Latest news with #UniversityofIllinoisExtension
Miami Herald
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Evan Ramstad: Think cars and trucks have gotten expensive? Take a look at tractors
America has moved on from the pandemic, but the industries that produce its vehicles haven't. Car and light truck sales rose 2.5% through June, and 2025 could wind up the best year in volume since before the pandemic. But that volatile era changed the industry and its consumers, and unit sales this year will still be around 1 million fewer than the nearly 17 million vehicles sold in 2019. Another vehicle industry common to many Minnesotans has seen even more drama over the past half decade: farm tractors. Many of the same influences are at play, including tariffs and interest rates. But the business cycle of the farm equipment industry is shaped by swings in farm income, which in turn is shaped by the uncontrollable force of weather. Farm income grew from 2016 through 2022, even in the pandemic. But it fell both of the last two years, leading to an abrupt plunge in demand for tractors and other equipment. It's a fresh distortion to a business that Greg Peterson of Rochester, founder of the Machinery Pete website, has been tracking for 35 years. And all of these changes ultimately have an effect on the prices consumers pay for food. "If you talk to any farmer, you know the price of new equipment has continually risen," Peterson said. "Through the pandemic, with the supply chain mess, those price increases were astronomical." List prices for tractors rose 50% to 60% from 2017 to 2023, according to the University of Illinois Extension. The price of new cars and trucks rose 22% over that period, as measured in the Consumer Price Index. Keep in mind that a common field tractor can cost around $500,000, 10 times more than the average sales price of a car or light truck. So larger proportional increases are hitting vehicles that already had large price tags. Then came 2024. "The market turn and slowdown last year was the most aggressive I've ever seen," Peterson said. Equipment makers scaled back output. Revenue at John Deere, the nation's leading maker of tractors and other farm equipment, was down 22% in the six months ended April 27. Peterson's website over the last 18 months chronicled other effects. Suddenly, competition grew between dealers selling new equipment and farmers selling used equipment because dealers found themselves sitting on a lot of inventory. Some turned to auctions to sell new machines. This spring, Peterson warned his audience that the spike in supply could turn just as quickly. "I started gently saying, 'You've got to be careful assuming there will be great used [tractor] deals for as long as there were in the past,'" Peterson said. "The space is different now. It's faster. It's clearing out quicker." Just as automobile manufacturers learned during the pandemic, farm equipment makers found it's better to maintain price control by cutting back production. "The manufacturers pinch off production because they're not selling much new now, for understandable reasons," Peterson said. "Whenever corn and beans go up, then you're going to have farmers who have been holding back say, 'Oh, I've gotta go get that planter.' Now it's going to take the manufacturer a bit to ramp back up. And their pricing power is just tremendous." Peterson started regularly publishing the results of farm equipment auctions nationwide with magazine-like printed reports in 1989. In the early 1990s, he distributed the data on floppy disks. In the early 2000s, he started the Machinery Pete website. Today it's a national exchange for farm equipment, and Peterson supplements the buying and selling data with his own on-site reporting, which is also distributed on the RFD-TV cable network and a YouTube channel. He visits farmers all around the country, collecting their stories before and after sales. Last summer, that included my cousins as they retired from six decades of farming in northwest Minnesota. Peterson and I didn't know about the connection until after we met last fall. Peterson said the pandemic created the biggest change he's seen in the farm equipment trade by nationalizing the market. Online selling had been around for nearly 30 years by then, but farmers tended to buy and sell their machines regionally. "The thinking was, 'We're here and they're there,'" Peterson said. "That just got eviscerated in March 2020. So now, the trick if you're an auction company or farm equipment dealer, no matter where you are, is realizing that your buying pool has no edges. Your trick is to pull in the buyer in Texas or Tennessee or Utah or anywhere." Peterson is always looking out for price records and unusual developments at auctions. Two months ago, he learned a farmer in Hendricks, Minn., sold a 13-year-old, 504-horsepower (that's very large) John Deere tractor for $291,000, a record for its age. The reason: The tractor had been used for less than 200 hours. "In this case, the guy was 83 and he bought this stuff and then slowed down and retired," Peterson said. "If you get to that 10-year-plus age and you have a low-hour unit like that, it's like this neon beacon. You've got a tractor that will cost $600,000 or $700,000 new, and here's a barely used one with a $200,000 price on it." --- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
U of I Extension hosting annual agriculture contest for high school students
