Inside a large walk-in refrigerator on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, thousands of envelopes hold the fate of global food security, not to mention a significant portion of the world’s economy.

The National Soybean Germplasm Collection, maintained by a small but mighty USDA Agricultural Research Service team, is the country’s only public soybean seed bank, encompassing nearly the whole of the crop’s genetic diversity and impacting nearly every soybean product grown today — not just in the U.S., but across the world. 

The family of Phil B. Jones, a respected Washington County farmer and community leader, is pleased to announce the creation of the Phil B. Jones Family Scholarship to support local high school students pursuing degrees in agriculture, communications, and related fields at the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

URBANA, Ill.

With her goal of becoming a physician’s assistant, Katie Moy couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shadow doctors during her senior year at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But shadowing doctors in a South African hospital not only gave her valuable real-world experience, it also gave her a unique perspective on the healthcare system she’s entering here at home.

The 4-H Memorial Camp in Monticello, Illinois, is turning 75 — and Illinois 4-H is inviting past campers, friends, and alumni to celebrate a legacy of adventure, friendship, and unforgettable summer memories.

In a review in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Stephen Long, a professor of crop sciences and of plant biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes research efforts to “future-proof” the crops that are essential to feeding a hungry world in a changing climate.

Elected to a one-year term in the office of vice president for the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), Jim Drackley, emeritus professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, has been chosen to advance the ADSA’s mission to sustain and grow the global dairy industry.