Farm Aid is a traveling benefit concert that has raised more than $80 million nationwide to help struggling family farms across the U.S. The first annual Farm Aid event was held 40 years ago, on Sept. 22, 1985, in what is now Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
A plan to disburse Washington-based USDA jobs to five hubs, including Kansas City and Indianapolis, is making waves across agriculture. Critics say the shakeup could hobble the agency, while proponents it will move staff closer to farmers and save money.
For more than a decade, Cronus Chemicals has sought to create a fertilizer production facility in East Central Illinois. At the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, the governor announced the company is following through with its $2 billion investment.
The interest in local food systems, like farmer’s markets and direct farm-to-consumer sales, is on the rise. But the U.S. is still more reliant on imported foods than ever before.
Farmers who were promised funding through the federal Regional Food Business Centers have been left in limbo after the Trump administration shut down the program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will honor grants the program already approved, but it’s unclear when.
The massive legislation extends tax cuts and increases safety nets for farmers who grow commodities, like corn, wheat and rice. But deep cuts to federal food assistance spending could hurt specialty growers who benefit from programs like Double Up Food Bucks.
Health care leaders worry rural hospitals could be hit hard by Medicaid spending reductions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” In the Midwest and Great Plains, Oklahoma and Kansas could face the highest risk of hospital closures and service reductions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will no longer take a farmer’s race or gender into consideration for many of its loans and benefit programs.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is developing a framework for assessing drought in a changing climate. It’s a difficult task, as what’s considered drought is often situational.
Across much of the Midwest, the atmosphere is becoming warmer and retaining more water, leading to heavier downpours. A two-crop system called relay intercropping could help farmers buffer weather whiplash and boost profits.
Shoppers are seeing record high beef prices at the grocery store. That’s in part because the number of cattle in the U.S. is at an all-time low, while consumer demand has remained strong.
The FBI and Department of Justice hailed the arrests and charges as crucial in protecting national security and public safety.
The Trump administration paused funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development in January, followed by a near-complete dismantling of the agency this spring, including the Feed the Future program.
New World screwworms used to be a constant concern for ranchers, until they were eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960’s. Now that they’re on their way back, those who remember dealing with them have warnings about their impact.
Black vultures have a reputation for killing newborn livestock, which can be a problem for ranchers in the Great Plains and Midwest. Legislation efforts aim to remove permit requirements for farmers to shoot or capture the birds.