Organic farming can support soil microorganisms that promote plant defenses and reduce insect pests. But not all organic practices are equally beneficial for soil microbes, and it’s important to understand farmer motivations in order to encourage the adoption of microbiome-supportive efforts.

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will take part in the 200th-anniversary celebration of Funk Farms, one of the oldest and most historically significant farms in the Midwest. The free event — featuring food, local venders, and live music — will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, at Funk Farms, 5959 N 1100 East Road, Shirley, Illinois. 

With planting in the rearview mirror, Illinois farmers can catch up on the latest science during Agronomy Days from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment has awarded $30,000 in seed funding to Andrew Hultgren, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, and others for an interdisciplinary proposal examining the economic and human health effects of exposure to wildfire smoke on a broad scale. The project aims to inform policy related to climate change.

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day. But it was beyond important for Henry Leung, PHD ’75 ACES, and Cecilia Tsun-Tai Jen Leung, MS ’71 ACES, PHD ’74 ACES, back when they were international graduate students—he from Hong Kong, and she from Taiwan.

ONE MINUTE, wheelchair racer Susannah Scaroni, ’14 ACES, MS ’22 ACES, was pushing through a normal long training session, heading east on Windsor Road not far from campus. The next, she was moving ahead much more quickly than she expected.

It was early morning on Sept. 16, 2021. A month before, Scaroni had been in Tokyo for the Paralympics, where she won a gold medal in the 5,000 meters and a bronze medal in the 800 meters.

Now, she was on the ground next to her chair. A vehicle had struck her from behind.