Farming

The 43rd annual Sublette Farm Toy Show was held Saturday, March 15, 2025, and Sunday, March 16, 2025. Vendors brought in thousands of toy cars, trucks and tractors to the delight of both collectors and the curious.

Sublette is known as “The Little Town with the Big Toy Show.”

Cultivating Connections is intended to bring in administrators and local school leaders who don’t necessarily have an ag background and provide them with an enriching experience that demonstrates the value of an agriculture education.

Brenda Stewart, a farm owner in Pembroke Township, received grant funding through the state. She told Capitol News Illinois she is most worried about the people who depend on her farm and the grant program to eat healthy

The Trump administration has stopped reimbursing Illinois for a program designed to help farmers and supply fresh food to Illinois food banks

Without solidified legislation, funding is in limbo. Farmers rely on crop insurance funding from the farm bill, which protects farmers from losses in crop yields and revenue due to disasters like drought and severe weather events

The DeKalb High School Future Farmers of America chapter held a Barnyard Zoo Family Night Wednesday to celebrate National FFA Week. The event offered the chance for visitors to meet farm animals, take part in arts and crafts and learn about farming in DeKalb County.

Second City Greens in Lockport is a hydroponic farm that grows seven varieties of herbs, artisanal lettuces and select leafy greens, such as Swiss chard and kale.

The couple began operating the Barrington Hills farm in 2022, letting people come in and pick flowers for a fee, until the village sent them a letter ordering them to stop.

“U.S. soybean farmers lose one of their best tools to expand their markets and U.S. standards globally,” said Peter Goldsmith, the University of Illinois-based director of the Soybean Innovation Lab

VanOpdorp has served since 2017 as chief financial officer, and was named vice president in 2018.

Over the past two years, the USDA has helped over 47,800 distressed borrowers keep their land and continue their agricultural operations by providing approximately $2.5 billion in assistance.

The Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit will take place Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Highland Community College Student Conference Center, 2998 W. Pearl City Road in Freeport.

Alec Wetzell of Franklin Grove and Kim Ewald of Compton were selected to participate after winning the District Discussion Meet.

The Ogle County Board voted 13-11 Tuesday to approve a special use permit for a solar project in Haldane, between Forreston and Polo, following a lawsuit filed by the petitioner.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture is implementing its sixth year of the popular Fall Covers for Spring Savings program.

A trip to Tammen Treeberry Farm in Wilmington has been a holiday tradition for generations of Will County area families seeking that perfect Christmas tree.

With the completion of harvest, farmers, including the Elmer Rahn family, now have time to start examining their data.

The Northwest Illinois Agronomy Summit is an annual event that brings together farmers, agronomists, researchers and other agricultural professionals to discuss the latest trends, research and advancements in agriculture.

Farmers and farmland owners interested in local sustainable agriculture will have the opportunity to network at the upcoming Common Ground gathering.

Tractor Supply Co.'s new store is at 15700 Lincoln Road in Morrison.

A Manhattan farm donates all the meat it produces to veterans organizations in eight states.

A lot of people can say they have roots in Rock Falls, but not all of them can say they’ve turned them into a thriving business that’s been part of the local landscape for generations.

The University of Illinois Extension will offer a Business Structure Basics Webinar at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22, via Zoom as part of the Legal Training for Illinois Small Farms Webinar Series.

People enjoy an early autumn day on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, doing the McHenry County Farm Stroll, a self-guided tour of 11 family farms in McHenry County that featured demonstrations and products for sale at eleven farms in McHenry County.

USDA reported 7% of corn was harvested across Illinois compared to 5% at the same time in 2023.

Working antique farm machinery and hands-on demonstrations are all part of the free two-day event.

Visitors to the Bos Brothers Historical Farm “Old-Fashioned Fall Harvest” on Saturday got a real taste – literally, of what field to table means. A variety of antique farm machinery in a rainbow of colors and styles, descended on the Bos Brothers Historical Farm on Springhill Road, south of Erie, to give visitors a glimpse of how farmers reaped their corn and soybeans before the days of automated, air conditioned combines aided by global positioning for field navigation.

“Managing Tight Crop Profit Margins” is a two-hour seminar designed specifically for producers to help them manage risk associated with the current commodity markets and identify market conditions to capture profit margins through this year into next.

Kalmar Kolors Alpacas, located along U.S. 30 six miles west of Morrison, is listed among the alpaca farms that will be open to visitors during the weekend.

Hosted by University of Illinois Extension, Ag Awareness Days ‘24 took 338 youths on a fast-paced, interactive, guided tour of science, engineering and technology that drive today’s farm operations.

Both districts’ growing attention to ag offerings has been spurred by two things, teachers say: the hands-on nature of ag programs and the lessons students can directly apply to their own lives.

The DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association hosted a dedication of a new historical marker Tuesday celebrating the creation of the yield monitor invented by Steve Faivre, Dave Larson and Jim Bassett. Yield monitors are standard combine equipment and give growers data on crop yields.

In the Business Structure Basics Webinar, led by staff from Farm Commons in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, producers will learn how to apply straightforward decision-making factors to their situations.

DeKalb County Community Gardens (DCCG) has received approximately $1.5 million in USDA grant funding, enabling the agency to expand access to healthy and sustainably grown foods and address the root causes of hunger, officials announced Monday,

Crop dusting planes are a common sight during the northern Illinois farming season as they fly acrobatically over DeKalb County farms.

The church is located at 22027 Polo Road, Sterling. Admission and parking are free.

Projects included in the funding are anti-violence behavioral health programs, the Kane County Food and Farm Resiliency Project and a countywide economic development organization.

Sterling High School’s FFA Farmapalooza event worked to educate 2,000 students on all things agriculture Thursday, May 9, 2024.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 5 and feature live farm animals to observe and pet, hayrides, barrel train rides, farm demonstrations, food and more.

Just 1% of McHenry County residents now live on farms said Dan Volkers, McHenry County Farm Bureau manager. Its Ag Expo for third and fourth grade students in the county helps connect young people to the food and fibers grown where they live.

Annual event draws farmers from across the region.

Sunny skies greeted the crowd at the Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Auction on Saturday, April 6, 2024. A couple thousand potential buyers – and some onlookers – gathered at the 30-acre sale site between Polo and Milledgeville all day to bid on farm machinery and a lot of other “odds and ends”. Mother Nature provided the sunshine and hundreds of items for sale drew the crowd as area farmers came to sell and buy.

The City Council on Monday voted unanimously to enter into a pre-annexation agreement that would start the legal process to bring 15700 Lincoln Road into city limits, and also authorized the mayor to ratify a subdivision plat named the Tractor Supply addition.

More than 300 Illinois producers have been inducted as Master Farmers or Honorary Master Farmers over the program’s history.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin signing up for the general Conservation Reserve Program starting March 4 and running through March 29, 2024.

Lee County Farm Bureau members recently participated in Illinois Farm Bureau’s traditional grassroots process during the organization’s 109th annual meeting.

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen announces funding to support energy needs, lower costs.

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, a Democrat representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, has announced over $1.2 million in funding awarded to 12 rural and small businesses and agriculture producers to lower energy costs and strengthen their energy resilience.

Visitors to the John Deere Historic Site this weekend were able to learn about his legacy – developing the first commercially successful, self-coursing steel plow nearly 190 years ago – tour his home and even play some fun games during the site’s Fall Fest.