Central Illinois Farm Network

A Divco Convention, in commemoration of 100 Years of Divco, will be held in conjunction with a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Route 66, “Kickin’ on Route 66”. DIVCO (Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company) saw the start of DIVCO truck production in 1926. The iconic DIVCO that most people remember from the '50's and '60's, was first built in 1938 and the snub-nose design remained until the last truck was built in 1986. That style DIVCO became iconic and was known as "Amer

By Kent Casson Let’s hope the nice market gains we saw last week continue throughout the summer months. The recent bump was supported by a couple of key drivers including reports of China purchasing 5-10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans and concerns over a hot and dry weather forecast for the following week. As of my conversation with Aaron Curtis of MIDCO last Tuesday, there was no official flash sale announcement confirmed. An upcoming trade discussion meeting is planned with China

Friday’s USDA WASDE report was neutral to slightly positive in general. Corn average guess for carryout ending stocks of the 25-26 crop year came in slightly lower than expected. For soybeans, 337 million was the guess and they came in at 330. Next year’s ending stocks for corn was at 1.79 billion, lower than the average trade guess. Soybeans were at 310 million and the average guess was 332. Wheat at 7.22 is the only one that is a little higher, the average was 7.18.

Plenty of orange is on display this weekend at Historic Farm Days in Penfield, Illinois. It is the “Gathering of the Orange” for the Allis-Chalmers tractor which is the feature. Historic Farm Days includes tractor pulls every day, entertainment, daily tractor parades, food and more. For a background on the tradition at Penfield, visit www.historicfarmdays.com.

Another crop report is due this Friday (July 10) and is expected to show tighter corn ending stocks. This is tied to the quarterly stocks number. Aaron Curtis of MIDCO told The Central Illinois Farm Network this week that yield adjustments are unlikely given still decent crop ratings. A discussion meeting is also expected Friday for China trade talks and any confirmed purchases would be broadly bullish, especially for soybeans.

Three young farmers from central and southern Illinois were named FreshRoots Directors Cup honorees by Farm Credit Illinois: Brandon Cummins of Brookport, Bryce Brockelsby of Edinburg, and Thomas Perkins of Effingham. The Directors Cup presented by the cooperative’s board of directors celebrates young and beginning farmers committed to continuous learning and intentional living for a brighter future for their farm family business and community. Honorees will receive $5,000,

A survey of the member companies of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA) has revealed that its members are currently managing over 2.7 million Illinois farm acres, which is over 11.3 percent of the state’s 24 million acres of agricultural land. “This is a 156 percent increase in ISPFMRA-managed acreage since this survey was last done in 2016,” commented Laura Enger, Farm Credit-Illinois, based in Mahomet, and current president of t

The Illinois Agri-Women are proud to Introduce the three Legacy Farm Family Award winners for the Generations of Women in Agriculture Across America (GoAg3) initiative. These remarkable families include first place Schultz/Miller Farm Family from northwest Illinois, southern Wisconsin and central Iowa. Four generations of women working in production agriculture are represented by fourteen exceptional women from the three living generations. They continue to make their m

According to a statement from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) today, President Donald Trump will not seek to renew the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) for trade. The administration wishes to “address the agreement’s shortcomings” and the trade deficits with Mexico and Canada.The USMCA will remain in force as negotiations continue and no immediate disruptions in trade are expected. In response, IL Corn Growers Association President and Illinois farmer Mark Bunselmeye

By Kent Casson Pop open the champagne bottle – we are done with the 2026 planting season! Hopefully. The crops are in the ground and let’s hope we won’t have to go out and replant anything this year. Overall, it was a smooth planting season that was somewhat drawn out by a few rain delays and up and down temperatures but we did it. Hard to believe there were drought concerns heading into the spring season then the rains came which returned moisture to the soil and brought man