Military

As a high school student, Richard Siedenburg did not plan to join his dad farming, but that changed after spending time in other countries in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves.

Ron Dykstra knew from a very young age that he wanted to farm.

As a veteran, Jerry Costello II recognizes the trait in other veterans that prompted him to enlist in the U.S. Army.

With his eight-year commitment to the Army National Guard, Chuck Hanley was able to juggle his agriculture careers with his service.

Craig Stevenson, an Air Force veteran from Monon in northern Indiana, learned many skills during his time in the military that have aided him in his most recent job.

Charley Jordan retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 in 2017, after more than 28 years of service.

Dewaine “Dewey” Haag grinned as he recalled barely avoiding being AWOL while stationed at Fort Dix. It was a chance worth taking to move his wife, Marie, who was expecting their first child, to New Jersey.

Lt. Col. Dan Rooney will be the opening general session speaker at CattleCon 2025, Feb. 4-6, in San Antonio.

Veterans Day is a time to reflect on American history and those who made it. Fighting in World War I ended with a ceasefire on the 11th hour of Nov. 11, 1918.

Beginning with Memorial Day and ending shortly after Independence Day, we see more American flags flying than at any other time of the year.

For Luke Schneider, military veteran, former firefighter and founder of Fire Department Coffee, the mission of his coffee company goes deeper than just a great cup of joe.

Republican legislators in Kansas advanced proposals aimed at preventing individuals and companies from China and other U.S. adversaries from owning farmland or business property.

When asked to describe war, Union General William T. Sherman noted that “war is cruelty, and you cannot refine it.” Later, Sherman did refine his dictum to the much shorter, impossible-to-forget: “War is hell.”

Neal Lambert, a U.S. Navy veteran, has seen the nation’s largest flying flag daily for years. But the sight of the super-sized stars and stripes still inspires awe and pride.

Chris Gould harvested record wheat yields from his farm in July. “The wheat produced 115 bushels per acre,” said Gould, who together with his wife, Dana, grow corn, soybeans and wheat on their Kane County farm.

The one certainty about the Ukrainian-Russian war is that there is little certainty. Even with Russia’s recent history of aggression, few predicted outright war.

Russia followed its withdrawal from a grain export deal by expanding its attacks from port infrastructure to farm storage buildings in Ukraine’s Odesa region, while also practicing a Black Sea blockade.

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the nation, and a recent series of challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals along with ongoing public debate has led many to question what a future without the product would look like.

When Dave Brooks finished his service with the U.S. Marine Corps in 1973, he began helping a friend in the auction business.

If it’s January, you’re most likely to find Matt Rush on the road and on his way to a meeting.

Bane-Welker Equipment’s 2022 toy drive was a major success. The entire Bane-Welker complex with nine stores in Indiana and six stores in Ohio collected 5,556 toys for children in their communities.

Who doesn’t love a good story? We all have been there, sitting on the edge of our seats eager to see if our favorite characters will come out OK. Stories aren’t just entertaining. They also help us understand times and places we haven’t seen firsthand.

U.S. Army veteran Matt Schermerhorn couldn’t give blood for years because he was stationed in Europe during a deadly mad cow disease scare there. Now, he’s proud to be back in the donor’s chair.

More than 200 FFA students gathered over two weekends to pack care boxes for active-duty military this fall. The service was part of the annual FFA Foundations in Reaching Excellence Conference.

Bane-Welker Equipment is supporting the 2022 Toys for Tots drive and will be collecting toys at all of its locations in Indiana and Ohio from now until Dec. 2.

Veterans and active-duty military are invited to the State Fair Dairy Bar for a free chocolate or vanilla milkshake. The event will take place between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Nov. 11.

An unexploded rocket sticks out of a field, and another is embedded in the ground of the farm compound. Workers found a cluster bomb while clearing weeds, and there’s a gaping hole in the roof of the shrapnel-scarred livestock barn.

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth spoke of her legislative record and platform going forward if elected during the recent Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable candidate forum.

Questions relating to several high-priority legislative issues were posed to U.S. senatorial candidates at a recent candidate forum. The Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable forum featured incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Republican challenger Kathy Salvi.