Equipment Manufacturers
Illinois was and is a very prolific state at devising and manufacturing a myriad of implements for the farm... from wagons to steam engines. This link contains brief biographical information and images related to these companies to include the founders and where the businesses were located.

Farming Publications
Prior to land grant universities and government agencies, farmers got their information from word of mouth and their farming methods from experience. The happenings in rural life were remote and access to outside information was sparse. The only available method for farmers to communicate important farming information was through valuable subscriptions to farm publications. Illinois still home to the oldest surviving farm publication in the U.S.


Seed Corn Companies
Nothing has impacted Midwest farmers in the past 60+ years like the discovery of hybridization in corn. From this miraculous discovery swelled an important business in farming that owes its beginning to the foresight of many Illinois agriculturalists.

Commodity Marketing
Raising a crop is only half the battle for farmers. The other half is finding a fair market to sell his goods. Illinois farmers have long been dependent on outside resources for marketing their crops and thanks to the insight of several entrepreneurs, Illinois has become home to the largest names in commodity marketing.

Farmer Organizations
Freedom to organize is one of the basic American freedoms that even farmers get to enjoy. Over the past two centuries, farmers have used the power of numbers to their advantage for everything from purchasing farm supplies to breaking up the monopolies of the railroads in the late 1800's. Many of these groups have their historical roots in Illinois.