Agriculture
Read more about the article Illinois billionaire Shahid Khan investing in thousands of acres of the state’s farmland
Farm acreage at the 1831 2500N, Thomasboro, IL belonging to Baloo Enterprises LLC on Saturday, March 13, 2021. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Illinois billionaire Shahid Khan investing in thousands of acres of the state’s farmland

In recent years, Urbana billionaire Shahid Khan has added to investments by quietly purchasing farmland through a company he owns called Baloo Enterprises LLC. A spokesperson for Khan confirmed earlier this month that Khan has purchased roughly 24,000 acres of farmland in central Illinois.

Continue ReadingIllinois billionaire Shahid Khan investing in thousands of acres of the state’s farmland
Read more about the article Blighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkersPhoto by Darrell Hoemann/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Workers rest outside at the Nightingale camp in Rantoul, Ill., after a day's work in July 2014. The migrant farmworker housing is located on the former Chanute Air Force Base. The Illinois Department of Public Health lists the camp’s maximum occupancy at 450 workers.

Blighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkers

An ongoing investigation by The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting has found the oversight of migrant housing is a fractured and ineffective system despite decades of reforms.

Continue ReadingBlighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkers
Read more about the article Blighted Housing: A look inside eight migrant farmworker ‘camps’Photo by Darrell Hoemann/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
A bedroom for migrant farmworkers at the Nightingale facility in Rantoul, Ill., on July 29, 2014.

Blighted Housing: A look inside eight migrant farmworker ‘camps’

State inspection records highlight substandard conditions inside eight migrant farmworker housing sites.

Continue ReadingBlighted Housing: A look inside eight migrant farmworker ‘camps’
Read more about the article Blighted Housing: Visa program requires housing inspections for non-U.S. farmworkersPhoto by Darrell Hoemann/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
A resident walks down a hallway inside the Nightingale migrant labor camp in Rantoul, Ill., in July 2014. Companies in Illinois received approval for only five H-2A workers from October to December 2015.

Blighted Housing: Visa program requires housing inspections for non-U.S. farmworkers

Hundreds of migrant workers come to the United States from Mexico and other countries with special H-2A farm visas, but they make up only a fraction of the total number of migrant farmworkers.

Continue ReadingBlighted Housing: Visa program requires housing inspections for non-U.S. farmworkers
Read more about the article Blighted Housing: Much of Missouri migrant farmworker housing left out of inspection programPhoto by Robert Holly/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Migrant farmworkers help plant, pick and process the food that ends up on kitchen tables. Under current Missouri policies, only housing for foreign migrant farmworkers with H-2A visas is required to undergo inspection.

Blighted Housing: Much of Missouri migrant farmworker housing left out of inspection program

The state and local agencies responsible for overseeing migrant farmworker housing vary from state to state. Here's a detailed look at how oversight works in Missouri.

Continue ReadingBlighted Housing: Much of Missouri migrant farmworker housing left out of inspection program
Read more about the article A new coal mine in town: environmental, economic questions still lingerphoto by Darrell Hoemann/CU-Citizen Access.org
Jonathan Ashbrook, left, on his property with Sue and Tom Smith near the proposed site of the Sunrise coal mine outside Homer, Ill. The three are members of a grassroots organization, Stand Up To Coal, opposing the mine. Ashbrook's family has owned land near the seasonal creek known as The Olive Branch for the past 140 years. The original mine permit stated it would use local field drainage tiles for mine discharge, which empties in the Olive Branch about a mile from the mine site.

A new coal mine in town: environmental, economic questions still linger

Keith Rohl remembers the day he was asked to lease the coal rights to his farmland in Homer, Illinois. It was 2009, a wet year for the crops, when he was lined up at the grain elevator with his neighbors hearing about the proposed Bulldog Mine for the first time. “The neighbors were all talking about, ‘You sell your coal rights, and you get to farm your land on top. You’re going to have all kinds of money and everything.’ And I thought ‘Boy, that sounds great to me, and I was ready to sign up,’ ” he said.

Continue ReadingA new coal mine in town: environmental, economic questions still linger
Read more about the article Ag Secretary Vilsack announces major USDA biofuel investmentDarrell Hoemann
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, middle, listens to a researchers on Sept. 10, 2015. Vilsack was visiting the Energy Farm just south of Urbana, Ill. From left: German Bollero, head of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's crop science department; Tim Mies, director of the Energy Farm; Robert Hauser, ACES dean; Patrick Brown, assistant professor in plant breeding and genetics

Ag Secretary Vilsack announces major USDA biofuel investment

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced on Thursday that his department will award nearly two dozen states with millions of dollars to build the gas pumps and other infrastructure needed to supply American drivers with more renewable fuel.

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Read more about the article Agriculture community raises concerns on proposed state budgetDarrell Hoemann
Dr. Joni White with some of her FFA students in the greenhouse at Urbana High School in Urbana, Illinois on Wednesday, May 27, 2015. From left: Noah Dowling, Abram Washington, Austin Carter, Anthony Tuel, Dr. Joni White, Richardo Vargas and Carson Bryant.

Agriculture community raises concerns on proposed state budget

The state budget for agricultural education is once again coming under the scythe. In June 2010, the Illinois State Board of Education adopted a budget that zeroed out the $3 million funding under Gov. Pat Quinn, but by August, Quinn announced he restored it to $1.9 million.

Continue ReadingAgriculture community raises concerns on proposed state budget
Read more about the article Champaign County Farm Bureau aims to educate, advocateDarrell Hoemann
Jacob Meisner, a member of the Illinois Collegiate Farm Bureau, on the dairy farm he works at near his home in Paris, IL on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

Champaign County Farm Bureau aims to educate, advocate

With less than 2 percent of Champaign’s population involved in production agriculture, the Champaign County Farm Bureau has made it part of its mission to educate the community about the work being done by Champaign’s agriculture industry.

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Read more about the article Federal money woes bring attention to crop insuranceDarrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
A flag waves in front of soybean acres on July 3, 2014.

Federal money woes bring attention to crop insurance

The average yearly amount of taxpayer money funding the highly subsidized federal crop insurance program has more than doubled in just over a decade. From 2003 through 2007, the government spent an average of $3.4 billion per year on crop insurance, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Continue ReadingFederal money woes bring attention to crop insurance