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.
Agriculture
Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted new policies to encourage American farmers to begin growing two crops on one piece of land, one after the other, a practice known as double-cropping.
The climate deal reached last week by Senate Democrats could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that American farmers produce by expanding programs that help accumulate carbon in soil, fund climate-focused research and lower the abundant methane emissions that come from cows.
Canadian Pacific covers much of the U.S. Midwest and is a large shipper of potash and fertilizer for agriculture. It also carries grain from the U.S. to its northern neighbor for domestic use and exports. The railroad serves the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and other states.
In Illinois, farming is big business. The Illinois Farm Bureau estimates that Illinois’ agriculture industry and related activity contribute more than $50 billion to the state’s economy. But the nature of farm work and the structure of our nation’s migrant labor program make the people who perform long hours of labor in Illinois’ over 72 million farms vulnerable to abuse.
As if a cup of coffee wasn’t expensive enough, a confluence of factors is driving up farmers’ costs to grow the beans and it could begin filtering down to your local cafe before the end of the year.
In a potentially world-changing discovery, scientists led by a team from the University of Chicago have discovered a way to manipulate RNA to dramatically boost crop production.
After record floods in 2019, northern Illinois farmers are now contending with severe drought. According to state data, this spring was the third driest on record — and those records go all the way back to 1871. Two area farmers join us to share their insights.
A group of Midwestern farmers sued the federal government Thursday alleging they can't participate in a COVID-19 loan forgiveness program because they're white.
Crop prices are expected to surge and spill over onto grocery shelves. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.
Like a lot of urban growers, Stephanie Dunn of Star Farm sells her produce at farmers markets around Chicago. Now she’s about to start up a different kind of farmer’s market: her own food co-op housed in a building she is preparing to renovate thanks to a grant from the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.
Everyone could use a little sunshine in their life right now, so a Wisconsin farmer decided that’s what he was going to do, and planted more than 2 million sunflowers in his fields.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is facing political pressure from some areas of the state that want to reopen sooner than Chicago. We visit Kankakee to see how residents, farmers and others are coping with the pandemic.
Agriculture is one of Illinois’ main industries. But like many other sectors, it’s taking a beating because of the coronavirus.
The Illinois Soybean Association is contributing raw materials and packaging to the Chicago Park District, which is producing 600 gallons of hand sanitizer for its staff and other essential workers.
For generations, a small family business has relied on predictable weather patterns to produce thousands of gallons of maple syrup each year. But climate change is now threatening the industry – and filling the family with uncertainty about the future.
