Items in this listserv:

HOT TOPICS - MUST KNOW:

• FIERY - HOT, HOT, HOT- National Chapter Award - DUE April 1, 2025, and MUST be SUBMITTED, need a REMINDER on how to submit?  Click Here.

• SIZZLIN’ HOT, HOT, HOT - National Chapter Award Application Judges NEEDED - Click here if you are willing or interested in judging the National Chapter Award Applications.  

• HOT, HOT, HOT - The deadline for the 2024-2025 Illinois FFA Membership year is coming to an end on May 1, 2025.  Please be sure to have all of those second-semester students added and submitted to the FFA roster as soon as possible.  Remember that it is important to submit members each year to have the year in their membership history for the future when they may be applying for degrees, proficiency awards, and scholarships.   If you have any questions, please contact Tammy Yard (tyard@illinoisffa.org).

****NEW Information****

1. 2025 - 2026 Section President Orientation Webinar Link & Survey

2. Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters Camp Scholarship Winners

3. Digital Photo Contest for Students

4. National FFA Updates

5.  Grassland Judging Field Day and Invitational Contest 

6. Poultry Suspension Extended

7. Constitutional Amendment 97th Annual Illinois FFA State Convention - State Sentinel

1. 2025 - 2026 Section President Orientation Webinar Link & Survey

2025 - 2026 Section President Candidate Documents, Webinar Link & Survey Link

FORMS/DOCUMENTS to REVIEW:  

• Link to the Section President Orientation Webinar

• Click here for the Section President Survey

• 2025 - 2026 Calendar for Section Presidents

• 2025 - 2026 Memorandum of Understanding

• 2025 - 2026 State FFA Officer Commitment Form 

• Illinois FFA C.A.R.E. - Commitment to Appropriate and Respectful Experiences Form.

• Letter to Section President's Advisors - Click here

• Travel & Meal Reimbursement Form and Policy - Click here

• Click here for the Section President Elections Worksheet

  • This is the information we are looking for once you get elected.  

2. Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters Camp Scholarship Winners

The Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters judged the camp scholarship

Applications.  They were able to give twenty scholarships.  The 2025 IL FFA

Leadership Camp Scholarship winners are:

• Rossi Flanagan, Bluford

• Bella Jewett, Cambridge

• Charleigh Minott, Central A&M

• Esme Krupp, Cisne

• Kelsey Hudgens, Crab Orchard

• Braden Wiggins, Eldorado

• Addilyn Bent-Perzee, Fisher

• Ashton Sugars, Flanagan-Cornell

• Kolby Causemaker, Geneseo

• Sophia Gonzalez, Grundy Area

• Mikayla Ouart, Kewanee

• Jayla Ledford, Nashville

• Emma Hefferman, Olney

• Bronson Schilling, Peotone

• Kendal Guthrie, Pleasant Plains

• Destiny Salgado, Somonauk-Leland-Sandwich

• Betsey Weiss, Tremont

• Jonathan Lucie, Unity-Mendon

• William Phelps, West Prairie

• Jessica Doubet, Williamsfield

In January, the Illinois FFA Alumni and Supporters annual auction was held, and chapters brought Chapter Baskets to be judged and auctioned off for a chance at winning 2025 IL FFA Leadership Camp Scholarships.  Milford FFA won the Best Basket Award and a Chapter Basket Scholarship. The baskets were auctioned, and those that sold for over $200 received a full camp scholarship.  New this year, the Alumni Council voted to give a $100 partial credit to the 2025 Illinois FFA Leadership Camp for bringing a basket but didn’t qualify for the full camp scholarship.  

These are the chapters that will receive a full camp Chapter Basket scholarship for 2025:

• Milford - 2 Scholarships for Best Basket & Selling for over $200

• Athens

• Cambridge

• Cissna Park

• Eldorado

• Maroa-Forsyth

• Mt. Vernon

• Somonauk-Leland-Sandwich

These are the chapters that will receive a $100 credit for the 2025 Illinois FFA

Leadership Camp:

• Charleston

• Cisne

• Clinton

• Geneseo

• Macomb

• Mendota

• Streator

Thank you to everyone who applied for a camp scholarship or brought a Chapter Basket to the Auction. With your help, we were able to award more scholarships this year.

3. Digital Photo Contest for Students - Nutrients for Life

We are excited to announce an engaging digital contest designed to inspire middle and high school students. It encourages students to explore the vital role fertilizers play in addressing global food security and achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal #2: Zero Hunger.

Contest Details:

Theme: #Madepossiblebyfertilizer
Who Can Participate: Classrooms in grades 7-12

Prizes:

• 1st Place: $5,000

• 2nd Place: $3,000

• 3rd Place: $1,500

• Two Honorable Mentions: $750 each

Submission Deadline: April 11, 2025

Winners Announced: National Earth Day, April 22, 2025

To make it easy to share this opportunity with your state contacts and students, we’ve included:

• A social media post that can be shared across platforms.

