Illinois Featured Content

  • Crucial mutant corn stocks threatened under 2026 USDA budget

    Jul 14, 2025 11:00 am by Lauren QuinnInsights
    An ARS employee displays “John Deere corn,” named for the green coloration in the kernel’s aleurone layer.

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    • An ARS employee displays “John Deere corn,” named for the green coloration in the kernel’s aleurone layer.

    Why preserve the weirdos? Because mutant genes confer some of the most important traits in modern corn hybrids. They allow us to perpetuate the wide array of genetic variation in the Midwest’s most economically important crop.