Agriculture

URBANA, Ill. – Bacterial leaf streak, a foliar disease in corn, has only been in the United States for a handful of years, but Tiffany Jamann says it’s a major problem in the Western Corn Belt.

URBANA, Ill. – Beef cattle producers could see greater profits in the finishing period with progressive limit feeding, according to research from University of Illinois scientists.

To help keep cattle healthy as they enter a feedlot, producers often feed less, or “limit-feed,” for a short time to allow the animal to adjust to the feedlot diet. The new research looks at the concept of progressively reducing feed intake throughout the diet-transition period, with the goal of maintaining a constant body size.

URBANA, Ill. – The Archer Daniels Midland Company today announced a $2.5-million gift to assist with funding construction of the Feed Technology Center, a key asset that will advance educational and research opportunities within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, and will advance animal agriculture and companion animal nutrition across the globe.

URBANA, Ill. – The amount of calcium in pig diets must be calculated precisely. Too much can decrease phosphorus digestibility and feed intake, leading to lower weight gain in pigs.

URBANA, Ill. – Chicago’s urban agriculture scene may be booming, but a hidden danger – lead – may lurk in the soil. The Chicago Safe Soils Initiative, a new project from the University of Illinois, offers free soil lead tests to home gardeners and urban farmers across the metropolitan region.

URBANA, Ill. – Waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two aggressive weeds that threaten the food supply in North America, are increasingly hard to kill with commercially available herbicides. A novel approach known as genetic control could one day reduce the need for these chemicals. Now, scientists are one step closer.

URBANA, Ill. – The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center has been transforming lives in East St. Louis since 2000, fulfilling its mission to instill area youth with the dream, drive, and determination to succeed in academics, athletics, and leadership. Now, having entered a formal partnership with the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, the center can expose kids to a whole new world.

Champaign, Ill. –– For thousands of years, plants have produced food for humans, but with genetic tweaks, they can also manufacture proteins like Ebola vaccines, antibodies to combat a range of conditions, and now, cellulase that is used in food processing and to break down crop waste to create biofuel.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new computer model incorporates how microscopic pores on leaves may open in response to light—an advance that could help scientists create virtual plants to predict how higher temperatures and rising levels of carbon dioxide will affect food crops, according to a study published in a special issue of the journal Photosynthesis Research today.

Read more at the RIPE website.

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center will host a field day Wednesday, July 17. University of Illinois Department of Crop Sciences faculty, researchers, students, and Extension specialists will address issues pertinent to the 2019 growing season.

Read more from University of Illinois Extension.