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Agriculture

Illinois bets on biodiesel: Expanding the market for domestic soybeans

By NAOMI TAXAY
Jun 17, 2026 8:57 am - Illinois offers a sales tax exemption to retailers that sell biodiesel fuels, a law aimed at boosting soybean sales. Fuel that is made up of at least 20% biodiesel qualifies for the incentives as of April, up from 17%. The Illinois Soybean Association estimates the new policy could expand biodiesel demand to about 255 million gallons, up from 165 million gallons when state law set the threshold at 11%.
Trump makes changes to steel, aluminum and copper tariffs

By MAE ANDERSON
Jun 02, 2026 4:39 pm - President Donald Trump on Monday adjusted tariffs on some steel, aluminum and copper imports, lowering some tariffs on farming equipment and extending the lower rate to other equipment.
Researchers have spent decades breeding better potatoes for chips, and their work isn’t done

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
Jun 02, 2026 6:15 am - There’s a surprising amount of science in a bag of potato chips. Researchers have spent decades developing potatoes for chip makers that can grow in all kinds of climates, avoid diseases and pests, sit in storage for months and still deliver a satisfying crunch.
Illinois grows millions of bushels of soybeans. Why aren’t we eating them?

Tara Sun
May 25, 2026 4:09 pm - CHICAGO — Inside a factory on Chicago’s North Side, the smell of simmering soybeans drifts through the air. On a typical day, “I use about 4,000 pounds of dry beans,” Jen...
China agrees to boost trade for U.S. beef and poultry following Trump-Xi summit

By DIDI TANG
May 18, 2026 1:56 pm - China has agreed to ramp up trade for U.S. agricultural products such as beef and poultry, buying at an annualized rate of $17 billion per year for 2026 and at that level for 2027 and 2028, the White House announced Sunday, two days after President Donald Trump returned from a high-stakes summit in Beijing where he sought to ease the impact on American farmers from the trade war he launched last year.
Historic 8-sided barn taken down piece by piece, rebuilt at Richardson Adventure Farm to be event venue

By Janelle Walker
May 02, 2026 5:25 pm - A rare, eight-sided barn that stood on the south end of Spring Grove for well over a century is getting raised again. The circa-1876 barn stood on the Hatch-Kattner farm for nearly 150 years, but was “on its last legs” when the farmland went up for sale three years ago, said George Richardson, of Richardson Adventure Farm. Taken apart piece by piece and stored until it could be rebuilt, it’s now being put back together with hopes for it to survive another 150 years.
Many Illinois farmers see slow planting progress due to frequent rains, cooler temperatures

By Rhiannon Branch, FarmWeek
Apr 30, 2026 2:58 pm - Despite statewide planting progress being ahead of the average pace, weather and soil conditions kept many tractors on the sidelines in large portions of central and northern Illinois through mid-April.
Already under financial pressure, Midwest soybean farmers are squeezed further by tariffs, Iran war

By ERIC FERKENHOFF/LEE ENTERPRISES and JOSH KELETY/AP
Apr 13, 2026 1:45 pm - Midwest soybean farmers are facing an array of compounding issues. Costs, such as equipment, have crept up over time while soybean prices have stayed low. Tariffs levied by the Trump administration last year and the resulting monthslong trade war with China in 2025 only made things worse, they say. Then the Iran war bottled up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sending fertilizer prices sky high.
Illinois farmers ease critical labor shortages through this agricultural visa program

By GEORGIA EPIPHANIOU
Apr 11, 2026 2:12 pm - A lack of domestic workforce participation in agriculture pushes Illinois farmers to employ foreign workers through the temporary H-2A non-immigrant visa program. Illinois’ employment of farmers through the visa program has grown rapidly, filling 4,488 positions in 2025.
Fertilizer prices jump ahead of planting season, squeezing Illinois farmers

By Bob Okon and Tom C. Doran
Apr 07, 2026 12:34 pm - The war in Iran is raising the price of fertilizer for farmers for the same reason it’s increasing gas prices for everyone. The Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route threatened by the conflict, carries nearly half of the world’s urea exports and about 30% of ammonia, both critical for fertilizer production. The impact on fertilizer prices and supplies has set off alarm bells in the world of agriculture and a new focus in news reporting on the economic impact of the war.

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