Items in this listserv:
HOT TOPICS = MUST KNOW
HOT, HOT, HOT - The Illinois FFA Center will be CLOSED, Wednesday, December 10, 2025, for FFA Center Staff Retreat and Professional Development Day.
HOT, HOT, HOT - Ag Skills Showcase Artifacts Due - December 8th: See Sean’s listserv from yesterday
SPICY - GREAT FLAVOR - GOOD TO BE REMINDED: With the Holidays coming up, here’s a good REMINDER - Harvest for All Program for the 2025–2026 - 8/26/2025 Listserv
Getting Warmer - Here is the Illinois FFA Center HOLIDAY office schedule: December 23, 2025 - Illinois FFA Center Closes at 12:30 p.m. for the Christmas/New Year’s Holidays and CLOSED - December 24, 2025, to January 1, 2026 for Christmas/New Year’s Holiday. FFA Center is open on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Getting Warmer - neither HOT nor COLD but when it gets HOT it’s HOT- American FFA Degree - Illinois Procedures - AGAIN THIS YEAR***** The Intent to Apply form is MANDATORY and DUE on January 5, 2026. BIG ITEM to DOUBLE CHECK - Student EMAIL that is in their profile - DO NOT have an old high school email address they no longer have access to. Please ensure they update their email address prior to completing the American FFA Degree application.
Getting Warmer - but when it gets HOT it’s HOT, so don’t let your student procrastinate - National FFA Scholarship Application is NOW LIVE - DUE January 15, 2026. Apply today!
TEMPERATE - meaning MILD or MODERATE - 2026 State Officer Parent & Candidate Officer Orientation - Please RSVP for the candidate orientation. Click here to RSVP to attend the 2026 Parent & Candidate Orientation on Saturday, February 7, 2026. The Candidate/Parent Orientation meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. and is expected to conclude by 3:30/4:00 p.m. att the Illinois FFA Center, 3221 Northfield Drive, Springfield, IL 62702.
TEMPERATE - meaning MILD or MODERATE - Maschhoff Impact Grant Program
****NEW Information****
2026 Illinois FFA Selection Committee
GREAT need for American FFA Degree Judges
Section President Candidate Orientation and Mandatory Survey
Illinois Youth Institute - GREAT NEW Opportunity - MUST READ
New Teacher Resource: CornBelt Update
National FFA Convention Professional Photo Link
Learning Blade - Ag Careers Teaching Resource
2026 Illinois FFA Selection Committee
The Illinois FFA Selection Committee is an amazing opportunity for FFA members and friends of the FFA, click here to check out an awesome video about being on the Selection Committee. The State FFA Officer Selection Committee application is due March 15, 2026. If you have students who are interested in being on the 2026 Selection Committeeclick here to apply. Click here for a flyer to show your students so they can learn more about the selection committee. The Selection Committee application can also be found on the www.ilaged.org website use the following steps:
Click on Participate
Click on About Illinois FFA
On the Right it will have this link - 2026 State Officer Selection Committee Application
The flyer and the application are on this page.
The State FFA Officer Election process is designed to ensure the delegates retain the right of choosing their own State Officer team, while at the same time:
1) Allowing all candidates an equal opportunity for election, and
2) Ensuring an efficient and timely election process.
The FFA Board of Directors’ policy establishes five selection committees to review and assess the candidates on their ability to serve as an officer of the Illinois Association FFA. To fill all committee positions, the service of fifteen FFA members is needed. It would be preferable to have three committee members from each of the five districts. Each chapter advisor is asked to recommend one student to serve on a selection committee.
While all chapters are encouraged to have a student serve on the committee, the eligibility requirements are:
Applications are limited to sophomores, juniors, seniors, and one-year out-of-high-school FFA members.
Non-high school FFA members shall fill no more than 5 of the 15 total student selection committee positions
To complete an application for the Selection Committee, you must have the sign-off from the FFA advisor.
Students serving on an officer team with a State Officer Candidate (either chapter or section) will not be selected to serve.
Students who might be strongly biased toward a particular candidate due to a personal relationship will not be selected.
A priority list shall be created, prioritizing those chapters that have not had representation as recently as other chapters.
A chapter may have a representative serve on the Selection Committee every 2 years. (Chapters that had a committee member in 2023 are not eligible.)
Should a student be selected, they need to know the selection committee will meet on April 26, 2025, in Springfield, Illinois. Their attendance will be critical to the process. Their ability to travel to Springfield on that date is required. The committee members will be informed in advance of their selection and will be provided with suggested driving assignments to help them avoid having to drive the entire distance to Springfield.
