When Al Westerman’s grandparents bought a farm in Northern Illinois in 1911, it came with a house, a barn and an apple orchard. Now, he collects heirloom apple trees and grows more than 100 varieties. 

Inside a barn about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, six giant pumpkins are hoisted by forklift onto an industrial scale and weighed, one by one, so their growers can claim cash prizes for the heaviest – and bragging rights.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is asking the federal government to reconsider its decision to deny monetary aid to residents and businesses affected by near-record levels of flooding that hit Illinois this spring.

Steady rain throughout much of the spring led to the state’s worst flooding in more than 25 years, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. More than two dozen counties can now apply for federal funding to help with recovery efforts.

The new law is expected to help Illinois-based food producers and manufacturers compete for contracts that prioritize locally sourced foods.

The move comes in the wake of near-record levels of flooding this spring that forced farmers to delay planting crops. 

Much of Illinois’ farmland is too wet to seed. Assessing the fallout from excessive rain – and what Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to do about it.

Chicago-based Fairlife has been under fire since an animal welfare group released videos showing workers at the company's top dairy supplier abusing cows. 

Behind barbed wire fences, Cook County Jail inmates grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, and – as of May – they’re harvesting honey from two beehives provided by a former inmate.

Animal Recovery Mission said its new video shows workers abusing adult cows behind the scenes at Fair Oaks Farms at a milking carousel at the popular agritourism destination about 70 miles south of Chicago.

Three former employees of a large northwestern Indiana dairy have been charged with animal cruelty following the release of undercover video showing workers kicking and throwing young calves, officials said Monday.

Animal Recovery Mission says an investigator for the animal rights group secretly recorded footage that shows the “daily mistreatment of the resident farm animals” at Indiana’s Fair Oaks Farms.

A flood of Illinois farmers are hoping hemp will be a cash crop for them this summer after Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Agriculture opened up licensing last week.

Farmers and others across the state are preparing to grow and process a new crop as Illinois finalizes regulations for industrial hemp. 

After years of pressure from public health advocates, the Chicago-based burger chain announces a plan to reduce the use of antibiotics in its beef products.

Medical professionals and public health advocates in Illinois are calling on lawmakers to pass legislation to curb limiting what they say is a “reckless overuse” of antibiotics in meat-producing animals.