James A. (Jim) Holmes learned early that when something breaks, you figure out how to fix it.

Growing up on a small Angus cattle farm near Dunlap, Illinois, Mr. Holmes was surrounded by machinery, livestock, and the everyday challenges that come with keeping a farm running.

“If something broke, you fixed it with a screwdriver, an adjustable wrench, and a hammer,” Mr. Holmes said with a laugh.

Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and five other research institutions are five years into a futuristic $25 million project that allows people and plants to communicate and collaborate to meet environmental challenges.

In the 150 years since the establishment of the Morrow Plots at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, many forward-thinking people have had a hand in their upkeep and management. But in that long line of leaders — from founder Manly Miles to current director Andrew Margenot — it’s recently deceased Robert Dunker whose love and dedication towards the plots may surpass the rest. 

Producing food for a growing world population amidst climate change and supply chain constraints is a tall order. Is biotechnology part of the solution?

Farmers are struggling with high input costs, low grain prices, and razor-thin profit margins. A new project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, aims to help. By experimenting with drainage water recycling, the team hopes to reduce nutrient losses, improve water quality, boost local farm economies, and avoid harmful algal blooms in the Gulf.

Two alumni from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign received 2026 University of Illinois Alumni Association awards at a ceremony on Oct. 1 at Pear Tree Estates in Champaign.

Red crown rot, a fungal disease of soybean, is not new to the Midwest. First reported in Illinois in 2018, the disease is now surging across the state and the region. Boris Camiletti, a plant pathologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is leading the effort to understand and combat the scourge, along with the Crop Protection Network, the Illinois Soybean Association, the United Soybean Board, and researchers in surrounding states. 

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign celebrated the completion of a new gate and perimeter fencing at the historic Morrow Plots with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 19, 2026, during Celebrate Food and Ag Day.

Tucked away in the far southern part of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus is the Food Science Pilot Plant, a flexible, state-of-the-art space for food processing.

The Center for Digital Agriculture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is being awarded $750,000 by the USDA-NIFA Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) program for a proposal titled “Digital Applications of Technology in Agriculture for Sustainable, Multidisc