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The University of Illinois Extension is hosting a contest for high school students interested in a career in agriculture, specifically within the agronomy sector. It's the Illinois Youth Crop Scouting Competition. The one-day contest tests students on topics like weeds, insects, disease identification, corn and soybean growth stages, pesticide application, and integrated pest management. From the Farm: USDA Planting Intentions Report It will take place Aug. 4, and will be open to 10 high school teams. 'It's exciting when youth and teams return year after year wanting to place higher or earn more points at a certain station,' Meagan Diss, competition coordinator and commercial ag specialist with Illinois Extension, said. 'That truly shows the impact of the event and dedication the youth have to keep growing.' University staff will judge the students to determine results, and the top four teams will win cash prizes sponsored by industry and university partners — $500 for first place, $300 for second, $200 for third and $100 for fourth. In addition, the top two teams will advance to represent Illinois at the regional competition hosted this year in Iowa. Millikin University, Illinois Central College streamline transfer process 'University researchers and Extension experts always look forward to the annual event for the conversations and questions youth bring with them,' Diss said. 'It's truly an unmatched experience for networking, educational opportunity, and personal growth while having fun.' The competition will be open to high school students in grades 9 through 12 in the spring 2025 semester. Official teams include two to five students and an adult coach. Teams are encouraged to sign up prior to the end of the current school year, as space is limited to 10 total teams. For event details or to register teams, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Champaign volunteers leap into action with FrogWatch training
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — It's springtime, which means we'll soon see plenty of birds in the sky, but also some amphibians in the ponds. The University of Illinois Extension hosted a FrogWatch training class today. The community science program teaches volunteers how to collect scientific data on frogs and toads. It helps scientists nationwide improve and monitor conservation practices. When should I clean up my garden? Illinois Extension has answers: Extension educator Karla Griesbaum said the class learned different frog sounds. 'A big part of this training was to practice all these calls,' Griesbaum said. 'There are 12 in this area. And so we went through each call, we worked on using all of your senses in order to recognize each call and to differentiate them. And then they had to take an assessment at the end to see if they remembered them all today. But then they can also go online later after practicing and do it then as well.' 34 people showed up, with more participating online. Griesbaum said if you missed today's class, the online option is always open. They will also host another field training on June 4th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
16-02-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Seed swap in St. Charles offers gardeners a chance to think about spring
Meagan Parks of St. Charles knows that despite the recent plunge in temperatures and accumulation of snow, that spring is still right around the corner and that means gardening. 'I love to garden. This is our second year coming, and we learned you have to get here early,' Meagan said as she and her husband walked among a number of tables inside the St. Charles Public Library's annual Seed Swap and Seed Library Kickoff event on Saturday. 'People line up 45 minutes before the event. Last year, we took home a lot of native plants as we just bought our home a few years ago, but we also got vegetables and herbs.' Visitors to the event were able to pick up 'more than 150 different heirloom seed varieties, free of charge, to grow and enjoy,' organizers said. A press release from the library noted that 'all of the seeds available are heirloom or open-pollinated, meaning that once saved and planted again, they will grow into the same type of plant. The library is one of the first public libraries in Illinois to lend heirloom seeds.' Brandon Buckley, reference librarian, said he has overseen the program since 2014 and that it is offered in conjunction with the Master Gardeners at the University of Illinois Extension, which has a location in St. Charles. 'I'm not an expert when it comes to gardening, and I want visitors to have good information and people that can give them the gardening know-how,' Buckley explained. Seeds for the program are purchased by the library from companies, Buckley said, adding that they also 'get some from local gardeners – the master gardeners, especially, because they know what they're doing.' 'We get some also from library patrons, too,' he said. 'I think in every community there's a subset of just passionate gardeners. It's what they like to do and if you have hundreds of tomato seeds, what are you going to do? I like it because in the library world, it's about sharing and I like that aspect of it.' Last year's Seed Swap and Seed Library Kickoff event drew about 150 people, and since the pandemic, Buckley has seen a rise in interest in the program. 'Since COVID, there's been more interest. The first 10 years I don't think we ever ran out of seeds but then during COVID and after it was the first time we ever ran out,' he said. 'I think we had over 10,000 packets of seeds last year which was by far the most we've ever given out. People got into the habit during the pandemic and things like groceries have gotten more expensive.' The seed swap room was packed within minutes of opening Saturday with gardening fans moving among the tables. Meagan Parks' husband Andrew said he 'was excited last year to grow native grasses and doing the landscaping.' 'As we said, we moved in a few years ago and we're still establishing that,' he said. 'We learned a lot since last year about composting which was a game changer and there is so much to learn in terms of the timing and when you can plant things.' Kristina Fann of Campton Hills said while she has not been to the St. Charles event before, 'I have gone to a number of seed swaps.' 'I think the selection is great. I like cottage gardening. I like to do all the flowers and my husband likes to do the peppers – he likes hot peppers,' Fann said. 'My kids do cucumbers and I've been sent with a list.' Kasia Zarow of St. Charles said she came the past two years to the seed giveaway and 'loves the selection.' 'The past two years, we've been planting our entire community garden just based on this seed swap and we also plant the seeds at home,' Zarow explained as her son Jake Jakubowski, 9, filled a bag with seeds. 'We must have taken 30 different seeds home last year as there is a lot of variety.' Jake said he himself is also into gardening and likes raising 'pumpkins and also tomatoes.' 'I like gardening, but it's very hard work,' he said. The ongoing seed library is available any time the library is open. For more information, stop by the Research and Reading Desk, or call 630-584-0076, Ext. 1.
