For the first time since 1998, the secretary of state seat in Illinois will be an open one in the general election. The candidates to fill it are former state treasurer and Chicago Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, and longtime state Rep. Dan Brady, a deputy House minority leader from Bloomington. Capitol News Illinois breaks down where each candidate stands on issues. READ MORE  

Weed researchers are challenging proposed federal restrictions on a common weed control ingredient, arguing the rules could reduce yields and increase herbicide resistance. If adopted, farmers would be prohibited from using the herbicide in saturated fields and limited application rates of 2 pounds per acre for sorghum, sweet corn and field corn. READ MORE

What’s going to get us out of this range-bound corn market cycle? Experts say as long as we continue to have a hapless export program, the odds of hitting $7 corn seems pretty slim. RFD Radio’s DeLoss Jahnke talks to Darren Frye of Water Street Consulting in Peoria. READ MORE

With support from county Farm Bureaus, six county government boards recently passed proclamations signifying support for National Farm Safety and Health Week. “A positive working relationship between our county Farm Bureaus and county governments are vital to the success of agriculture,” said Ryan Whitehouse, Illinois Farm Bureau associate director of local government and political engagement. “The passage of the farm safety proclamations is a testament to the great work in these counties.” Find out which counties. READ MORE

But in the 1960s and ’70s, they didn’t work with computer models, they broke up huge chunks of ice and hurled the pieces into test plots, along with snipping some of the corn plants to chart how yields were affected. The research helped create more accurate hail damage tables for the crop insurance industry — tables that are still used today. READ MORE  

The inland waterway has been so dry for so long that water levels south of St. Louis are now low enough to disrupt the movement of grain-hauling barges. And harvest has just started in Illinois.   To adapt to the shallower and narrower river, barges are being loaded lighter and fewer are being towed together. But those changes are driving up freight rates, which could translate to weaker basis levels for freshly harvested corn and soybeans and ultimately result is less profitability.   “Part of the reason the Illinois corn and soybean crop is so successful is that access to