Page 26 2026 Spring Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2026 Springfield Agronomy Summit offers producers timely and impactful information Local farmers, ag professionals, and community leaders learned about new ideas in agriculture during University of Illinois Extension’s recent Springfield Agronomy Summit. The event focused on topics that are important to central Illinois, including digital farming tools, weed resistance, insect issues for 2026, new research at the Hartsburg Research Plot, agriculture policy, and the Sangamon County Farm‑to‑Fork project. The goal of the Summit was to connect attendees to researchers from campus and help them stay informed to make better decisions in their fields and communities. Dennis Bowman, digital agriculture specialist with Illinois Extension, discussed recent advances in digital agriculture technologies. This included artificial intelligence tools such as CropWizard, an AI tool that allows users to ask questions relating to agriculture and is built on research/information from land grant universities and Extension services across the United States. Additionally, Dennis mentioned recent changes by the Federal Aviation Administration that allow drone swarms. This would allow a drone operator to control multiple drones at the same time, thus making aerial applications over agricultural fields go quicker. Aaron Hager was the next speaker. His years of research in weeds and resistance to various herbicide products was on full display. He recounted his previous work on waterhemp resistance to commonly used herbicides in Illinois, and how producers can utilize other products to try and reduce waterhemp pressures. He also highlighted a new weed that could become an issue in Illinois. Asian copperleaf (Acalypha australis) was first detected in Iowa in 2016, but was discovered in Stephenson County, Illinois, in September 2025. While it is unknown how it got here, this new weed can present yet another farmers need to look out for in their fields. John Jones then spoke about his research work and the planned research at the
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