Agronomy Days 2026 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign continues with events scheduled into October, teaching Illinois growers the latest breakthroughs in productivity, profitability, and sustainability.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research professor John Reid, also executive director of the Center for Digital Agriculture, received the prestigious 2026 Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal. 

Back in the late 1990s, a distressing trend took hold for rural America. At that time, rural and urban mortality rates started to diverge, with rural populations experiencing 9% higher mortality in working-age adults. Unfortunately, the divide has only grown over time. As of 2019, working-age adults in rural areas were 43% more likely to die from natural causes than their urban counterparts, but researchers have struggled to explain this gap.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Morrow Plots — the oldest continuously running agricultural experiment in North America — celebrate their 150th anniversary this year. It’s a milestone for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, symbolizing its commitment to the land-grant mission, effort to feed a global population, and goal of nourishing its own campus community. 

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign often cites its land-grant legacy, but the land-grant university system is not a well-known concept outside of higher education. In fact, many current students, staff, and faculty struggle to define it. So, let’s get into what it means, how it came about, and why it still matters. 

Neal Merchen, professor emeritus of animal sciences and former associate dean of research and director of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, died on June 24 of Parkinson’s disease. He was 74.