Page 2 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 3 Table of Contents Introduction by John Fulton Central Illinois Ag (CIA) – Case IH AF10 combine The heart of the Midwest - The incredible soybean Made in America City girl turns farmer’s wife The Grain Weevil Robot Eminent Domain 04 06 10 14 20 24 28
Page 4 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Harvest for 2025 is well underway. It seems each year begins earlier than prior years. As we continue to experience some level of drought into the fall, harvest is sped up even more. As of October, most areas of Central Illinois were in the moderate to severe drought categories according to the US Drought Monitor. The only exceptions were some counties in West Central Illinois south of the Quad Cities area. The warm (or hot), dry weather in late September and early October has made for better than normal drying conditions. Weather conditions have also combined to have most area fields ready to harvest at the same time. The major concern affecting crop producers as harvest continues is the economics of the operation. A good crop is in the field, but markets have offered few opportunities for profitability. The Farmdoc publication for Revised 2025 Crop Budgets shows overall negative returns for both corn and soybeans. Corn uses a 236 bushel per acre yield average, a price of $4.30, non-land costs of $747 and land cost of $278 per acre. The end figure shows a $61 per acre projected loss. Figures may be looked at several different ways. One is to look at the price figure as unrealistic at harvest time, leading to additional significant losses of over $100 per acre. Another is the non-land costs include several variables which will vary widely from operation to operation. These would include machine hire and lease, machine repair, and machinery depreciation to include some of the major ones. These add up to over $140 per acre as well. Soybeans were looking at better numbers, but they have been modified to some degree due to the larger effect of tariffs on the soybean trade. Using the numbers of 75 bushels average, an average price per bushel of $10.20, non-land cost of $490, and the land cost of $339, the net result shows a loss of $54 per acre. Similar exceptions and adjustments might also apply to soybeans and mentioned for corn. Each operation is unique in yields and costs. Government policies continue to play an ever – changing role in agriculture at the Federal and State levels. A few of the major federal shifts include some major changes in the Federal Crop Insurance Program including higher subsidies and increased flexibility. Direct payments were also made for 2024 crops. There are also some programs made more restrictive or deleted, such as some conservation programs including the Conservation Reserve Program and cuts to some SNAP programs. Federal programs may change radically with the passage of a farm bill. Many of the State level policies are more indirect. Some examples would include green energy policies affecting landowners, livestock operation siting processes, and state level pesticide review and application policies. Some of these policies do bring increased dollars into the rural communities and their producers. Fall is a wonderful time of year. We do get the bounty of our harvest, the best weather of the year, and the fall activities and wonderful foliage to enjoy. Remain safe around equipment you are operating, and on the road as it moves from location to location and enjoy the fall season! [John Fulton] 2025 Fall Farm Outlook
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 5
Page 6 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Central Illinois Ag: Case IH AF10 combine A local business in Central Illinois was started by Richard Schmidt, an emigrate from Germany, who settled in Atlanta, Il in 1881. Schmidt began working at the local blacksmith shop and by 1898 he purchased that shop and began to cultivate a legacy that would stretch over 120 years and five generations. Today, this is still a family-owned business that has over 100 employees with owners that are actively involved in the business and can be found in any one of the four stores that are located in Atlanta, Clinton, Farmer City and Mason City. This company that prides itself on parts, sales and service is a full-service Case IH agricultural dealership with a large variety of other brands, short-line equipment, grain carts, tillage, compact construction equipment, and a Toro lawnmower dealer. Regarding a new state of the art combine, according to Tyler Bahan CIA Salesman, there is only one that stands out among the rest and that is the Case IH newest line of large combines named the Axial-Flow, class 10, or better known as the AF10. This combine comes standard with many powerful, user friendly and useful technological tools that make this machine an instant winner with simplicity, efficiency, and overall increased productivity. The AF10 combine is the largest single rotor combine that Case IH offers. This combine is powerful, equipped with advanced technology by Case IH. This machine was built with harvesting soybeans and corn in mind. The design, capacity and efficiency for
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 7 harvesting makes this combine a perfect fit for Central Illinois farmers. The AF10 with the single rotor, 16-liter engine is one of the highest horsepower ratings on the market at a maximum of 775 horsepower with a 567-bushel (20,000-liter) grain tank capacity with an unload rate of 6.0 bushels per second. With this amount of horsepower this machine will have the low-end torque and power to cut through tougher, greener bean stems earlier in the season, if needed, which will cover more acres per hour with improved fuel and horsepower efficiency. The single-rotor design is the single longest rotor on the market for improved threshing and separation. The crossflow cleaning system with the twin clean grain cross augers helps reduce losses with the large sieve area. The optional integral chopper system can spread the residue over 50-feet with a radar-controlled spreading system.
