Harvest gets closer with each passing week, and the story of this season remains the same: Massive precipitation events in some areas and too little in others.
- By Nat Williams, For Iowa Farmer Today
Changing technology has always played a major role in agriculture, from the development of hybrid corn to mechanical reaping machines to game-changing crop protection products. Artificial intelligence may top all of that.
- By Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today
Editor’s note: This is part of a series featuring winners of the Iowa State Fair Way We Live award for 2026. Iowa Farmer Today is an award sponsor.
- Benjamin Herrold
As August rolls on, the anticipation of harvest builds with each week. Farmers see the sunsets creeping earlier and crops moving closer to the finish line. The last weeks before harvest are a time for getting equipment ready and making plans for storing grain.
- Tim Kenyon
Editor’s note: This is part of a series featuring winners of the Iowa State Fair Way We Live award for 2026. Iowa Farmer Today is an award sponsor.
- Crystal Reed
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ill. — Water quality is driving state agriculture funding decisions and political campaigns this year.
- By Garland Dahlke, Iowa State University
AMES, Iowa – This past weekend, a severe hailstorm ravaged parts of eastern Iowa, destroying what was expected to be a record-contending corn crop. Following any hail event, a call to your insurance agent and crop advisor is the first step. After insurance adjustments, next is: how do we bes…
- Crystal Reed
Harvest is coming. Farmers are counting down the days.
- Benjamin Herrold
The New World screwworm has made headlines this year as the cattle industry and government officials work to combat the pest, which was confirmed in the U.S. in June.
Editor’s note: The following was written by Chad E. Hart, Iowa State University Extension economist, for the July Ag Decision Maker newsletter.
- By Kim McMichael
Iowans have been expressing concern about our state’s cancer rates. Iowa has the second highest cancer incidence in the country and is one of only three states where the rates are rising.
- Tim Kenyon
DES MOINES, Iowa — The upcoming 2026 Iowa State Fair mixes celebrations, traditions and updated facilities in its “Fair Spirit” theme.
- Crystal Reed
Miles of Smiles,” the theme for the Illinois State Fair Aug. 13-23, celebrates the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66.
- Benjamin Herrold
This year’s Missouri State Fair will feature the usual celebration of agriculture in the state and events and displays commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence.
- Crystal Reed
THAWVILLE, Ill. — Rodger Bennett, 84, has been showing in the Agricultural Products Show at the Illinois State Fair since the early 1970s.
- By Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today
Editor’s note: This is part of a series featuring winners of the Iowa State Fair Way We Live award for 2026. Iowa Farmer Today is an award sponsor.
- Crystal Reed
Lisa Link serves as the assistant deputy director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Tourism, which drives visitation to and within Illinois.
- By Benjamin Herrold, Iowa Farmer Today
Randy Dreher did not plan to teach other people how to do artificial insemination. It was just something he did for his cattle on his farm in western Iowa, near Audubon.
Each season, growers sorting through seed decisions face a flood of yield claims and performance data. Company X says its seed outyielded Company Y’s, and the comparisons keep coming. Instead of clarity, the numbers can create more questions and leave growers unsure what to do next.
- By Crystal Reed, Fern Alling and Tom Barton, Iowa Farmer Today
At a time when rural healthcare availability is under threat, the need for care in rural areas is proving greater than in urban areas.
- Benjamin Herrold
For farm families, finding healthcare coverage is an important but challenging task.
- Crystal Reed
The Morrow Plots on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus mark 150 years in production this year — the nation’s oldest continuously running agricultural experiment in North America. The plots are the second oldest in the world.
- By Jeff DeYoung, Iowa Farmer Today
Silage choppers will soon be dotting the landscape as farmers bring in that valuable crop. Until then, there are things that need to be done, said Ben Beckman, Extension educator with the University of Nebraska based in Hartington.
Where’s the beef?” The iconic girl with pigtails coined the phrase in the mid-’80s, and since then it’s been used to demand both quality and quantity.