Iowa State University

One of the goals in FFA is to prepare members “for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”

Working as a veterinarian means every day is different — and that’s what Taryn Pfeiffer really enjoys about her career.

Many farmers quietly struggle with mental health and are reluctant to ask for help. If you or someone you know needs help, reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Midwest Dairy is rewarding five students from Illinois with $1,000 this fall at the college or university of their choice.

Stunted, yellowing corn plants along field edges have been attributed to herbicide drift, insect feeding and soil compaction over the years, but research suggests it’s due to edge effect.

Five new officers elected by the delegates during the 96th Illinois FFA State Convention will be traveling throughout the state during the upcoming year engaging with members to inspire them to achieve their goals.

A wind farm in southwest Iowa suffered a direct hit from a powerful tornado that crumpled five of the massive, power-producing towers, including one that burst into flames. But experts say fortunately such incidents are rare.

This June, producers can get answers to their questions about installing edge-of-field conservation practices by connecting with farmers who have first-hand knowledge.

Heavy rains that have hit portions of Illinois and Indiana raise concerns over the survivability of corn that’s already planted and other issues that go along with a wet spring.

Long before it became a cliché, there were many heroes who never wore capes. I met one: the rail-thin, then-86-year-old Theodore W. Schultz, in his sun-filled, University of Chicago office on a cold, January day in 1989.

This Illinois Beef Foundation announced eight young people from across the state as 2024 scholarship recipients.

Is there a government conspiracy afoot to deprive farmers of receiving their full benefits from crop insurance? Not at all, according to an economist.

Dairymen are using more beef semen for breeding their cows to add value to the calves.

After they’ve strolled through the Western Illinois University Ag Mech Club’s Farm Expo, WIU alumni are invited to attend an event after the show for an update on the alumni program and to honor five distinguished ag department alumni.

Animals are an important part of the sustainable food system.

The second annual Illinois Ag Retail Survey is underway to collect data on nutrient management practices.

More supply, less demand, where do we go from here? Larger supplies of corn and soybeans and less demand will bring hard questions — and harder decisions — for farmers in 2024, according to a former Iowa State University Extension economist.

He’s now retired from Iowa State University Extension, but the economist from Cyclone Nation donned the orange and blue of the Fighting Illini to talk about the future — and the past — to a group of northern Illinois farmers.

As contraction of the U.S. cattle herd continues, farmers nearing retirement age are faced with deciding whether to expand again, invest more into infrastructure and whether someone is in line for succession.

The smoke from Canadian wildfires reached levels across the Corn Belt this summer that impacted air quality and filtering sunlight with particulate matter, raising the question of its impact on crop productivity.

Years of working on FFA projects resulted in four FFA members selected as Star winners during 95th annual Illinois Association FFA State Convention.

Novice and experienced gardeners are invited to join Purdue Extension, the University of Tennessee and Iowa State University for the citizen science experiment “Citi-Sci: Growing Food for Science!” from April through August.

Whether to plant early or wait is a choice every farmer faces, and it’s not always an easy one. Planting into wet fields can cause soil compaction, which can sometimes lead to yield loss.

Extending the growing season is one of many benefits annual forages can provide to cattle operations.

Black History Month is an important time to remember the agricultural contributions of the African American community — such as those of George Washington Carver.

Liquidation of the U.S. cattle herd has accelerated the last couple of years due to drought conditions.

Although cattle have a pressure zone and a flight zone, the point of movement for the animal is the eye.

With the interim nutrient loss reduction goals deadline just two years away, agriculture groups are teaming up to collect verified information of what efforts are underway in fields.

Indiana Farm Bureau welcomed Todd Davis to its staff in a newly created chief economist role.

Equipment manufacturer John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation have signed a memorandum of understanding that ensures farmers and ranchers have the right to repair their own farm equipment.

Research has found that building a relationship of trust between a conservation practitioner and farmer has the most positive impact on implementing conservation practices on the farm.

Potassium has been referred to as the mother of all nutrients for the numerous benefits it provides plants.

I admit, our yard has gone wild since my husband and I became working parents. The awful “Creeping Charlie” weed from our neighbor’s lawn is, yes, creeping into our lawn after the 2020 derecho knocked down the trees that separated our yards.

Working on anaerobic digestion research projects while studying at Iowa State University helped Gayle Baker find her career path. Growing up on her family’s 120-head dairy farm in northeast Iowa, Baker was a 4-H member and county dairy princess.

Rain has been falling as it was needed for most of the growing season without any severe events at the Mitchell farm until the beginning of August.

For the first time in four years, the Farm Progress Show will once again be held in Iowa this year, and specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are excited about the return.

Emerging opportunities for carbon markets and carbon sequestration have caught the attention of a wide range of specialists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Identifying what type of insect or plant disease is affecting your crops is a critical part in forming a response. Making the wrong decision can be costly and may have little to no effect on the issue at hand.

Controlling weeds in farm fields is an annual challenge — especially with more weeds becoming resistant to herbicides. Fortunately, producers have a wide range of options to counter weeds, including some creative ways that may not have been employed in the past.

Water quality improvements often happen in fields and underground — places that can be hard to see up close and in one setting.

Farmers, gardeners and anyone with interest in helping monarchs thrive can get involved with resources provided by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

As a former 4-H’er and member of a farm family, Renee Gehrke is very comfortable in the friendly confines of the Ogle County Fairgrounds. And that comfort level came through loud and clear to the judges when the 19-year-old from Byron was crowned 2022 Miss Ogle County.

The American Seed Trade Association elected its 2022-2023 officer team during the association’s all-new Leadership Summit in Indianapolis.

When drastic increases in food costs spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic left Andrew Caplinger struggling to find fresh catfish for his restaurants, he decided to try “an experimental” solution — growing his own.

If one sentence proved the need to listen to Liz Wagstrom, it was the matter-of-fact statement from Dermot Hayes, just an hour earlier and a few buildings away from where Wagstrom spoke.

FFA members with projects that include managing crops, raising pigs, goats, rabbits and puppies, as well as experiments with cattle were honored during the Stars over Illinois event held on the second day of the 94th Illinois FFA State Convention.

The first confirmations of tar spot in the United States were in Illinois and Indiana in 2015 and the corn disease has since spread across the Corn Belt. “It’s here and we’re going to have to learn how to deal with it,” said Ryan Gentle, Wyffels Hybrid agronomy manager.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack intends to nominate Alexis Taylor to serve as under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Milk fever affects dairy cows in many ways, including the reduction of milk production. “We call clinical hypocalcemia ‘milk fever’ and that is when the blood calcium falls below 4.5 milligrams per deciliter,” said Jesse Goff, professor emeritus at Iowa State University.

Liquidation of the nation’s cattle herd is expected to continue in 2022. “The first major trend we’re going to be seeing this year is herd liquidation,” said Elliott Dennis, agricultural economics assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.