Grab ‘N’ Grow Greenhouse Concept Continues to Spread
By Benjamin Cox on July 23, 2024 at 6:17am
A little store in Riggston continues to have a big impact in the area and in Springfield. WGEM reports that the Grab n Grow Greenhouse was the recent recipient of a $3,000 Illinois Farm Bureau Rural Development grant to help grow the business. Owner Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall says she is looking to expand the business with […]
Curry Named IL Agri-Women Outstanding Woman Farmer 2023
By Benjamin Cox on July 19, 2024 at 12:10pm
A Pike County farmer has been named the Illinois Agri-Women Outstanding Woman Farmer for 2023. Lynn Curry, who farms alongside her husband Kim Curry with their beef and farm operations in Pike County was recognized for her work both on and off the family farm. Curry was recognized for her organization efforts of the entire […]
June Weather
By Gary Scott on July 2, 2024 at 6:33am
It was a hot, and dry June in Jacksonville last month. The average temperature for last month was a tick under 75 degrees. That’s not the record of 79 in 1953, but it is the hottest June since we average 75 in 2018. A typical day saw a high of 86.3, and a low of […]
Bland Family Farms Receives Grant, Hopes to Expand Seasonal Produce Tours
By Benjamin Cox on June 17, 2024 at 12:02pm
A rural Jacksonville specialty farm has received a major national grant award. Bland Family Farm was awarded up to $15,000 by the Frontera Farmer Foundation to buy a conveyor-driven brush wash system equipped with a sorting turntable tailored for root vegetables. The farm recently employed a new oscillating harvester to help with the labor-intensive root […]
New Berlin Area Farmer Lands in Top 3 For Annual Corn Yield Contest
By Benjamin Cox on April 7, 2024 at 9:40am
A New Berlin-area farmer was recently named the state’s winner for corn yield in a national contest. The National Corn Growers Association’s 59th annual Corn Yield Contest recently released its results. Gary Reavis of New Berlin, Illinois, placed third in state in the D: No-Till Non-Irrigated Class with yield of over 298 bushels per acre. […]
Illinois FFA President, Franklin Native Pushing For Line Item Increase For Ag Education
By Benjamin Cox on March 19, 2024 at 6:16am
Illinois FFA President Thaddeus Bergschneider of Franklin is making the most out of his last few months in office. Bergschneider spent Illinois Ag Legislative Day last week in Springfield lobbying General Assembly members to increase line item money for ag education. Bergschneider tells RFD Illinois that he’s seen remarkable growth in schools’ ag education and […]
IL Farm Bureau, Bipartisan Legislators Unveil New Estate Tax Revamp
By Benjamin Cox on February 1, 2024 at 11:47am
The Illinois Farm Bureau was joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers today in Bloomington to unveil new legislation to improve Illinois’ estate tax At the Bloomington home office of the farm bureau, House Bill 4600 was introduced as a way to protect heritage farms by updating the tax code. The bipartisan piece of legislation […]
Budzinski’s Fight for a Bi-Partisan Farm Bill
By Benjamin Cox on January 30, 2024 at 1:28pm
13th District Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski says the ongoing budget fight in Washington is standing in the way of a bipartisan compromise on a new Farm Bill being passed. The government’s funding is on a continuing resolution until early March. The country is still operating under the 2018 Farm Bill, and will operate under its continued […]
JWCC’s Taylor Wins National Champion Honors in Denver Carload Livestock Competitions
By Benjamin Cox on January 29, 2024 at 2:18pm
A Murrayville John Wood Community College student has won the National Championship in the Denver Carload livestock competition. First-year student Emma Taylor won the contest at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado this past week. Taylor was the winner out of 123 participants from 28 schools from across the country. The participants were […]
November Weather
By Gary Scott on December 2, 2023 at 9:34am
It was a warmer than normal November, but very dry. The precipitation total came to just 3-quarters of an inch. Normal rainfall for November is 3 and two thirds inches. The driest November Jacksonville has ever had was 23 hundredths in 1933. The wettest day was just a half inch of rain on the 21st. […]