USDA

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

Farmers can now apply for federal assistance to offset loss of income due to the trade war.

Central Illinois isn’t exactly seeing knee-high corn by the 4th of July this year.

Peoria County Farm Bureau Manager Patrick Kirchhoffer said the corn crop is “all over the place” this year due to delays caused by wet weather.

“We’ve got corn that’s chest-high in the Peoria area, and we’ve got corn that’s ankle-high. So it’s going to be a very long harvest season come this fall," he said. 

Kirchhoffer says this is the first year he can remember where farmers were planting over three months: April, May and June. Usually, the planting process takes just two weeks.

Peoria’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research is off the chopping block.

The Saturday farmer’s market in downtown Peoria is celebrating National Farmers Market Week. There will be special attractions including live music and giveaways to highlight the economic and public health benefits of the increasingly popular form of commerce.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects Illinois farmers to plant fewer acres of corn in 2015 as a nationwide price slump continues.

An official with the USDA visited Rolling Acres Middle School in Peoria to tout healthy eating habits. Tim English is the Regional Administrator with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. He says Rolling acres is one example of how schools use multiple activities to get students to eat better:

Pekin now qualifies for new USDA rural development loans and grant funding. A change in the farm bill allows larger populations cities like Pekin to apply. Dwight Reynolds is with the USDA. He says the funding can help cities, business owners, and individuals get better loan terms and lower interest rates:

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee began work Wednesday on a five year farm bill. Taylorville Republican Rodney Davis introduced an amendment to give the U.S. Department of Agriculture more say in any changes introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency that affect agriculture.