Page 8 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 This big red beast has advanced technology like the Harvest Command automation system which allows the operator to select various parameters like loss levels, throughput, and grain quality. It also comes with a built-in free connectivity subscription for remote monitoring and data sharing. The internal design of the combine and the placement of the engine are specifically engineered for maximum fuel efficiency and power transfer. Case IH has automation which is a process where the machine will take a picture of the grain sample as it is going through the machine and will automatically adjust going through the fields to give you a better sample of crop in the grain tank. Even though many other competitors have this same automation, Bahan feels that this particular Case IH model has the cleanest grain tank sample that he has seen in his 14 years of working in this field. Just recently, Tyler spent a considerable amount of time running the AF10 in the field against a competitive brand. The competitive brand was of comparable size and horsepower and both machines were used to shell beans, side by side. The Case IH had a Macdon FD2 bean draper head on it (the AF10 is designed to accommodate up to 50 feet wide header) and the two paired together resulted in a phenomenally smooth-running machine that followed the curvature of the ground and adapted to any dips he encountered, resulting in an exceptionally clean cut through the field with minimal head loss. The pairing of these two pieces of equipment is a winning combination for anyone looking to maximize productivity and minimize field loss. Tyler was more than impressed with the results of the AF10 and noticed right off the bat that driving on the road and in the field the AF10 was considerably much more comfortable and smoother with less engine noise than the competitor. Having a heated and cooled seat with a massage function was also a plus. Being in the cab for hours and days at a time, having less engine and internal working noises being heard in the cab is a definite plus. When
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 9 the need arises to get into the innards of the machine, the easy open shields allow easy access to the rotors, belts, and motor. With the engine mounted at an angle, it lines up with the main power outlets to give a better power delivery to the rotor and drive shafts. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) gearbox allows for a full variable control of rotor speed, which offers a smooth seamless acceleration and includes a reverse function for unblocking the rotor. The access ladder in the back to climb up to the engine department is extremely easy to use and get on to. Sitting in the cab of this beauty you will get a more than comfortable, high visible view with two large, high-definition Pro1200 displays that will prove to be particularly useful and get as detailed as one would ever need of the machine settings, crop data, and camera feeds. If you are remotely interested in checking out the AF10 or any other equipment, need certain parts or service, please contact Central Illinois Ag at any one of the several stores around central Illinois (https://www.centralilag.com) or call Tyler Bahan (309-433-5915). Store Hours: Monday – Friday 7:00 am – 5:00 pm; Saturday 8:00 am – 12:00 pm [JA Hodgdon-Ruppel] Sources: www.caseih.com/en-us/unitedstates CVT Brings the Ultimate Efficiency to Your Farm
Page 10 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 The heart of the Midwest - The incredible soybean Soybeans are one of the most versatile and influential crops in American agriculture, feeding livestock, fueling engines, and finding their way into everything from salad dressings to cleaner. For Illinois farmers, soybeans represent not just a product, but heartbeat sown into Midwestern life. “I’ve been a farmer my whole life,” local farmer Mark Hoerbert said. “Even when I was young, we helped Dad. I guess my actual start was probably around 1983 or 1984.” Over the decades, Hoerbert has built his career across Logan, Tazewell, and Mason County, operating on a roughly ten-mile radius of farmland. It’s a modest operation by industrial standards, but one that continues a long family tradition. When asked about how much of his crop goes toward human consumption versus other uses, Hoerbert was direct. “What we raise really isn’t much for human use,” he said. “The corn is mostly for animals and ethanol. And the soybeans — they take oil out of them and use that. There’s a little bit of both corn and soybeans that are used for human food, but that’s usually contracted. Most of what I raise is either ethanol or animal feed.” According to a report by the United Soybean Board, that breakdown reflects the broader reality of soybean farming across the U.S., where roughly 97% of soybean meal is used in livestock feed. The highprotein content of soybean meal makes it a vital part of animal diets, fueling poultry and livestock production throughout the country. The remaining 3% of soybean meal goes toward human food products, including soy milk and meat substitutes. These products are popular among vegetarians, vegans,
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 11 and people with lactose intolerance who rely on soy as a nutritious alternative to dairy and meat. Soy’s nutritional versatility and availability have made it a go-to option in the growing market for plant-based foods, which continues to expand across grocery shelves and restaurant menus alike. But while the meal supports food systems, the oil extracted from soybeans powers far more than kitchens. Oil derived from soybeans makes up about 61% of all edible oils used in the United States. It’s a common ingredient in frying and baking, a staple in vegetable oil, and a base for products like margarine, salad dressings, and other processed foods. Beyond food, soybean oil also finds its way into industrial goods such as paints, plastics, and cleaners, making up about 8% of total soybean oil use in the U.S. According to an article from the United Soybean Board, around 31% of U.S. soybean oil is turned into biodiesel, a renewable substitute for petroleum diesel. This biofuel not only supports farmers through alternative markets but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and boosts energy efficiency. The report notes that biodiesel “provides a 13% price support for soybeans” while offering a cleaner-burning alternative to traditional fuels. For farmers like Hoerbert, who’ve seen the industry evolve over four decades, those innovations represent part of the changing face of agriculture. “Well, our yields are higher than when we first started — almost double, I guess, for both corn and beans,” Hoerbert said. “But our inputs are a lot higher. When I first started, our costs were actually lower, but we have a lot more expensive inputs to put in now, so we need more to break even.” His perspective reflects a familiar reality among small and mid-sized farmers: technology and demand may improve yields, but costs often rise in tandem. Higher seed prices, fertilizer costs, and equipment expenses can eat into profits even as production grows. Hoerbert sells his soybeans to the local elevator, a common practice among area farmers. “The market’s kind of different,” he said. “ADM Decatur takes quite a bit. Then the river terminals — I can ship some overseas. There’s both domestic use and then exports. China’s kind of a big buyer in soybeans, and they have been, but right now they’re kind of out of the market.”