• A flyer with contest details.

• A direct link to the contest for quick access.

We would greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word! Please let me know if you have any questions or would like additional information.

Thank you in advance for your support in encouraging the next generation to explore the world of agriculture and soil science.

Haley Siergiej, Director, Nutrients for Life
Email: hsiergiej@nutrientsforlife.org

4. National FFA Updates

Belonging Statement Video Now Posted on FFA.org

Visit the belonging and engagement webpage on FFA.org to watch the statement of belonging video, which features the National FFA Officers. You can even download the video and share its impactful message with others.

5.  Grassland Judging Field Day and Invitational Contest 

The Harrison County SWCD is partnering with the North Harrison FFA Chapter to hold a Grassland Judging Field Day and Invitational Contest on Saturday, May 10, 2025.  We would like to invite FFA Chapters and 4-H groups to participate in this learning experience. 

This contest will be open to Junior (3-8th Grade) Students and Senior (9-12th Grade) Students.  There will be a Senior and a Junior Division, however, will not separate FFA and 4-H teams into different divisions. 

Teams will consist of 3 or 4 members.  On a team with 4 members the lowest individual score will be dropped.  Individual participants are also encouraged.

The contest is based on the Mid-America Grassland Evaluation contest that is held in Missouri each summer.  This is an outdoor contest so please dress appropriately for the weather.  Only a predicted severe weather threat or heavy rain will cancel this event.  Otherwise we plan to go ahead because there is no available rain date. 

There is no registration fee for this event but we would appreciate it greatly for teams that register to actually attend because we need to have an accurate count for lunch, which will be provided free of charge by the Harrison County Cattlemen's Association.

Sections of the contest include:

• Pasture Classification and Evaluation for Livestock Grazing. This includes a livestock scenario where students will make recommendations on how to improve the pasture area based on the producer's goals.

• Pasture Evaluation for Wildlife

• Year-round forage availability calculations

• Soil Interpretations based on soil maps and soil series descriptions, as well as soil test reports

• Pasture plant ID including grasses, legumes, forbs, and trees

It is our goal to introduce this contest while trying to increase the "Spring Contest Study Burden" as little as possible.  We realize that this is a tough time of the year for many chapters and clubs to add a contest due to all of the other spring contests going on.  We plan to hold an adult/student field day in the morning beginning at 10:00 AM that will go through the different sections of the contest.  We will then eat lunch on site and then have the invitational contest in the afternoon.  We plan to use the same forms that are used in the Missouri Contest. These can be found in the manual that is contained at the link at the bottom of this email.  

To help introduce the contest, we will send out some resources that can be used in an "open book" format during the contest sections.  We will provide a template worksheet for the Forage Calculations section of the contest. These will be sent out to the teams that pre-register in plenty of time for you to use them for practice purposes if you choose to do so.  These will be sent electronically, you will have the option to print them off and use them if you wish. We plan to make the scenarios and problems very similar to the examples in the Missouri Manual.  The only major change is that we plan to split the Forage Math and the Grassland for Pasture Judging into to provide more time for students to work. (They are combined in the Missouri Contest)

The address for the contest will be sent out after registration closes.  The event will be held in Northern Harrison County.

Please pre-register by April 15 using the provided Google Form. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPR2z_i0f-1QlYcfTPSeKM6jt4oa2e8UthLRg4IcBv56-CeQ/viewform

Please email me with any questions at asauerheber@nhcs.k12.in.us

Presenters and Judges will include Jason Tower, Purdue Grazing and Robert Zupanic, NRCS Grazing Specialists, IDEM Specialists, local agronomists, and NRCS Wildlife Specialists.

We feel that this will be a very high-quality and worthwhile learning event.

Link to the Missouri Manual

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/624e42e8bd8b0c53a7d13899/t/66e073280ca95f5db6ec86a0/1725985578486/StudyGuide+Edition+16TH.pdf

This contest is not affiliated with the Missouri Contest in any way and is not a qualifying contest.  This is purely an Invitational.

6. Poultry Suspension Extended

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced that the 30-day suspension on the exhibition or sale of poultry at swap meets, exhibitions, flea markets and auction markets, which took effect February 11, 2025, in response to the ongoing threat of H5N1 avian flu, will be extended an additional 30 days, continuing through April 12, 2025. The move is intended to reduce and prevent the spread of the disease, which has been detected in commercial and backyard flocks in Illinois.

The suspension will be re-evaluated in early April and further updates will be provided at that time.

