Food & Farming

There are big warning signs in agriculture right now. And many experts are warning an aid package announced by the Trump administration is not likely to go very far or come soon enough

Country Financial is one of Bloomington-Normal's largest and longest operating businesses. What you may not know is Country Financial did not start in Bloomington.

New Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson said one reason he unseated previous organization head Brian Duncan was a legal dispute with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The Trump administration announced this week that it would make $12 billion available in the form of one-time payments to U.S. farmers to help weather what it calls “temporary trade market disruptions” in the wake of ongoing tariff disputes with America’s trading partners.

Illinois Farm Bureau delegates have rejected a new term for Illinois Farm Bureau [IFB] President Brian Duncan. At the IFB annual meeting in Chicago, nearly 57% of the delegates chose Philip Nelson of Seneca, a former IFB president and state agriculture director, as the organization’s 17th president.

Most of the package is earmarked for row-crop producers. It aims to help farmers – especially those who grow soybeans – balance out losses from high costs and a trade war with China.

The McLean County Farm Bureau is expressing disappointment with the redesigned intersection of College Avenue and Rivian Motorway, also also known as Route 150. Under construction, it will be a roundabout.

The government shutdown stops USDA from administering farm subsidies, raising the specter of growing farm foreclosures. It also delays a bailout President Trump had promised for farmers impacted by tariffs.

The Trump administration is promising billions in a bailout for farmers. This harvest season the trade war with China has added to the farm economy’s woes, as producers deal with lower crop prices and high costs.

Farmland owners who want to sell their acreage are holding back this fall, compared with this time last year — while land prices have declined slightly.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expecting a strong corn and soybean harvest this year. But low crop prices, high input costs and international trade uncertainty could hurt farmers.

Soybean industry workers and buyers shared their thoughts on the agricultural trade war between the U.S. and China during a tour of the Illinois Soybean Association offices in Bloomington.