Page 12 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Hoerbert remains optimistic about the crop’s future. “It’ll continue to grow,” he said. “They keep finding new uses for both corn and soybeans. They’ll keep finding new ways to use it. We keep producing more all the time too.” An April 2025 press release from The Soy Hopper highlighted the role soybean oil continues to play in American diets and industry. The United Soybean Board emphasized the “essential role of soybean oil in American diets,” crediting decades of research supporting its health benefits. Researchers at Soy Nutrition Institute Global and other organizations continue to highlight how seed oils like soybean oil — high in unsaturated fatty acids — can offer significant health benefits, including reduced cholesterol levels and a lower risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a qualified health claim for soybean oil, stating that consuming about one and a half tablespoons of soybean oil per day, which contains unsaturated fat, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. These findings are supported by peer-reviewed studies published in journals like the British Journal of Nutrition and Nutrition Today, which reaffirm soy’s positive impact on human health. Dr. Mark Messina, director of nutrition science and research for Soy Nutrition Institute Global, explained in the release that “these oils not only contribute to lowering cholesterol levels but also play a crucial role in the reduction of chronic diseases when included in a balanced diet.” He emphasized that the evidence underscores the importance of heart-healthy eating patterns and that soy oil’s nutritional profile makes it an integral part of that effort. For many farmers, however, health research and industry trends can feel distant compared to the day-to-day realities of crop cycles, soil management, and market prices. Yet those scientific developments help shape the longterm stability of the industry. As misinformation about seed oils has spread online, organizations like the Soy Checkoff and Soy Nutrition Institute Global have made efforts to “set the record straight” by ensuring consumers understand the decades of science behind soybean oil’s benefits. “Together with our partners, we’re working to reclaim the narrative around seed oils
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 13 and make sure consumers have a correct understanding of decades of research,” said Sara Stelter, a Wisconsin farmer and board member of the United Soybean Board in the press release. While these global discussions unfold, farmers like Hoerbert continue their work quietly and consistently. When he sells his local crops, they might end up as animal feed in the Midwest, biofuel in California, or tofu in another country. At the end of his interview, Hoerbert again shared how farming is a family business. “We’re just individuals,” he said. “There’s farms that a lot of us keep in the family, and we work together, but we’re all basically individuals.” That sense of steadiness may be what keeps American agriculture grounded as it continues to evolve. Soybeans, with their countless uses and enduring relevance, beat quietly at the heart of that change. Whether transformed into biodiesel powering semi-trucks, oil frying a restaurant’s food, or a meal feeding livestock in distant states, each bean carries the effort of farmers whose work sustains an industry and nourishes the world. [Sophia Larimore] Sources: https://ussoy.org/uses-for-soybeans/ https://unitedsoybean.org/
Page 14 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Made in America Over the last year, with the changing of the political landscape in the United States, one phrase has started to enter the vernacular of Americans more frequently than in the past. The phrase “Made in America” seems to be something that is heard over and over, and it is understandable why. With tariffs starting to increase the cost of goods across many categories, people are becoming more concerned with where the items they are buying are made. The purpose of this article is not to look into tariffs or to argue whether they are good or bad. Rather, the question being posed and examined today is whether it is truly possible to have all goods become “made in America.” Is it truly possible for all consumer goods purchased in the United States to be made here? Let’s start with the most commonly purchased goods. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) listed several categories that American households with an average income of about $100,000 per year purchase. These categories included food made at home (groceries), food purchased outside of the home (out to eat/take out), apparel, vehicles, gasoline, personal care products, and entertainment. With groceries, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of items that people will purchase at various grocery stores across the country. The website Newsweek, using data from the website Statista, published a chart claiming that the top five most frequently bought grocery items in the United States are fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meats and sausages, and bread and bakery products. For dairy products, this should not be much of an issue. Milk is being consumed at a lower rate each year, and the U.S. produces plenty of cheese, producing more than it consumes. Eggs also do not seem to be an issue, as the U.S. has consistently produced more eggs than it consumes year-over-year. The website Indexbox published a report that stated the U.S. is the largest producer of bread in the world. This being the case, it is unlikely that the U.S. would have trouble producing enough bread for its citizens. According to the website Our World in Data, the United States is the
