The State of The State
OCTOBER 2026 | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 12
Relive the highlights of ISA’s 2025 Soybean Summit through photos that capture key moments, speakers and takeaways that made the event an essential experience.
By Olivia Key, Illinois Field & Bean Assistant Editor
TikTok sensation Jackson Laux, age 9, partners with John Deere to inspire agriculture's future.
By IL Field & Bean Team
Designed for both aspiring leaders and seasoned experts, ISA's LEAD Program provides tailored opportunities for growth, collaboration and impact
By Nicole Butler, ISA Executive Employee Relations
Read more about your Illinois Soybean Association's project highlights, program developments and what's ahead in the FY24 Year End Report.
By IL Field & Bean Team
Rising costs on inputs like feed, fertilizers, fuel and labor, along with higher insurance premiums and inflated equipment prices, can make it difficult for farmers to make a profit. So what's a farmer to do?
By IL Field & Bean Team
Illinois Soy Envoy Byron Hendrix, CCA, reviews how farmers can access financial support for conservation practices on their operations.
By Byron Hendrix, CCA, IL Soy Envoy
Within the 20 agronomic research projects funded by ISA in FY26, one priority continues to stand out: conservation.
By Ashley Rice-Haddon, Lead Writer, Illinois Field & Bean Magazine
Participants in the On-Farm Trial Network provide key insights into how management decisions affect productivity and profitability.
By Darby Danzl, ISA Regional Technical Agronomist, and Stacy Zuber, Ph.D., ISA Research Data Scientist
Known as the “silent yield robber,” soybean cyst nematode (SCN) reduces yields without leaving obvious above-ground symptoms.
By Nathan Schroeder, Associate Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Every year, ISA's farmer-led Board takes a careful, science-based approach to investing checkoff dollars where they matter: back into your fields.
By IL Field & Bean Team
A team of researchers at the University of Illinois has been evaluating a range of soil health tests focused on respiration, also known as mineralization carbon or CO2 burst.
By Andrew Margenot, Ph.D. and Heidi Allen, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Through the See for Yourself 2025 program, participants saw firsthand how checkoff investments open international doors for U.S. soy, supporting profit-ability back home.
By Johnathan Griffel, 2024 20 Under 40 Farmer
Learn more about the iFAB Tech Hub at the University of Illinois and how its team is harnessing the power of corn and soy to create sustainable, high-value products.
By Olivia Key, Field & Bean Magazine Assistant Editor
As it celebrates its one-year anniversary, the ISA Soy Innovation Center is dedicated to facilitating the research and commercialization of new and innovative soy-based products with a focus on three primary categories: textiles, bio-lubricants and industrial applications.
By IL Field & Bean Team
Did you know soy can be used to replace nearly any product made from petroleum—including plastics? Soy-based plastics offer a nontoxic alternative to everyday items, contributing to sustainability and representing an exciting opportunity to drive demand for Illinois soy.
By Dylan Karis, Lead Chemist, Airable Research Lab
Learn more about an emerging partnership between ISA and the Peoria-based National Center for Agricultural Utilization, a 270,000-sq.-ft. research facility that employs nearly 200 people including 75 Ph.D. scientists.
By IL Field & Bean Team
Less than two years since its launch, this program boasts more than 63 Sustainably Certified products, each of which must meet the standards outlined by the USDA’s BioPreferred® Program.
By IL Field & Bean Team
Join ISA Public Policy Manager Collin Cisco for an exploration of both federal and state estate taxes and learn how Illinois farmers should prepare.
By Collin Cisco