When a historic severe storm hit central Illinois, Alex and Lena Head suffered over 500 acres of crop damage — highlighting how crop insurance is essential for Midwest farms to survive as Tornado Alley shifts east.
Matt Vermeersch had labor, livestock and a dream. Maggie McQuown had an unconventional farm and a vision of what growing food could look like. Together, they’re changing the future of farming.
Twenty years ago, feeder cattle brought Craig Moss of Hull, Iowa, back to his family farm. With record prices and risk, is this a realistic path today?
Experienced Iowa cattle producers share how to best prepare for calving season.
Record-high cattle prices and sound consumer demand combined with aging producers, prohibitive land investment and geopolitical factors have created the perfect storm for volatility — and opportunity.
Learn how one Illinois farmer is ditching the conventional agriculture model to prioritize his land, his family and his sanity.
Illinois family operation prioritizes cover crops, minimum tillage and irrigation, plus estate planning, to continue farm’s legacy.
Brady Holst, Augusta, Illinois, farmer, has been spraying his fungicide acres with drones since 2020 and says it's been a game changer for his farm.
As Illinois livestock numbers decline and with them, large-animal veterinarians, downstate producers are left to pick up the pieces to tend to their herds. Here’s why it’s happening, and what’s next for livestock and the folks who care for them.
Where’s the carbon money at? Look to carbon intensity scores. Here’s what farmers need to know to get paid in 2024.
In 2019, Cody Conrady was electrocuted in a farm accident that changed his life. Four years later, he and his wife, Bailey, have turned their tragedy into triumph, and they have a message for farmers who are busy and pressed for time — just like they were.
Four years ago, Scott Trimble’s produce crop was decimated by dicamba drift. But who’s to blame? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think.
As older elevators shut down across the Midwest, farmers have bought them and expanded their grain storage. Would it work for you?
Young farmers Matt and Liz Hulsizer were forced to confront the rural mental health crisis head-on when Matt’s father, David, died by suicide nearly a decade ago.
With 3 million Illinoisians lacking access to fresh, nutritious food options, how are small towns bringing groceries back to their communities?
As grain markets create the perfect storm for volatility, Prairie Farmer asked farmers and industry professionals to weigh in on capturing basis variability.
How can farmers prepare for an environment of dicamba regulation, Endangered Species Act impacts and herbicide resistance?
COLUMNS
Where I Come From: Are we stewarding the land, making decisions and voting for policy that sets the next generation of farmers up for success?
Where I Come From: I’ve reneged on last spring’s vow to never garden again. But this year, I have a new outlook and different expectations. And I’ve learned some hard lessons.
Where I Come From: Here’s the story of an emergency c-section, twin bottle calves, two little farm girls and a whole lot of love.
Where I Come From: In the last month, the Trump administration has announced initiatives to protect consumer grocery prices, Bayer and the U.S. economy, all at the expense of the ag economy.
Where I Come From: In the era of depressed grain markets and outrageous input prices, cattle have been a life raft for our farm. What happens if that life raft pops in the midst of trade deals?
Where I Come From: As a parent, the loss of our pets and livestock may the hardest it’s ever been, explaining death to an animal-loving 3-year-old.
Where I Come From: Here are lessons from our spur-of-the-moment family photo shoot during wheat harvest.
Where I Come From: This year, I learned the hard way that you can do it all, but you can’t do it all at the same time.
Where I Come From: Planting season means solo parenting season — and a perfect storm for the enemy to plant seeds of doubt in us.
Where I Come From: If you can name an issue, you can find a digital rabbit hole to go down, with passionate “experts” on both sides ready to convince you why they’re right and everyone else is wrong.
Where I Come From: I spent a week visiting farms across Switzerland. Here’s what I saw and what I learned.
Where I Come From: The election is over, and it may be time to reassess our priorities.
Where I Come From: I went to the emergency room in Switzerland, and I’ll never look at U.S. health care the same.