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 15 second largest producer of meat in the world, producing over 47 million tons in 2023. Fruits and vegetables might not be so easily produced in the U.S., however. According to the USDA, Canada and Mexico provide a large amount of each to the U.S. every year. “Between 2007 and 2021, the percent of U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable availability supplied by imports grew from 50 to 60 percent for fresh fruit and from 20 to 38 percent for fresh vegetables.” The beginning of the USDA article cites imports as a key reason the U.S. is able to have fresh fruits and vegetables “year-round.” It seems likely, then, that the U.S. may be able to produce enough for Americans in certain seasons, but not year-round. The key to food, as is the key with other products that will be mentioned later, is that the U.S. is not able to produce enough of all products that are sold here to be 100 percent self-sufficient. Coffee is a great example of something that would become unavailable to most Americans if it were to no longer be imported. According to another article from the USDA, the U.S. produces a “minimal amount of coffee.” What the U.S. does produce is grown in Hawaii, but it accounts for less than one percent of how much the U.S. consumes each year. Most of the coffee that is consumed in the U.S. comes from countries such as Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The next problem for coffee comes from the fact that, outside of Hawaii, the U.S. does not really have anywhere with an appropriate climate to grow it, and certainly not year-round. Having the right climate is very important for coffee to grow, and with Americans consuming somewhere in the range of 677 million cups of coffee per year, the U.S. just does not have enough of that ‘right climate’ for Americans’ coffee demands. The final nail in the coffin for coffee, at least if the U.S. were to try to attempt to become self-sufficient in this sector, would be price.
Page 16 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 There is a basic economic principle called supply and demand. This principle states that when supply increases, demand decreases, and vice versa. If Americans only had access to less than one percent of the coffee that they have access to today, this would drive coffee prices through the roof, making it very hard to come by and extremely expensive when one does. In addition to that, coffee shops such as Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, or even local shops such as Guest House would be forced to adapt or go under. America’s self-sufficiency does not hinge solely on coffee, though. It hinges on many areas that are not food related. Perhaps a better way to go about trying to understand whether the U.S. could become truly self-sufficient would be examining if the most commonly imported goods could be produced here in the U.S. Looking at the CIA World Factbook for the United States, one can find what the top five imported goods are. According to the World Factbook, they are “cars, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers, and garments.” Cars are something that are already produced here in the U.S. According to Statista, in 2023, 10,611,555 cars were produced in the United States. According to the website Mark Lines, on the other hand, that same year approximately 15.6 million new light vehicles were sold. If that same ratio, about 2:3, is true in the U.S. in 2025, that would mean the U.S. would need to increase its car producing capabilities by around 50 percent to meet demand.
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 17 One issue would be time, as increasing an industry such as the automotive industry by 50 percent would not be able to happen overnight. Companies such as Ford would have to spend a lot of money and time making new factories, as well as hiring and training new employees. In addition to that, the concept of supply and demand may become an issue, as if new cars are not readily available at first, people will buy more of them since the supply is lower. Then the question of raw material becomes a factor. How much raw material does Ford purchase domestically when producing their vehicles? How much of that material is purchased from overseas? Are there enough raw materials in the U.S. to meet Ford’s needs for producing more vehicles? What will happen to the price of new vehicles if the raw material costs more to purchase in the U.S.? Will it even cost more? Do the construction companies building the new factories purchase their raw materials from other countries? Do they have everything they need domestically? This train of thought raises more questions than this magazine has room to answer. Let us look at one more industry, one that goes in line with the automotive industry and has an impact on almost everyone’s daily lives. Would the U.S. be able to produce enough of its own gasoline? The answer to this is not really. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “crude oil production reached a record-high 13.6 million barrels per day in July [2025].” The U.S. consumed about 20.25 million barrels per day in 2023. This is one of the two big reasons the U.S. imports a significant amount of oil from Mexico and Canada. According to the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), however, this issue goes deeper than just not producing enough fuel for consumers. The AFPM agrees that not enough is produced, as it states that refineries use about 16.5 million barrels of crude oil per day to maintain current production levels. These refineries cannot run off the oil they produce, however. The oil found in the U.S. tends to be lighter, and the refineries need heavier oil, such as the oil found in Canada. The AFPM continues, shedding light on what it would take to make all these refineries run on U.S. oil. According to the AFPM, “re-tooling refineries to process solely U.S. crude oil (light oil) would cost billions - a risky investment that would take decades to permit, construct and eventually pay off.” It is easy to see, then, that the U.S. becoming a self-sufficient nation is not something that would be easily achievable, should it even be achievable at all. There are so many aspects to the issue that would have to be carefully considered and making it all happen at once would disrupt the economy severely. In addition to that, the U.S. is the second largest exporter of goods in the world, according to the CIA World Factbook, at about $3.19 trillion of goods in 2024. Many industries would need to be restructured to sell to largely an American customer base, and this would likely cause prices of most things to rise. It
