Illinois
Illinois hemp farmers call market the ‘Wild West’: ‘The sky is the limit’
Rising hemp, a plant that was unlawful within the U.S. for greater than 70 years, is now akin to the Wild West, two northern Illinois farmers mentioned.
As soon as the 2018 federal farm invoice legalized hemp, farmers throughout the state and nation rushed to plant it. Growers have been getting a number of hundred {dollars} per pound of biomass to provide cannabidiol oil, mentioned Stacy McCaskill of Woodstock.
She and her spouse run Hempstock Pharm on West South Road Street and commenced farming hemp in 2019.
With too many farmers planting hemp at first “the market crashed … and it crashed unhealthy,” McCaskill mentioned. “In a single day, it grew to become nugatory.”
There usually are not sufficient processors for growers and never sufficient consumers for crude CBD oil, she mentioned.
Neither are there many processors turning hemp fiber into a few of its makes use of – textiles, biodegradable plastic, rope or paper – Phil Montgomery of Kirkland mentioned.
He runs AM and PM Hemp Farm along with his spouse, Amanda Montgomery.
At all times a researcher, Montgomery mentioned he received into hemp and CBD “for the well being advantages” and determined to plant a couple of acres of hemp on their DeKalb County corn and soybean farm.
What number of farmers have given hemp a strive?
In keeping with a February 2022 USDA report, in 2021 there have been 255 acres of hemp planted in Illinois. Of that, 210 acres have been harvested.
Throughout the nation, 54,152 acres have been planted in 2021, with 33,480 acres harvested, in accordance with the USDA.
Some have had extra success than others.
Because the Montgomerys planted their first 20-acre crop, Phil Montgomery has given up his day job to run their hemp enterprise.
He hopes that Amanda can also depart her day job quickly, Montgomery mentioned.
McCaskill spends her days touting her line of CBD-infused merchandise at county festivals, farmers markets and group festivals. On Saturdays, the Hempstock Pharm retailer is open at 4023 W. South Road Street.
A former govt director of the Sauk Valley Group School Small Enterprise Growth Heart, McCaskill began researching learn how to promote and develop hemp shortly after legalization. She discovered workshops to study concerning the plant and potential markets, changing into an evangelist for CBD and its makes use of.
Each Montgomery and McCaskill have been promoting merchandise produced from hemp grown on their farms throughout the McHenry County Truthful.
McCaskill has 13 acres and only one planted with hemp, fully for the CBD oil.
Montgomery has lower than three acres in CBD hemp, and 17 acres they’re rising for fiber.
“The sky is the restrict” for what hemp fiber, and future markets for it, can do, he mentioned.
“However the infrastructure will not be there. That’s the greatest hinderance to the fiber aspect,” Montgomery mentioned.
The “lack of processing bottlenecked the market,” Phillip Alberti mentioned. He’s researching hemp for the College of Illinois School of Agricultural, Client and Environmental Sciences.
That bottleneck is evidenced by the problem find firms to distill hemp biomass into crude CBD oil or course of the fiber, he mentioned.
With the glut of CBD in the marketplace, Alberti has seen a shift from the cannabidiol hemp – the vegetation processed as CBD oil – and towards grain and fiber vegetation of commercial, Alberti mentioned.
“There’s extra analysis and training funneled into that avenue of manufacturing,” he mentioned.
Fiber vegetation will be present in ditches across the nation.
Throughout World Battle II, the federal authorities allowed hemp farming to make rope. Crops escaped their fields and commenced to develop wild. Usually referred to as “ditch weed,” states have spent many years making an attempt to eradicate the plant, though it had very low to not one of the THC that offers customers a excessive.
“That’s the stuff that we wish to maintain onto and put it in our program – 70 years of pure choice and it thrived with out human interplay,” Alberti mentioned.
The College of Illinois Extension service has planted selection trials to find out which vegetation do effectively right here, and printed a midwestern hemp database to assist farmers resolve which varietals to develop.
One potential use for hemp is animal feed, Alberti mentioned.
Growers are ready on the Meals and Drug Administration to rule on whether or not or not that will likely be an allowed use, he mentioned.
