Agriculture News

Illinois farmers are lauding a deal on the farm bill, which moved out of committee and passed the Senate Tuesday. “This is an extremely important piece of legislation for our farmers to provide that certainty, the risk management tools that they need especially at a time that we’ve been dealing with such uncertainty from a… read more

USDA raised ending stocks of corn and wheat and left soybean stocks unchanged from last month, at a hefty 955 million bushels, in its December world ag supply and demand estimates report. According to U of I ag economist Todd Hubbs, South American competition could pressure U.S. crop sales despite trade talks progressing between the… read more

AGENCIES: REDUCE EXCESS NUTRIENTS – The U.S. EPA and USDA last week urged states across the country to increase efforts to reduce nutrients in waterways. Federal officials noted that significant progress has been made in reducing excess nutrients, but nationally available water quality data shows “nutrient pollution continues to be widespread, particularly in the Mississippi… read more

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A NEWS SOURCE – Social media sites have surpassed print newspapers as a news source for Americans according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. One-in-five U.S. adults say they often get news via social media, slightly higher than the 16 percent who do so from print newspapers.  

TIME’S UP MARCH 1 – USTR Robert Lighthizer Sunday said there is a “hard deadline” of March 1 for the trade deal with China. Unless talks wrap up successfully, new tariffs will be imposed. “When I talk to the president of the United States, he is not talking about going beyond March,” Lighthizer said. “The… read more

SOLAR ENERGY ON THE MOVE – Solar installation companies are flocking to Illinois on the heels of record-low equipment costs and state-sponsored incentives. Lucrative for both landowners and solar companies that own the equipment, energy being generated is transmitted to the nearest substations and mixed in with the utility’s power supply. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

TRUMP TO RELAX WATER PROTECTIONS – The Trump administration is set to reduce the number of federally regulated waterways protected under the U.S. Clean Water Act in a bid to help the energy and agriculture industries. The EPA will propose altering the definition of what qualifies as “Waters of the United States” under the regulation… read more

According to a recent Gallup poll, rural living is the top choice for Americans, with 27 percent saying they would choose a rural area. Another 21 percent favor life in a suburb of a big city, while 12 percent would choose a big city itself. The remaining 39 percent would collectively choose a town, a… read more

According to IDNR, Illinois hunters bagged 22,060 deer last weekend compared with 28,656 during second season in 2017. While last weekend’s numbers are down, Illinois’ deer harvest numbers overall are up with 80,896 deer harvested so far. (Illinois News Network)  

IFB delegates called on the administration and Congress to resolve current trade disputes and enter into new deals “that have lasting positive economic impact for all parties involved.” Approved unanimously, the sense of the delegate body resolution was proposed by Ford-Iroquois County Farm Bureau during the organization’s annual meeting Dec. 1-4. (FarmWeekNow.com)