A lot has changed on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus since its founding in 1867, but a storied plot of land near the south quad has been preserved nearly intact for a century and a half. The Morrow Plots, famed in song and story, represent the oldest continuously running agricultural experiment in North America, and are the second oldest in the world. And this year, they turn 150.  

This spring, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will participate in a campuswide crowdfunding initiative known as Orange & Blue Days, inviting community members, alumni, and friends to help the college advance a core part of its mission: strengthening food access across Illinois.

Couples who spend more time savoring the pleasurable moments they share are happier together, argue less and are more confident their relationship will last, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say in a new study.

“Savoring involves slowing down to become aware of and focus on positive experiences,” said first author Noah Larsen, a graduate student at Illinois. “Savoring can occur when we reminisce on a past experience, focus on the present moment or look ahead to a future experience.”

When couples attend relationship counseling, it benefits not only their partnership but also their individual well-being. But which aspects of the training are most influential in this respect? A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines how a popular intervention program affected individual outcomes such as mental health, sleep, and substance use. 

Keeping amphibians as pets offers hobbyists an opportunity to connect with the non-human world, often increasing interest in conserving animals in the wild. But there’s a dark side to the amphibian trade, according to a recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

A transatlantic collaboration, the U.S.-German Forum on the Future of Agriculture, led by Germany’s Aspen Institute together with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has entered its fourth year to focus on the health and wellbeing of the swine and poultry industries in the context of a more sustainable agricultural future. 

The soil microbiome is critical for the ecosystem, and agricultural practices that promote microbial diversity can support plant health and help protect against pests. But it is unclear which practices are most beneficial, and what motivates farmers to choose them.

A multidisciplinary collaboration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has received a $2.5 million award from the National Institutes of Health to develop technology for assessing embryo viability for in vitro fertilization.

As a recent communications graduate, Lia Basden missed getting her hands dirty and making things grow. “My parents have a big garden and chickens,” she said. “I missed touching dirt.” That’s why she applied to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Small Farm Certificate Program. Last semester, after eight months of hard work, she’s the program’s inaugural graduate.

Corn bred with genes from wild relatives can reshape soil microbial communities and reduce nitrogen loss — with no yield reduction — according to new research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The advancement marks the first time corn’s genetic makeup has been linked with inhibition of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, the microbes responsible for turning fertilizer nitrogen into forms that pollute water and contribute to climate change.