According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ground beef prices hit $7.16 per pound in August 2026, a 7.9% jump from 2025. That’s more than double the overall annual inflation rate of 3.4%, and nearly triple the rate for food overall.

The grants from the Department of Agriculture are part of a three-year-old program aimed at making it easier for local farmers to process and distribute food locally. In total, 61 organizations received grants, 16 of them in Cook County and the other 45 distributed among 34 other counties.

“Your war and your tariffs are squeezing Illinois farmers with higher costs they cannot control and never asked for,” Gov. JB Pritzker wrote. “They should not be forced to pick up the tab for your decisions.”

Gas prices in Chicago are up 70 cents from one month ago, and nearly $1.70 compared to last year, according to data from AAA.

A lack of domestic workforce participation in agriculture pushes Illinois farmers to employ foreign workers through the temporary H-2A non-immigrant visa program.

Jerry Costello II, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, said the money being offered is not nearly enough to make up for the losses farmers are suffering.

President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package Monday — a boost to farmers who have struggled to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs after the president raised tariffs on China.

Bee loss is a persistent issue throughout the state. It’s not uncommon for beekeepers to lose over half of their colonies each year — primarily during winter — due to disease, competition, poor nutrition or limited resources.

Nationally, construction and agriculture workforces had the highest shares of undocumented workers as of 2022, according to the American Immigration Council.

On May 16, Chicago saw its first major dust storm since the Dust Bowl. The storm dropped visibility in the city to near zero as wind gusts blew over 60 mph at times, according to the National Weather Service.

A bill that would lift long-standing restrictions on small poultry farmers in Illinois, reducing red tape and transforming the way local farmers process and sell their products, is heading to the governor.

Six years ago, Illinois became the second state in the nation to offer subsidies to farmers for planting cover crops in the fall, an effort to reverse its status as one of the worst states for agriculture runoff.

The effects of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on allies and rivals are yet to be seen, but farmers in Illinois are bracing for their impact — even as they wait years for Congress to pass long-term federal spending legislation.

For the Illinois agricultural community, along with craft, gardening and baking enthusiasts, the Illinois State Fair is like a combination of Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago, Olympics and a carnival.

Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that chapters of FFA – the group once known as Future Farmers of America – will be eligible for $1,000 grants to fund mental health awareness programs in schools and rural communities.

About 60% of the Midwest and northern Great Plain states are in a drought. Nearly the entire stretch of the Mississippi River — from Minnesota to the river’s mouth in Louisiana — has experienced below average rainfall over the past two months.