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WILLAg.org Radio Programming for the work week ending April 10, 2026
Commodity Markets and Geopolitical Influences
The week in commodity markets was heavily influenced by geopolitical events and energy prices, particularly the ongoing conflict with Iran. Earlier in the week, traders squared positions and moved to the sidelines ahead of a deadline with Iran, while keeping a close watch on crude oil resistance levels. Later, a temporary truce caused crude oil prices to plunge,…

As we prepare for the 2026 Biomass Webinar Series to kick off in July (register here), please enjoy this first in a series of posts highlighting presentations from the 2025 Biomass Webinar Series. This one is from Matt Langholtz, the lead author of the 2023 Billion Ton Report, which is the authoritative assessment of how much biomass is available to use for biofuels without affecting current food and wood use.…

You can also read the article in Portuguese and Spanish
Wheat acreage in Illinois has trended downward for much of the past 50 years, declining from about 1.5 million acres in the 1970s to an average of approximately 570,000 acres between 2015 and 2022. Acreage rebounded in more recent years, averaging nearly 750,000 acres over the past five years, with 2026 acreage estimated at 720,000. This recent increase began with increases in wheat prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has been sustained by outstanding yields.…

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed an innovative artificial intelligence method designed to mine massive amounts of drone-captured field data, revealing hidden, highly heritable genetic traits in crops.
For decades, agriculture has relied on visual cues and simple calculations to gauge plant health. The widely used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), for example, uses just two bands of light reflectance to mathematically determine the greenness of a field. Now, an interdisciplinary team is pushing beyond these traditional boundaries.…