Items in this listserv:
ALWAYS HERE: includes information that remains relevant from week to week. New updates are added as needed.
Illinois FFA Board Reports
Illinois FFA 100th Anniversary Memorabilia - 📋 Click here to complete the form
HOT TOPICS = MUST KNOW
SPICY - GREAT FLAVOR - GOOD TO BE REMINDED: REMINDER - Harvest for All Program for the 2025–2026 - 8/26/2025 Listserv
HOT, HOT, HOT - JudgingCard will show a zero balance on the Teacher’s Dashboard in AET for conference registrations because you must pay IL FFA for these events. Please download the invoice; it’ll show the mailing address for the payment. If you register for a CDE, the balance will be calculated, and you’ll pay Ewell Educational Services, Inc. Instructions for finding your invoice.
TOASTY - 2026 Illinois FFA Selection Committee - GREAT opportunity for your students - 12.2.2025 listserv
WARMER - Section President Candidate Orientation and Mandatory Survey - 12.2.2025
LUKE WARM - National Chapter Award - DUE April 1, 2026, and MUST be SUBMITTED.
****NEW Information****
2026 Illinois FFA Ag Legislative Seminar and Day
Message from American Boer Goat Foundation
Purposeful Prairie Plantings, A Grow Native Workshop
2026 Illinois FFA Ag Legislative Seminar and Day
Ag Seminar & Ag Leg Day Registration Opens TOMORROW - Wednesday, February 11, 2026
SEMINAR:
8 Students Complimentary
1 Advisor Complimentary
Additional Students, Advisors, and Chaperones - $10 per person
Ag Seminar Mandatory Registration Ends - Monday, March 9, 2026
Ag Legislative DAY:
Please register by March 16, 2026, to guarantee delivery of a basket and lunches.
Ag Legislative Day Registration Ends Monday, March 23, 2026
Message from American Boer Goat Foundation
Hello Illinois Ag Ed Friends,
I am reaching out on behalf of the American Boer Goat Foundation (ABGF) regarding an upcoming professional development event that may be of significant interest to the livestock producers in your area.
On July 24–25, 2026, the Foundation will host its 2026 Educational Summit in Kansas City. This summit, titled "From Pasture to Profit: Achieving Excellence in Meat Goat Production," is a high-level educational forum designed specifically for adult producers, industry stakeholders, and agricultural professionals seeking to enhance their operational efficiency and market reach.
The Summit curriculum features a rigorous technical agenda, including:
Advanced Reproductive Technologies: Direct insights into AI, embryo transfer, and genetic selection.
Herd Health and Parasitology: Evidence-based management strategies led by leading university specialists.
Import/Export Logistics: Navigating the complexities of the global genetics market.
Industry Recognition: Concurrent sessions with the ABGA Annual Membership Meeting and the presentation of the Ambassador of the Breed and Volunteer Appreciation Awards.
Carolyn Cooper, Treasurer, ABGF - 760-583-1639
Purposeful Prairie Plantings, A Grow Native Workshop
Register by March 13 for Purposeful Prairie Plantings, A Grow Native Workshop, in Edwardsville, IL
Grow Native! Southwest Illinois Workshop: Purposeful Prairie Plantings
EDWARDSVILLE, IL (February 3)—Register by Friday, March 13, 2026, to attend the Grow Native! Purposeful Prairie Plantings workshop, hosted by Lewis & Clark Community College in Edwardsville, Illinois, and planned by Grow Native! in partnership with the Sierra Club Piasa Palisades Group and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension Service. The workshop will be held on March 27, 2026.
Featured speakers will explore the vast ecological and community benefits that native prairie plantings bring to our region, while inspiring and equipping participants with important information needed to become purposeful prairie planters. Throughout this half-day event, participants will hear from speakers with first-hand experience establishing, stewarding, and advocating for diverse prairie plantings, from small-scale residential projects to hundreds of acres of land.
Jean Ponzi, Green Resources Specialist at Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center, will emcee the workshop, which will open with a keynote presentation by Bob Gillespie, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Grassland Ecologist. Speakers to follow include Jerod Huebner, Missouri Prairie Foundation Director of Prairie Management; Anna McAtee, Land Conservation Manager with HeartLands Conservancy; Joann Fricke, Clifftop Membership Chair; Bob Weck, Clifftop President; and Scott Moss, Restoration Ecology Instructor with Lewis & Clark Community College.
Topics covered will include:
The historical significance and present-day ecological impact of prairie
Prairie’s relationship to people, wildlife, and groundwater quality
Native prairie plant species lists
Tips for planting your own residential prairie patch
Site preparation, establishment, stewardship of seeded prairie plantings
Continued ways to stay involved in the native plant movement
Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for sign in, Grow Native! merchandise sales, exhibitor tables, and buffet breakfast. Presentations begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. and continue until noon. Registration, including breakfast: $30/person for non-members, $25 for MPF members and Grow Native! professional members, $15 for students with a valid student ID. For those who are part of the Grow Native! Professional Certification Program (GNPCP), this event counts as 4 CEUs.
WHEN: Friday, March 27, 2026, 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
WHERE: LeClaire Room at Lewis and Clark Community College, NO Nelson Campus 600 Troy Rd., Edwardsville, IL 62025
Registration, including breakfast, is $25 for MPF members and Grow Native! professional members, $15 for students with a valid student ID, and $30 for non-members.
Grow Native! is the 26-year-old native plant marketing and education program of the nonprofit Missouri Prairie Foundation, a 60-year-old conservation organization and land trust. The goals of Grow Native! are to increase the supply of and demand for plants native to the lower Midwest for use in developed landscapes—cities, farms, home landscaping, and more.
Amanda Lands Ramrup, Events & Communications Coordinator - outreach@moprairie.org
Missouri Prairie Foundation and Grow Native! Program - 636-303-7418 (mobile)
-- Mindy Bunselmeyer
Illinois FFA Center
Phone: 217-753-3328
Cell: 217-412-5646
Email: mbunselmeyer@illinoisffa.org
Address: 3221 Northfield, Springfield, IL 62702