Page 18 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 may just require too much work for the U.S. to become completely self-sufficient at this point with its place among the world economy. [Matt Boutcher] Sources: Invesopedia: Which Consumer Goods Do Americans Buy Most? Newsweek: Chart Reveals Most Popular Groceries Among Americans USDA: Fluid Milk Consumption Continues Downward Trend, Proving Difficult to Reverse NPR: Nobody Is Moving Our Cheese: American Surplus Reaches Record High USDA: Chickens and Eggs 2024 Summary Indexbox: Global Bread And Bakery Market 2025 Our World in Data: Meat and Dairy Production USDA: Imports make up growing share of U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable supply USDA: The United States imports the majority of its coffee, by value, from Colombia and Brazil NCA: More Americans drink coffee each day than any other beverage, bottled water back in second place CIA: The World Factbook Statista: Motor vehicle production of the United States and worldwide from 1999 to 2023 MarkLines: USA Automotive Sales Data - 2023 EIA: EIA adjusts forecast for U.S. oil production as producers set a record in July 2025 EIA: How much oil is consumed in the United States? AFPM: How much oil does the United States import (and why)? CIA: The World Factbook - Country Comparisons - Exports
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Page 20 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 City girl turns farmer's wife I am a farmer's wife. I am a fairly new wife of a farmer. I couldn’t be any prouder of my farmer husband and my new role in my new life. I remember thinking that being a farmer’s wife can’t be that tough, right? He only has to work roughly twice a year… doesn’t he? I mean, yes, he’s going to have to get ready and do a few things like grease this and tighten that, but it’s going to be so much fun, driving tractors, hauling corn and soybeans…. that’s okay, I’ll learn the difference between those two soon enough. I love riding in his combine, sitting proud next to my man, not understanding a word he is saying, nodding my head in agreement, and carefully watching as he raises and lowers that teeth thing, not sure of the technical name though…but at least I am here by his side. I’ve already driven a tractor and combine, with help of course, but maybe I can be one of those farmers' wives that can just jump in and take over whenever needed… maybe? And I can plan meals for the guys! I helped my daughter once when she was inundated with her little ones and it was fun, planning on what to make, shopping for groceries, getting the best ‘covered’ container so that delivery to the farm hands didn’t turn into a messy disaster! I cooked all day and loaded each tray with extra-large amounts, because after all they had to be hungry working that hard and then we drove out to ‘deliver’ the meals! It was so much fun knowing they were going to get a homemade five-course meal that would give them energy long into the night. They were all so appreciative and later my daughter suggested that next time handheld foods might be a little easier so that I didn’t have to
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 21 worry about sending all those utensils. So…I wonder…. maybe next time I won’t do warm soup, beef n’ noodles and apple crisp with ice cream like last time. But it was still fun! Oh, I can’t wait to get dirty, tramping through the fields, wearing my boots and jeans, and putting my ball cap on backwards all the while not caring about how dirty I get. It’ll be so much fun! One early Saturday morning, while my farmer husband was out doing what a farmer does, looking at a field or playing around with some equipment, I was doing my weekly cleaning, because that is what a farmer's wife does so early on the weekend. While moving things around, I noticed a stack of magazines in the bottom of an old crock in the corner of the room. So, I started looking a little closer. Aww…farmers' magazines. What a good way for me to ‘brush-up’ and re-acclimate myself to what I remembered from high school. It couldn’t be that hard…could it? Lincoln Community High School isn’t really a small school, I’d say, I would consider it a semi-large school and even back then it still integrated several smaller towns and many rural farms. I don’t know what the exact ratio was but felt that there was a great mix of the city and rural kids. So many of my friends were from some sort of grain or livestock farm, and I was at their houses many times throughout the years. They were all in the farm-related classes at school, and I heard about all their projects. I didn’t participate, but I could still be considered somewhat involved through them…right? And at the end of every summer, the meeting place was the Logan County fair where even though I wasn’t in
