McHenry Times

Senator Don DeWitte honored agriculture day, saying it's the number one industry in Illinois.

“It’s always one of my favorite days in Springfield,” DeWitte wrote on Facebook. “On agriculture day we celebrate agriculture and thank all who work hard to feed the world. As Illinois’ number one industry and top employer, agriculture plays an integral role in our state's economy.”

Communities rely on agriculture. The industry produces meals on families' tables.

Farms cover around 75% of the state's total land area, according to the state Department of Agriculture, and Illinois is a top producer of soybeans, corn, swine, cattle, wheat, oats, and poultry. Agriculture contributes over $19 billion to Illinois’s economy every year, more than half of which comes from corn and a quarter of which comes from soybeans.

Students can get involved in agriculture by joining organizations such as the Future Farmers of America (FFA). The Illinois Agricultural Education and FFA website reported 20,583 members joined FFA.

Stacker ranks Illinois as the seventh-largest agriculture industry in the country, based on USDA data. There are 27 million acres of farmland in Illinois, which generate a net income of almost $6 billion. Stacker notes, “the economy in Illinois is affected even more by the vast number of agricultural-related industries such as food processing and meatpacking.”

Higher education is an additional path students can take to learn more about agriculture. The University of Illinois has a department of agriculture.

The Center Square reported that because Russia and Ukraine are leading global wheat producers, Illinois farmers may benefit from the conflict when they harvest their wheat in June.

“We don’t want to gloat over people in a war zone, but, yes, this is beneficial for southern Illinois wheat producers — to the extent that they have not priced that crop yet,” University of Illinois agriculture economist Mike Dougherty told The Center Square.