Once again, the State FFA Officer Selection Committee application is due March 15, 2026.
2. GREAT need for American FFA Degree Judges
Click here if you are interested in helping review applications and assist with interviewing the American FFA Degree candidates on February 10 - 12, 2025. HELP is needed and greatly appreciated.
3. Section President Candidate Orientation and Mandatory Survey
Again this year, Illinois FFA will be hosting a Section President Candidate Orientation meeting for FFA members interested in running for Section President, their parents and advisors. In the role of being a Section President on the state officer team, there are many responsibilities and an extensive summer schedule, to set our future Section Presidents up for success and make them aware of those responsibilities, expectations and time commitments we are having a Section President Candidate Orientation Webinar on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. The webinar will be recorded and can be watched at your convenience. Following the webinar, we will release a mandatory survey that all potential candidates running for Section president must take to run for Section President. The survey covers all of the information provided to the candidates in the webinar, as well as information about Section Presidency on the www.ilaged.org website. The survey is not scored nor are results shared, but all candidates running for Section President must complete the survey and have an understanding of the responsibilities, expectations and time commitments of being on the Illinois FFA State Officer Team.
4. Illinois Youth Institute - GREAT NEW Opportunity - MUST READ
NEW Opportunity for Illinois students who are interested in the future of global food security and agriculture!
Join us for the first-ever Illinois Youth Institute (Illinois Youth Institute Event Flyer.pdf) hosted in partnership with the World Food Prize Foundation, on Tuesday, May 12th at the University of Illinois Chicago.
What is a Youth Institute?
In collaboration with agricultural university partners around the world, the World Food Prize Foundation offers over 38 Youth Institutes throughout Honduras, Kenya, the Netherlands, Sweden, Sierra Leone, Uganda and the United States. Through these programs, students research a food security issue in a country of their choice, write athree-to-five-page paper and present their findings at a Youth Institute Roundtable alongside peers, educators and industry experts.
Who is Eligible?
This event is open to all Illinois students in grades 9-12 who write and submit a Global Challenge Research Paper by the February 27th deadline. While registration will open at a later date, we invite you to help your students get started now with the Global Challenge Research Paper, the core requirement for participation.
What to Expect?
The Illinois Youth Institute will allow students from across the state to share their research papers with like-minded peers and experts in a small group format. We are planning an exciting program filled with local and global leaders who are ready to inspire this generation to address the big food and agriculture issues of our day. Come ready to network, learn, and get motivated!
What will students gain?
The Illinois Youth Institute will offer students the chance to:
Strengthen critical thinking, research and presentation skills
Engage with local leaders and experts, university faculty and industry professionals
Explore college and career pathways in agriculture, STEM and global development
Earn the Borlaug Scholar recognition alongside tens of thousands of other students and become eligible for advanced opportunities, including the Global Youth Institute and Borlaug-Ruan International Internship
How to participate:
Submit this short form Illinois Youth Institute Participation Form by December 15, 2025, to let us know you are committing to writing the paper and attending the May 12, 2026, Illinois Youth Institute. Papers will be due onFebruary 27, 2026.
Questions can be sent to sheilafowler05@gmail.com and pegyih@gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
Helpful Links:
Illinois Youth Institute Event Flyer.pdf
Global Challenge Research Paper Instructions
Global Challenge Research Paper Resources
Sample Global Challenge Research Paper
CLICK HERE for more information about The World Food Prize
5. New Teacher Resource: Cornbelt Update
Thank you to Stu Ellis for sharing the Cornbelt Update with us! This is a weekly publication
that can be accessed in this folder on the Illinois Ag Education website. Check back each
Monday for a new edition!
6. 98th National FFA Convention Professional Photo Link
The professional photos of the on-stage award presentations from the convention are now
available to view and/or download. Just click the link above! Photos are in folders by date and
Session.
7. Learning Blade - Ag Careers Teaching Resource
Ignite students’ interest in agriculture careers with Learning Blade - an online toolbox for the
modern ag classroom. Illinois educators have free access to this engaging, standards-aligned
resource for grades 5–9. Explore the missions, 500+ interactive lessons, 100+ careers, and
hands-on projects in the Learning Blade Mission Catalog. To get started, click here. Questions can be addressed to Colleen at colleen@learningblade.com.
-- Mindy Bunselmeyer
Illinois FFA Center
Phone: 217-753-3328
Cell: 217-412-5646
Email: mbunselmeyer@illinoisffa.org
Address: 3221 Northfield, Springfield, IL 62702