Page 22 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 any FFA or 4H programs, I had a lot of friends that were, and we were always spending time in the barns. Even to this day, I spend time at the barns supporting my granddaughters and their love of showing swine and sheep. And all through high school, I worked at all the grandstand events at the fair, and didn’t realize it then, but even locked eyes with my now farmer husband while taking tickets for all those tractor pulls that are now a huge part of my life. That’s all farm related too…isn’t it? So, I was involved with many different aspects of the farm life and farming community, so I am sure it isn’t much different…right? So, being that proud farmer wife, I grabbed a cup of coffee and a stack of magazines, sat down in the lazy boy, and kicked my feet up. It wouldn’t take me too long to get through this stack. Boy, was I going to really impress my husband, nonchalantly, of course! I was sure this was going to give me the ability to engage in conversation just a little bit more intelligently. I mean, we already watch the noon news together, and they always have an Ag segment that we chatted about…well, sometimes. Here I go…. the cover has such vibrant colors of a beautiful field of, well, something growing with a large tractor in the middle of the field with some round equipment trailing behind it. It was a green tractor, and yes, of course I knew the name of that brand, or wait….is that a tractor? Oh well, it doesn’t matter, it’s still a green machine and they are all basically the same, just like the red ones are too. The sun setting on the cover of the magazine is so colorful, it gives me a warm feeling of gratitude inside, or maybe it’s just that my coffee is still a little too warm to drink. Regardless, I turn to the first page and appreciate the welcoming note from the editor. After the table of contents, I get to the first article, and here we go! This is going to be so much fun! I’m sure once I get past this title, talking about detecting mycotoxins and unlocking organic phosphorus, I’ll be able to understand where this article is going. Well…okay…I’m sure I don’t need to read this one. Besides, it is more for analysis in high-tech farming. So, moving on to the next! Oh good, this one is about the EPA and its herbicide strategy, mitigation measures, and drift buffers. Okay, moving on to the next because I am sure this doesn’t apply to my husband's farm since we grow soybeans and corn. Besides, not every article in every magazine is interesting or applicable to everyone, right? Next page……residual herbicides, runoff, and pesticides? Next…. Biologicals, next…. fertilizer, irrigation, threeway cropping, next, next, next……… Another magazine, and another, and another. I thumbed through every single page of each magazine on my lap, which were all different in nature. And what I learned was pretty eyeopening to this wanna-be farmer's wife and that is that farming is MASSIVE, and it really is an art. An art that even though it might be
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 23 handed down from generation to generation, you have to have a love for learning, experimenting, and trusting your instincts. As I sat with a cold coffee cup pondering on this newfound revelation, I was finally able to connect the dots as to why there were so many ads for financial help, educational classes, taking care of family and yourself, estate planning, taxes, and investments. And that is because being a farmer doesn’t mean all the work is done by just planting seeds, watching them grow, washing machinery and harvesting. It is a year-long commitment that can be overwhelming and stressful if one doesn’t look ahead, plan, and rely on others in this ever-changing profession. Science, chemistry, vision, and understanding of land masses, soil, chemicals, tools, machinery, climate, and its changes to the environment are all crucial components in making this job successful. This is NOT an easy way to make a quick buck, does not come with insurance or benefits, and is dependent on the weather, economic/political times, the farmers’ health, the ability to make good sound decisions, managing the overhead and the knowledge to keep the equipment running. I did manage to understand about 30% of the whole lot, which isn’t saying much because I included the ads in there! But what I did manage to learn was that farming is not for the faint of heart and even though I married into the profession, it is a passion that only a true farmer and love of the land can appreciate. That Saturday morning was the most productive yet as a farmer’s wife. I not only got the house cleaned and dinner in the crock pot but also learned a valuable lesson. Being a farmer's wife is an honor, and I don't need to know everything my husband knows or does. The best way that I can support my husband is not to feel like I have to be as proficient as he is regarding farming terminology and techniques. I don’t even have to understand the difference between herbicide, pesticides, and fungicides. Thank goodness!! I found out that Saturday morning that no matter what my level of farming knowledge currently is, or will be as the years go by, I am still immensely proud of my husband, the farming life, and the farming community. I’m not only proud just because he is a farmer, but because he is my true best friend, a person that I can always be myself with while sharing an unconditional love that was built because of years of our own past experiences, lessons learned, and ultimately God’s timing. So, no more magazine surfing and pretending that I remotely understand everything that goes into the farming life. I have accepted that I am going to enjoy the ride with my husband because just like he is more than just a farmer to me, I am also more than just a farmer’s wife….and it is fun! [JA Hogdon-Ruppel]
