Illinois Regenerative Agriculture Initiative launches at University of Illinois

URBANA, Ill. – The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is pleased to announce the Illinois Regenerative Agriculture Initiative (IRAI), a new home for regenerative agriculture research, education, and outreach. The IRAI launches this fall with grant support from Fresh Taste, bringing together researchers on campus and stakeholders in Illinois and beyond to create agriculture and food systems resilient to climate change, improve soil and water quality, support healthy communities, and enhance food security.

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U of I receives funding to create, expand mental health resource network for farmers

URBANA, Ill. – Even without the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, agricultural producers experience high levels of anxiety, depression, substance use, and death by suicide. Researchers at the University of Illinois and Illinois Extension are working to ensure producers and their families have the resources and access to services to manage their stress and mental health.

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Teacher’s legacy supports St. Joseph-Ogden students

URBANA, Ill. - Teacher, veteran, and Illinois alumnus Kermit E. Esarey had a life-long devotion to teaching and commitment to his community. The Kermit E. Esarey scholarship is a continuation of that dedication.

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Boosting chickens’ own immune response could curb disease

URBANA, Ill. – Broiler chicken producers the world over are all too familiar with coccidiosis, a parasite-borne intestinal disease that stalls growth and winnows flocks. Various approaches, developed over decades, have been used to control coccidiosis, but the disease remains widespread.

Recent research from the University of Illinois supports the use of immunomodulatory and antioxidant feed additives to reduce the effects of coccidiosis.

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Richard Cooke receives Fulbright grant for rice productivity research in Sierra Leone

URBANA, Ill. ­­– Richard Cooke, professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Illinois, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for the 2020-2021 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

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More than animal feed: Compeer Financial donates $50,000 to Illinois’ new Feed Technology Center

URBANA, Ill. – The University of Illinois is home to some of the latest and greatest centers for advancement in agriculture. A new Feed Technology Center will soon add to the list of esteemed facilities for learning, research, and development. Currently under construction, this new state-of-the-art facility will be an epicenter for innovation across several disciplines.

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Celebrating our diversity

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It is snowing again, and I turn to look through the bus window as it slowly pulls into the final stop. I hide my face in my scarf, hoping to stop the cold air sneaking in. It has been almost six years since I moved to the Midwest from Taiwan, but I still cannot deal with winter and snow. Once off the bus, I follow footprints to the Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Laboratory and push open the glass door.

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How ACES students, community can help others during a pandemic

Blood shortages are not uncommon. Still, during a global pandemic, donating blood is especially urgent and important. Nicole Kauffman knows. The Illinois senior studies animal sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and serves as secretary of the registered student organization, the Blood Club.

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Illinois research links soil nitrogen levels to corn yield and nitrogen losses

URBANA, Ill. – What exactly is the relationship between soil nitrogen, corn yield, and nitrogen loss? Most farmers would be forgiven for assuming a straightforward linear relationship: more nitrogen, more grain yield, and maybe, more loss. That’s the assumption many nitrogen management models are based on, but it turns out there’s very little published science to back up that assumption.

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