![A central Illinois farmer harvests corn toward the end of the 2016 harvest season.](https://will.illinois.edu/images/uploads/42862/dji_0017-e1477527935179-1170x567__medium.jpg)
Weeding Out Competition: Farmers Left Paying Steep Prices As Seed Firms Merge
Central Illinois corn and soybean farmer Norbert Brauer said he remembers when he could plant an acre of corn for about $100 total — but that was nearly three decades ago.