Page 24 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 As everyone knows, there are many difficult and even dangerous tasks farmers must do. One such task is shoveling the grain stored in grain bins. Over the years, there have been many accidents in grain bins, and sadly, several have been fatal. Purdue University’s 2024 Summary of injuries and fatalities associated with agricultural confined spaces shows the following statistics. “No fewer than 51 cases involving agricultural confined spaces were documented, including 22 fatal and 29 non-fatal cases.” These incidences represent a 38 percent decrease from 2022, which had 83 cases and a seven percent decrease since 2023. “There were no fewer than 34 grain related entrapments in 2024,” which demonstrates a 25 percent increase from 2023. In his article “Grain-flinging robot goes into granaries so farmers don't have to,” Ben The Grain Weevil Robot Coxworth said, “Going into the bins and manually shoveling the grain is not only a hot and difficult job, it also poses risks such as getting trapped or buried in the grain, getting caught in the auger, and developing lung disease from breathing in grain dust.” These dangers are what inspired Chad and Ben Johnson to create the grain weevil robot. News channel 20’s Agricultural reporter Eliza Petry was at this years' Farm Progress Show in Decatur where she got “an inside look at the industry's latest innovations.” In the article “Ag Reporter Eliza Petry’s top picks of the 2025 Farm Progress Show,” Petry called the grain weevil robot one of her top three favorite finds. Petry interviewed Chad Johnson, the CEO of Grain Weevil, who explained, "A farmer that used to go in there with a shovel, whether to level or to move grain, or throw grain up into the sweeper, they can now do that from the comfort of their truck outside the bin. No boots ever go in the grain and that is our primary mission for what we’re trying to do.” Margie Eckelkamp’s September 26, 2024, AgWeb article, “A Robot To Replace The Need For Farmers To Go Inside the Grain Bin” discussed how the robot works. As Eckelkamp said, “The Grain Weevil powered by JLI Robotics is a mobile robot that scurries across the top of the grain inside of a storage bin performing tasks that no human should ever do.” The robot, which is controlled remotely, is “designed to engage with the grain directly to aerate, move and manage the grain.” Eckelkamp’s article included a May 3, 2021,
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 25 AgriTalk interview in which Chip Flory interviewed Ben Johnson and Zane Zents about the remote-controlled grain weevil robot they had designed. Zents told Flory he became interested in working on the project after Johnson explained the safety aspects and the people they could help. In the interview, Zents said “after hearing some farmers talk about how they lost loved ones, I got really passionate about the project.” The electronics Johnson and Zents were working on were cutting edge, which also helped Zents become passionate about it. Flory asked Johnson what they learned at the University of Nebraska that helped with the development of the project. Johnson said the technical knowledge came from what they learned. Neither Johnson nor Zents were raised on a farm and before they started the project, they had never been in a grain bin. Johnson said what they learned from farmers cannot be measured because it was the most important thing in designing the robot. When asked how the robot worked, Zents told Flory the robot uses two augers and an auger drive system, and it manipulates the top of the grain basically shifting it around like you would with a shovel. It can break up crusts,
Page 26 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 [and] it can gather data and do inspections alongside your sensors you already have in the bin. It can also help you feed the extraction augers so you can have a more efficient extraction process.” The Grain Weevil robot website further describes how it helps with grain leveling, breaking crusts and bridges and grain unloading. It can “level stored grain from a peak of valley state to improve bin uniformity for long-term storage quality [and] break up surface crusts to prevent sump plugging and enhance grain health.” The robot can also “pull down cliffs and help assist with feeding sweep augers for the final bin unloading.” A Nationwide agribusiness article explains that the robot “employs two augers or “screws” to propel it along the surface of stored grain. In the process, the drive system disrupts the grain’s surface. The result is a ‘controlled avalanche’ that employs gravity to enable the grain’s surface to flow and even out naturally. The Grain Weevil can also be programmed to level out peaks in stored grain to ensure even distribution inside a bin. If need be, the robot can be used to break up any crust that’s formed over time from the presence of moisture or quality degradation.” Farmers use a remote control outside the grain bin and can see the grain with a bin camera system. A robot lift system is used to place the grain weevil robot inside the bin. As the Grain Weevil robot website says, “the Grain Weevil doesn’t just make bin work safer – it makes it more productive and profitable by controlling risk, minimizing costs, and actively optimizing stored grain. By fundamentally changing the way we manage stored grain, Grain Weevil protects people and profits one bin at a time.” By keeping farmers out of the bin and reducing the risks of entrapment, the grain weevil robot offers a safe and effective option for managing grain. [Angela Reiners] Sources: Cheng, Yuan-Hsin et al. “2024 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-related Injuries and Fatalities.” Coxworth, Ben. “Grain-flinging robot goes into granaries so farmers don’t have to.” 26 June 2023 Eckelkamp, Magy. “A Robot To Replace The Need For Farmers To Go Inside the Grain Bin.” 26 Sept. 2024. Nationwide. “Grain Weevil robot keeps farmers out of grain bins.” Petry, Eliza. “Ag Reporter Eliza Petry’s top picks of the 2025 Farm Progress Show.” 28 August 2025 The Grain Weevil Robot
