Agriculture

URBANA, Ill. – Construction is set to begin Monday, June 3, on a new, state-of-the-art Feed Technology Center south of the University of Illinois campus, signaling a new era of animal nutrition innovation. The highly anticipated new facility will be built by ASI Industrial, based in Billings, Montana.

URBANA, Ill. – Illinois wheat growers, take heart. A new University of Illinois study shows no evidence of a highly toxic Fusarium head blight (FHB) variant, known as NA2, in the wheat-growing region of the state. The study also reinforces the effectiveness of wheat resistance to the fungal disease.

URBANA, Ill. – Although many Illinois farmers convert cropland into grassland specifically to benefit wildlife, the memo may not be getting through to eastern cottontail rabbits. A recent University of Illinois study suggests cottontails are spending too much time in crop fields, underestimating the dangers that await them there.    

URBANA, Ill. – Continuing its longstanding support of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, the Illinois Farm Bureau today announced a financial commitment to the new Feed Technology Center to be built south of campus.

URBANA, Ill. – In its efforts to feed a growing population, the U.S. agriculture industry is incorporating advanced digital technologies and increasingly relying on statisticians to process “big data.” Traditional statistics degree programs typically do not provide a background in agriculture or plant science, leading to steep learning curves for new hires in digital agriculture companies.

URBANA, Ill. – The Department of Crop Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, will host the 62^nd annual Agronomy Day this year on Aug. 22. The event, which showcases the latest scientific discoveries from ACES researchers and Extension specialists, will feature a larger number of presentations on more diverse topics than previous years.

URBANA, Ill. – New high-protein canola-meal products are available for inclusion in swine diets, but until now, it wasn’t clear how these products would affect gestating and lactating sows. A recent University of Illinois study demonstrates that both high-protein and conventional canola meal can substitute soybean meal up to 100% without detrimental effects.  

URBANA, Ill. – A new report issued today showed how U.S. farmers—facing a surge of weather events and disease outbreaks—can increase production and revenues with innovations produced by federally funded agricultural research.

The U.S. needs to increase its investment in agricultural research or it risks falling further behind China, according to a new report issued by the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation and 20 FedByScienceresearch institutions.

URBANA, Ill. – Corn growers experienced an epidemic of tar spot in 2018, with the fungal disease occurring in 172 counties across the Midwest. With the potential for another significant outbreak in 2019, a University of Illinois plant pathologist is asking for help from growers.

URBANA, Ill. – Weeds often emerge at the same time as vulnerable crop seedlings and sneak between plants as crops grow. How do farmers kill them without harming the crops themselves?