Greetings from SIU Carbondale!

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences is unable to host the FFA events in a face to face format this fall. These events host large number of students (greater than the Phase 4 group limit of 50) making it unfeasible to practice proper social distancing and keep all those participating safe. 

Instead of cancelling these events and experiences for your students, we are planning to offer these experiences in a virtual format.  Below are the updates for SIUC virtual events:

Invitational District 5 Horse Judging CDE:

This event will no longer be on September 4, 2020 as first planned, but will be offered virtually later in the fall. An update will be sent out when the new date is finalized with more specifics on how the contest will run. Our main goal with this event is to provide you and your students an educational experience. We plan on releasing some educational components before the contest to be used as a resource in your classroom when preparing for the CDE. The contest will then serve as a practical experience where students can test their knowledge. After the results of the contest have been finalized, the full judging contest will be made available as an educational resource/practice material for you to use in your classroom for years to come.  Filming for this contest has begun – and we cannot wait to release it for your use!

State Forestry CDE:

Please see previous emailed information from Illinois FFA Center regarding this contest.  To register for this event please go to ilaged.org. SIU is happy to partner with Illinois FFA and provide materials for this virtual contest.

Greenhand Conference:

This event will be offered virtually on September 28, 2020 at 4:00 pm and on September 29, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.  More sessions will be made available if these events reach capacity of 150 each day. Students only need to participate in one of the days to attend the conference since the same material will be offered each day. Each conference will consist of opening ceremonies/welcome, four 20-minute workshops, and closing ceremonies. We are extremely excited that the new SIU Chancellor, Dr. Austin Lane, plans to attend LIVE, pending availability in his schedule.  Students will need to individually register for this event.  Registration information will be sent soon!

In addition, the meeting link to the actual conference will be provided after registration and at least one week prior to the events.

COLT Conference:

Chapter Office Leadership Training (COLT) will also be offered virtually this year -  on October 5, 2020 at 4:00 pm and on October 6, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.  Students only need to participate one day to attend the conference, as each day will provide the same materials. Each event will consist of opening ceremonies/welcome, four 20-minute workshops, and closing ceremonies. Students will need to individually register for this event.  Registration information will be sent soon!

Links to the actual conference will be provided after registration and at least one week prior to the events.

We invite all Illinois chapters to take advantage of these opportunities and experiences SIU Carbondale Agricultural Sciences is providing. Distance is not a factor this year – please join us online!

Virtual Classroom Visits:

Our AgBassador team at SIU is eager to connect with you and your students virtually! If you are interested in having a representative from SIU Agricultural Sciences meet with your students and share  all that SIU has to offer please contact Susan Graham at sgraham@siu.edu. Our Agbassador team is prepared to meet with your class during the school day or in the evenings.

For any questions, comments, or concerns -  feel free to contact Rachel Wright at rachel.wright@siu.edu or feel free to call the SIU Agricultural Sciences at 618-453-2469.