Agriculture

Illinois corn farmers are on track to see their worst yields in more than 20 years. 

Illinois farmers have planted less than half of their corn crop this year because of frequent spring rain. Usually they are done by now.

Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration is set to release $5 million to fund the state's soil and water conservation districts for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

The money is much less than the $13.5 million which lawmakers appropriated for the 96 county-based offices. But Rauner spokeswoman Rachel Bold said the Republican governor is trying to manage spending because the budget the Legislature adopted has a deficit.

President Donald Trump has proposed a 33 percent cut to the crop insurance program. That has left area farmers concerned about their ability to weather any storms that could damage their crops. A group of farmers gathered at the Peoria County Farm Bureau Monday and told U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth crop insurance not only should be kept at current levels, it should be expanded to dairy farmers.

Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs has announced a new $500-million program that will help farmers, homeowners and employees in rural parts of the state get access to low-interest loans. Speaking on Illinois Public Media’s daily news talk show The 21st on Tuesday, Frerichs said predatory lending is not just a problem in urban areas.

Governor Bruce Rauner has declared a “harvest emergency” across Illinois.

The designation means trucks carrying grain can exceed weight limits by 10 percent. State Agriculture Director Raymond Poe says it should help farmers get their product to market more efficiently.

Poe says it could help farmers move as much as 70 more acres per day.
Wet weather earlier this year delayed planting in parts of the state, which in turn delays the harvest. That’s led to congestion at grain elevators.

Ten agriculture-related projects that are looking for way to expand the availability of fresh, locally-grown produce in Illinois will be sharing $550,000.

Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration has outlined more than $200 million in cuts it wants to make to Illinois' new budget, including to human services, agriculture programs and transportation.

Agriculture experts say pumpkin crops in central Illinois are still recovering, but improving two years after heavy rain decimated area yields.

Officials say they're changing mowing routes along interstates to help protect dwindling populations of the monarch butterfly and other pollinators.  Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn says the agency is one of the state's biggest landowners and has a responsibility to "act as steward of the environment."

There’s one piece of legislation that seems to be getting broad bipartisan support in Springfield.

Two Illinois lawmakers have proposed a plan to offer tax credits to biotechnology businesses in hopes of boosting agricultural jobs in central Illinois.  The legislation, introduced by Republican state Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill, would provide incentives to produce and sell new renewable products made from biomass and other renewable sources.

U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Production Report is out. The President of the Illinois Corn Growers Association says it’s worth farmers excitement to see the considerable increases in exports coupled with increases in feed and ethanol uses.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have found that reducing the number of leaves on soybean plants can increase crop yield by eight percent.  In replicated trials on the Urbana campus, researchers removed up to one third of the emerging leaves on soybeans to boost yield.

Project lead Praveen Kumar, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the U of I,  says producing more food without using more land is vital.

“We are probably maxed out in terms of available arable lands, so we really need a different strategy to increase productivity.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Dozens of international buyers are in Illinois this week as the state tries to increase export sales for the grain industry.

The 67th annual HOI Fair starts up this evening.

Roxy Baker helps plan the fair. She says this year’s schedule of events focuses on agribusiness.

“We want the urban setting that we’ve become, we want those people to come in and see what it is, what agribusiness is.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Federal officials say cooler temperatures sometimes dipping below freezing have prohibited Illinois agricultural producers from planting until they find warmer soil.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in its weekly crop report for Illinois that fieldwork continues and the spring calving season has begun. 

Organizers of an event at the Peoria Riverfront Museum are hoping to bring attention to what they’re calling a “crisis” facing the world’s food supply.

The third annual “Pollinator Day” is co- hosted by the museum and the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club. The event will bring together beekeepers, gardeners, environmentalists and farmers to talk about the role that bees, butterflies and other pollinators play in food production.

Museum Planetarium Curator Renae Kerrigan says the decline in honeybee populations is worrisome.   

PEKIN, Ill. (AP) - Farmers are seeing more insects than normal for this time of year because of warmer weather.

The  early hatch of insects could be welcome news for agriculture because there will be less for insects to eat. 

Tazewell County Farm Bureau Manager Doug Godke says the early hatch could mean insects die off without enough food. Certain types of beetles can eat foliage on soybeans and the silk on corn plants resulting in poor harvests. 

Godke says most farmers are planting insect-resistant crops, which also helps keep insect populations in check.

 Gov. Bruce Rauner says he supports one of Illinois' top industries: Agriculture. But critics say a recent plan goes against his own assertion that he's a “strong advocate” for it.

ROCHELLE, Ill. (AP) - A New York-based farming company has broken ground in northern Illinois on a hydroponic greenhouse that officials say should be operational next year. BrightFarms Inc. on Thursday began construction on a $10 million, 160,000-square-foot greenhouse in Rochelle. The facility will produce more than 1 million pounds of salad greens, tomatoes and basil annually. Mariano's, a division of Milwaukee-based Roundy's Supermarkets Inc. will be the greenhouse's primary customer.

The Illinois Farm Bureau is boosting a year old program to involve Veterans in agriculture. 

"Growing Illinois" is the theme of the 2015 Illinois State Fair.  The fair runs August 13th through the 23rd.