Expect More Ag Network

07/20/2026

Before 1924, tractors were heavy and couldn’t handle row crops.
Then the Farmall Regular arrived — the first true row‑crop tractor.
It replaced horse teams, sped up fieldwork, and transformed Midwest farming.
A simple idea that reshaped agriculture.

07/13/2026

From the Smith‑Hughes Act to the first FFA convention, this is the story of how agricultural leadership became a national movement. Proud of where we’ve been — and where we’re headed.

07/06/2026

In 1899, USDA completed the first U.S. soil survey.
Illinois joined soon after, with early maps like Sangamon County in 1903 shaping drainage, rotation, and the agronomy we still rely on today.
Modern tools like the Illinois Productivity Index trace directly back to those first hand‑drawn maps.
A 125‑year legacy still guiding Midwest agriculture.

06/29/2026

Electricity changed everything for rural America.
Before 1936, most farms lived by kerosene lamps and hand labor.
The Rural Electrification Act brought power, progress, and a new future — one cooperative at a time.

06/22/2026

A century ago, the Smith–Lever Act reshaped American agriculture. It connected farmers with research, county agents, and a new culture of shared knowledge.
Today, we’re still building on that foundation — one conversation, one field, one season at a time.
Expect more from the people who expect more from themselves.

06/15/2026

From horses… to hired steam engines… to the first gasoline tractors farmers could finally call their own.
Hart‑Parr didn’t just build machines — they kicked off the first tractor revolution.
The 22‑45 and the 30‑60 “Old Reliable” changed everything.

06/08/2026

From Japan Peas to the Pentagon to the Midwest powerhouse we know today — soybeans have one of the most unexpected origin stories in American agriculture.
Illinois leads the nation now, but it all started with a handful of seeds in the 1850s.

06/01/2026

A Midwest summer tradition: detasseling.
From early hybrid seed breakthroughs to today’s mix of machines and crews, it shaped generations of young people across farm country.
A true rite of passage in American agriculture.

05/25/2026

The 1930s changed corn forever.
From Henry A. Wallace’s 1923 breakthrough to the drought‑driven shift of the mid‑’30s, hybrids reshaped the Corn Belt. Land‑grant universities and early seed companies carried the work forward, building the genetics growers rely on today.
A turning point in American agriculture — and it all started in the Midwest.

05/25/2026