There are market estimates that recommend “approval by the FDA to be used as an animal feed would improve [hemp’s] scope by four-fold,” Alberti mentioned.
However nonetheless, Montgomery mentioned, there may be lots of misinformation about hemp, CBD oil and its relation to marijuana.
Each he and McCaskill use third-party testing to make sure their CBD-only merchandise – from roll-on lotions to pet treats – have 0.3% or much less THC as mandated by the federal authorities.
When CBD merchandise started exhibiting up in shops, there have been “lots of non-quality merchandise” on the market, he mentioned. “They’d declare to have CBD [in them] and don’t” that left a nasty impression for customers.
Due to hemp’s previously unlawful standing, there was little analysis into the effectiveness of CBD oils for any illnesses. FDA approval and extra analysis would change that, Montgomery mentioned.
“I really feel that is such a brand new factor, and there are a ton of questions. The warfare on medicine skewed perceptions and left it with a ton of stigma,” McCaskill mentioned.
“Battle the stigma … it’s about therapeutic and a greater various,” she mentioned.
Illinois
Rutgers football’s postseason picture seemingly solidified after brutal loss to Illinois: Projections
Rutgers fans could start preparing to spend Christmas on the road.
The postseason picture did not change much for the Scarlet Knights after their gut-wrenching loss to No. 24 Illinois on Saturday, according to latest projections. If anything, their destination was seemingly solidified the moment that star Illini receiver Pat Bryant broke the plane on a stunning last-second touchdown in the 38-31 marathon in Piscataway.
Most predictions point to the same bowl game as last week for Rutgers: the Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Dec. 26. It would be a full-circle moment for the Scarlet Knights, who played in the same bowl game — then named the Insight Bowl — in 2005, the cherry on top of a breakthrough season in Greg Schiano’s first stint as head coach.
But if that is where Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) lands, it will be a bitter disappointment considering where it could have gone. A representative from the Citrus Bowl was on hand at SHI Stadium and seemed poised to pound his fist on the table for the Scarlet Knights to be considered had they upset the Illini. And even if they fell short, with a potential eighth win waiting in East Lansing next weekend, they would have a chance to make a strong case against blue-bloods Nebraska and Michigan for a spot in the Duke’s Mayo or Music City bowls.
Instead, barring a major miscalculation from the prognosticators we have followed all season, Rutgers will be playing in a familiar bowl game the day after Christmas.
Here is where the Scarlet Knights landed in bowl projections after Week 13 action:
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Rate Bowl vs. TCU.
When and where: Thursday, Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: Rate Bowl vs. Kansas State.
When and where: Thursday, Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy: Rate Bowl vs. Texas Tech
When and where: Thursday, Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
247Sports: Rate Bowl vs. Kansas.
When and where: Thursday, Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Athlon Sports: Rate Bowl vs. TCU.
When and where: Thursday, Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
CBS Sports: Boca Raton Bowl vs. UConn
When and Where: Wednesday, Dec. 28 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
Illinois
ESPN Gives Illinois Slim CFP Hopes – But Imagine What Might Have Been
The improbable last-second victory No. 24 Illinois (8-3, 5-2 Big Ten) pulled off against Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday set off more ripple effects than just the celebrations of Illini fans across the country. We’re talking, of course, about ESPN’s CFP Predictor.
Between the Illini win and the wild Saturday across college football – highlighted by Oklahoma’s 24-3 obliteration of No. 7 Alabama, Florida’s upset of No. 9 Ole Miss 24-17 and both No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 16 Colorado falling to unranked opponents – Illinois still has a chance to make the 12-team playoff, according to ESPN.
That chance, however, is a 1,000-yard shot in the dark with a pop gun: a measly 0.3 percent probability. It’s a fever dream that would only be realized if the college football world was completely flipped on its head, and in several highly specific ways, over the next two weeks. As Saturday reminded us, anything is possible – but Illini fans would be advised not to hold their breath.
Yet with Illinois sitting at 8-3 – so close, yet so far away – it’s hard not to wonder what could have been.
