There were 6.8 days suitable for field work during the week ending June 4, 2023. … MORE
Category Archives: Agribusiness
Illinois crops progressing despite a dry week
There were 6.7 days suitable for field work during the week ending May 28, 2023. … MORE
Illinois farmers still getting it done in the fields
There were 4.8 days suitable for field work during the week ending May 21.… MORE
Illinois farmers continue to make good progress
There were 3.5 days suitable for field work during the week ending May 14, 2023.… MORE
Pork Producers Association celebrates inaugural “Illinois Bacon Day”
Illinois pig farmers, Illinois Pork Producers Association staff, and FFA state officers handed out BLT sandwiches to legislators and discussed the role that pork production plays in Illinois, the fourth largest pork producing state in the United States.… MORE
Illinois corn and soybeans are emerging
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.1 days suitable for field work during the week ending April 30, 2023. Statewide, the average temperature was 50.4 degrees, 6.1 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 0.26 inches, 0.61 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 2 percent very short, 10 percent short, 69 percent adequate, and 19…… MORE
Drive to lift up Illinois’ Black farmers
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – When you think of a farmer, you probably don’t think of a Black person. And you’d be right. State Rep. Sonya Harper (D-Chicago), a Black woman, chairs the Illinois House Agriculture Committee. “In 1920, Illinois had 892 Black farmers. As of the 2017 USDA agricultural census, there are 188 individually…… MORE
Corn and soybean planting are ahead of the averages
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 3.7 days suitable for fieldwork in the week ending April 23, 2023. Statewide, the average temperature was 50.9 degrees, 4.1 degrees below normal. Precipitation averaged 0.66 inches; 0.25 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 1 percent very short, 7 percent short, 66 percent adequate, and 26 percent…… MORE
State’s two big cash crops are above average this planting season
By USDA SPRINGFIELD – There were 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork in the week ending April 16, 2023. Statewide, the average temperature was 62.7 degrees, 11.5 degrees above normal. Precipitation averaged 0.65 inches; 0.45 inches below normal. Topsoil moisture supply was rated 1 percent very short, 11 percent short, 63 percent adequate, and 25 percent…… MORE
McLean County leads country in corn production per latest estimates from USDA
By Jake Fogal MCLEAN COUNTY – Estimates of corn and soybean production for 2022 are being released by the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistic Service. According to the State of Illinois, the top five counties in the US for corn output overall are in Illinois. McLean County lead the country in corn production with roughly 71…… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…