inc. and $1.6 million to LanzaTech Inc. as part of a larger $118 million investment in 17 different projects. Read project summaries from Marquis Inc. and LanzaTech Inc. to see how they will spend the money.   READ MORE

Bill Gross started a nonprofit in 2005 to provide free planting, haying, harvesting, commodity hauling and livestock feeding assistance to farm families who have experienced a major injury, illness or natural disaster. And this year, Illinois will join the seven other states in Farm Rescue’s footprint. Gross shared his inspiration to start the nonprofit and his excitement in expanding to Illinois with FarmWeek’s Tammie Sloup.   READ MORE

Farmers are not just thinking about putting seed in the ground while planting, they’re thinking about crop emergence. Proper seed placement can have big impacts on yields. Check out these seven tips to make sure your planter performs well this spring.   READ MORE

Guess who’s back…back again. For the first time in more than 30 years, Big Equipment Co. will restart production of its famous Big Bud tractors. “We’re offering a heavy duty tractor anybody can fix with many supply points,” said Marty Lundstrom, sales manager at Big Equipment Co..   READ MORE