Matters relating to agriculture, including farming and agribusiness.
Darrell Hoemann
Lawyer William Enyart talks with farmers at the Hilton Garden Inn on Tuesday, September 1, 2015.
Nearly a year after China re-opened its doors to imported U.S. corn, one former U.S. representative is recruiting Illinois farmers into a mass-action lawsuit as plaintiffs.
Thousands of farmers – along with major agribusinesses Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill – are suing the Swiss chemical company Syngenta for selling a genetically modified strain of corn in the United States before its approval by China.
Darrell 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.
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.
Darrell 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.
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.
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.
Darrell Hoemann
Jenny Mennenga with soybean seeds from last year at her family farm near LeRoy on Monday, January 26, 2015.
Jenny Mennenga farms corn and soybean with her husband between Le Roy and Farmer City in central Illinois. This past harvest brought Mennenga’s farm record corn production, though soybean yields were just “fairly average.”
Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access
Bev Ehler in her equipment shed at her rural Thomasboro, IL fame on Friday, October 17, 2014. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access
After making record profits from 2007-2013, farmers in Champaign County who rent their land are likely to lose money on both corn and soybeans in this year and next, said a University of Illinois economist.
Across the state, 2014 saw record highs for cash rent. In Champaign County, the average cash renter pays $253 per acre.
Lauren Rohr
Zack Grant runs the Sustainable Student Farm at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Spring, 2014
By Lauren Rohr/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- The Sustainable Student Farm serves a variety of purposes on the University of Illinois campus. Hundreds of students gain…
By Claire Everett/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- More than 300 researchers from around the world gathered at the University of Illinois this week for a major conference…
Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers ranked in the top 10 for highest fatality rates by occupation last year.
Additionally, the “agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting” industry category was – again – the country’s deadliest industry, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics findings released on Monday. The findings show that the broad agriculture industry category was nearly seven times deadlier than the typical job.
Two vacant lots have been turned into gardens and provide affordable produce to area residents. Spring 2014.
By Karyna Rodriguez/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- One person can make a difference. Nicole Bridges embodies that statement more than almost anyone I’ve ever met. Nicole…