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Page 28 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Eminent DOMAIN What if the government came to your home and offered to buy your property for a public project? Would you sell to them? What if you did not have a choice? Eminent domain is a power the government can use to acquire private property for public use of some kind. It does have to provide adequate compensation in doing so, but it is hard to imagine many people being okay with it if they were on the receiving end of this governmental power. Eminent domain is also not a power limited to the federal government. Here in Illinois, eminent domain is able to be used by the state government, the county government, and even the government of cities like Lincoln. What exactly is eminent domain? What reasons exactly would the government have for taking private properties? What is the risk that you might have your land taken? As for what is eminent domain, it is “the power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use.” This is a power that is granted to the federal government through the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. While it does give the government this power, it does require them to provide “just compensation.” It must also be taken to be used for “legitimate” public use. This may include things such as public roads, schools, or utilities. The exact definition of “just compensation” is something that has come into question on many occasions. In fact, there is even a section of the Illinois Eminent Domain Act (the law that allows eminent domain to exist in the state and outlines its limitations) that allows either party to appeal a court’s decision on what they rule as “just compensation.” According to real estate lawyer Danial Peters, “just compensation” is determined in one of two ways. The first is to pay “fair market value,” or the highest amount that someone would pay for the property. The second is to pay “fair market value” in addition to what value the rest of your property would lose from the loss of the property taken due to eminent domain. Exact numbers on how much land has been taken due to eminent domain, or even the number of instances in which it has been used can be hard to come by. There is no official data that tracks this information. According to an article published in the Chicago-Kent Law Review in 2009, there were over 250 instances of eminent domain being used in a five-year span.
2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 Page 29 This makes one wonder if it is likely to be used in Logan County. Lincoln Daily News held several interviews with local and state government representatives to speak on this topic. State Senator Sally Turner echoed a lot of what has already been written, citing the Illinois Constitution as giving the state power. She also posed several questions, such as how “public benefit” is defined. She was able to confirm that, as of the time of the interview, nothing had come to the Illinois Senate floor regarding eminent domain, and she was not aware of anything that would. As a farmer herself, she stated that she understands the concerns that a lot of farmers have in not wanting to be required to sell their land to the government. Michael DeRoss, member of the Logan County Board representing District 5, and the Chairman of the Zoning and Economic Development Committee, echoed much of what was already stated. When asked about cases of eminent domain in Logan County, he said that, in the two years or so since he has been on the Board, he was not aware of any use of eminent domain. He also stated that he was unsure of exactly why it would be used in Logan County. He gave a couple of ideas that came to mind, such as if a new road had to be built or a power station of some kind, but these were simply thoughts. DeRoss was unaware of anything in the works at the county level for eminent domain. Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch was also contacted for an interview on this topic. When asked whether the city was looking to acquire land via eminent domain, Mayor Welch stated that this is not in the plans, nor was he aware of any time in which the city has used this power to acquire land at all. Some may be aware of the city’s recent acquisition of properties. Welch stated that these were not acquired via eminent domain, rather Welch referred to them as “strategic property purchases.” While eminent domain requires land to be sold to the government, the city of Lincoln acquired all these properties, including the Heartland Bank building, by purchasing them via willing sellers. According to Mayor Welch, these purchases represent “thoughtful investments in Lincoln’s economic growth, tourism, and community development.” It seems then, for the time being, eminent domain is not something that the people of Logan County need to be particularly worried about. This is not to say that it will never happen, or even that it will not happen soon, as no one can predict the future. It is important to know your rights as a property owner, and that there is an appeal process you can go through before you are required to sell your property. There are also plenty of real estate lawyers who are willing to represent people who are losing some or all their property due to eminent domain. Remembering that terms such as “just compensation” and “public benefit” do not have an exact definition, and are subject to individual interpretation for each instance of eminent domain. While you may not have reason to worry now, become educated on the topic, and know the
Page 30 2025 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2025 options you have if the day comes when the government wants your property. Sources: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/eminent_ domain https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/ amendment-5/ https://www.condemnation-law.com/eminentdomain/states/illinois Genesis Law Firm: Your Right to Just Compensation When the Government Takes Your Property Through Eminent Domain https://studentorgs.kentlaw.iit.edu/ cklawreview/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/ vol83no2/Forkner.pdf Sally Turner, Illinois State Senator. Michael DeRoss, Logan County Board member and Zoning and Economic Development Committee Chairman. Tracy Welch, Mayor of Lincoln.
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