Think back, for a moment, on the season up to this point. No one can fault the Illini for the loss to Penn State (currently ranked No. 4 in the AP poll) at Happy Valley or to Oregon (ranked No. 1 for a sixth straight week) in Eugene. But that home loss to unranked Minnesota? Well, that’s a different story.
The Gophers are a solid middle-of-the-road Big Ten team, but based on any metric or eye test that exists, they were eminently beatable by the Illini. Instead, they vanquished Illinois – and any legitimate hopes it had of making the CFP.
But for the sake of argument, let’s just pretend quarterback Luke Altmyer didn’t commit that fumble and Illinois wound up finishing that late-game drive in the end zone – probably a touchdown pass to receiver Pat Bryant – and tacked on the two-point conversion before winning a thriller in overtime.
Maybe that’s simply too much magic for a single team to ask for in a single season. But if it had happened, the Illini would currently be 9-2 (6-2 Big Ten), with 4-7 Northwestern (2-6 Big Ten) up next. In this scenario, even given a victory next week, 10 wins would still leave Illinois on the outside of a Big Ten Championship looking in, and ineligible to clinch an automatic CFP bid.
But what about an at-large bid? Let’s compare apples to apples – or, in this case, our hypothetical 9-2 Illini squad to a few SEC teams with similar profiles.
Start with Alabama, which is fresh off its aforementioned 24-3 thrashing by unranked Oklahoma. The Tide benefit from the 11th-toughest schedule in the country, but with three losses, they have just a 37.4 percent chance of making the CFP.
Now consider Tennessee. The Volunteers are currently 9-2, and their strength of schedule ranks 21st in the nation (only five ahead of Illinois’). Arguably the best match for the What Could Have Been Illini, the Volunteers currently have a 76.8 percent chance of making the playoff.
Yet it’s foolish to think Illinois – even at 9-2 today and with a win over Northwestern next week – would be a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff. It’s just hard to imagine the committee justifying the inclusion of five Big Ten teams in a 12-team playoff – but it would have been interesting to learn just how close the Illini could have come.
Regardless, at 8-3, Illinois has put together one of its best seasons in recent memory and appears well-positioned to be in line for a top-tier non-CFP bowl, which could offer the Illini an opportunity to further legitimize their 2024 campaign. Even if it’s not everything it could have been, during this week of giving thanks, Illinois – and its fans – have one of the program’s best seasons in recent memory to be grateful for.
Instant Analysis: Illinois Wins 36-31 Thriller at Rutgers on Last-Second Score
WATCH: Illinois WR Pat Bryant Scores Game-Winning Touchdown
3 Key Stats from Illinois Football vs. Rutgers (Week 13)
Illinois
Campbell's reveals Illinois' favorite Thanksgiving side dish
There’s a new king of the mountain when it comes to side dishes at Thanksgiving, and Illinois’ pick is also the favorite of Americans.
This news comes via Campbell’s annual State of the Sides report, released each year ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday to reveal what side dishes Americans are pairing with their turkeys on the big day.
According to the report, stuffing/dressing overtook mashed potatoes as America’s favorite side dish, with sweet potatoes also moving up to the third spot in the ranking.
Green bean casserole checks in at No. 4, according to the ranking, with mac and cheese dropping from third to fifth this year.
According to Campbell’s, Illinois was one of 45 states that picked stuffing as their favorite side dish, with Iowa, California, Utah, Wyoming and West Virginia siding with mashed potatoes.
The data also revealed several other key findings, including that 56% of Americans would prefer eating side dishes over their turkey on Thanksgiving. Roughly 4-of-10 Americans would also be content with having a plate made up of nothing but sides, according to the study.
Perhaps most importantly if you’re heading to a gathering this holiday season, 99% of Americans say they help to cook part of the Thanksgiving meal if they’re attending a gathering.
-
Business1 week ago
Column: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
Science6 days ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Technology7 days ago
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle1 week ago
Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs
-
World1 week ago
Protesters in Slovakia rally against Robert Fico’s populist government
-
Health2 days ago
Holiday gatherings can lead to stress eating: Try these 5 tips to control it
-
News1 week ago
They disagree about a lot, but these singers figure out how to stay in harmony