Farm & Ag

Hundreds of rural schools in Midwest states nestle against fields of corn and soybeans that are routinely sprayed with pesticides that could drift onto school grounds.

Farmers across the United States, including those in Illinois, are having to face the reality of higher crop yields but lower prices on those crops.

Midwestern corn growers know the symptoms of northern corn leaf blight all too well: greenish-gray lesions on the leaves that can add up to major yield losses if not detected and treated early.

In hopes of better tenant relations, the University of Illinois will no longer put the rights to farm part of its thousands of acres of farmland up for auction every few years.

Numbers from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection show the state lost 500 dairy farms last year, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.