Poultry flock owners, managers and veterinarians should report any unusual findings in domestic poultry, such as increase in mortality, decrease in water consumption, decrease in egg production, or respiratory signs, including coughing and sneezing, to IDOA at 217-782-4944 or the USDA at 866-536-7593.

For more information regarding avian flu, visit the USDA site at aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections.

7. Constitutional Amendment 97th Annual Illinois FFA State Convention - State Sentinel

Constitutional Amendment at the 97th Annual Illinois FFA State Convention.  Amend the Illinois Association FFA Constitution and Bylaws by inserting Sentinel in the following locations: 

• Article IX.  Officers

  • Section A. The officers of the Illinois Association FFA shall be as follows:  

    • Insert 6.  Sentinel 

Article IX. Officers 

Section A. The officers of the Illinois Association FFA shall be as follows:  

1. President 

2. Vice President 

3. Secretary 

4. Treasurer 

5. Reporter 

6. Sentinel

7. Section Presidents  

8. Executive Secretary 

9. Associate Executive Secretary  

10. Advisor  

The Executive Committee shall be composed of the:

1. President 

2. Vice President 

3. Secretary 

4. Treasurer 

5. Reporter 

6. Sentinel

7. Executive Secretary 

8. Advisor 

9. Five Directors were chosen from among the Section Presidents 

The Executive Secretary and Associate Executive of the FFA shall be subject to the approval of the Illinois FFA Board of Directors. 

The major FFA officers are the following:  

1. President 

2. Vice President 

3. Secretary 

4. Treasurer  

5. Reporter  

6. Sentinel

Article XI Illinois FFA Board of Directors 

Section A. Student Officers 

1. The governing student body of the corporation, which shall advise and make recommendations to the Illinois FFA Board of Directors with respect to the conduct of the  activities and business of the corporation, as described in Public Law 105-225 (formerly 81- 740) shall be Illinois FFA Board of (student) Directors composed of: 

a. the State FFA President, State FFA Vice President, State FFA Secretary, State FFA  Treasurer, State FFA Reporter, and State Sentinel; and 

b. the five FFA District Directors (one from each of the five Illinois FFA Districts) elected from among the FFA Section Presidents at the first regular state officer meeting of the fiscal year. 

Article III. Duties of the State Officers 

Insert - Section G.

Section G. The Sentinel.

The sentinel shall perform the duties common to such an office, assisting the president and welcoming guests of the organization.

Constitutional Amendment at the 97th Annual Illinois FFA State Convention.  Amend the Illinois Association FFA Constitution and Bylaws by striking the following: 

Article III. Duties of the State Officers 

Strike Section J. 1. 

Section J. The Executive Committee. 

1. It shall choose one of the section presidents as sentinel to serve during the state convention and all state meetings. 

**** PREVIOUS Information Shared - WORTH Sharing Again****

• PREVIOUS LISTSERVS - CLICK HERE to view - 2024 - 2025 School Year

• CLICK HERE to view the 2023 - 2024 School Year Previous Listservs

• 2024-25 State CDE/LDE Calendar - Added New Event - 3-10-25

• All Conference Event Information, Flyers, Required Forms, Registration Information (Spring Middle School Conference)

• 2025 State FFA Convention- Wyndham Hotel Room Block Link

• 2025 IAVAT Conference Crowne Plaza Room Block Link

*Please NOTE that clicking Dates & Deadlines will take you to the www.ilaged.org calendar.  

• March 26, 2025 - Ag Legislative Day Registration ENDS

• March 29, 2025 - State Food Science CDE Mandatory Registration ENDS

• March 29, 2025 - Special Needs Accommodations Form for State Food Science CDE

• March 31, 2025- Spring Middle School Conference, Sauk Valley College, Dixon

• April 1, 2025 - National Chapter Applications DUE

• April 1, 2025 - Eldon Witt Scholarship Applications DUE

• April 1, 2025 - Honorary State FFA Degree Applications DUE

• April 1, 2025 - Ag Legislative Seminar Registration ENDS

• April 1, 2025 - Ag Legislative Seminar Food Allergies/Special Meals DUE

• April 2, 2025 - Spring Middle School Conference, Rend Lake, Ina, IL

• April 4, 2025 - State Dairy Cattle CDE, Livingston County Fairgrounds, 18142 4H Park Rd, Pontiac, IL

• April 4, 2025 - Spring Middle School Conference, LLCC, Springfield, IL

• April 9, 2025 - Invitational Marketing Plan Materials DUE

• April 11, 2025 - Chapter President Award App DUE

• April 11, 2025 - State Livestock Reasons Mandatory Registration ENDS

• April 11, 2025 - State Horticulture Mandator Registration ENDS

• April 11, 2025 - Special Needs Accommodations Form for State Livestock, Horticulture, and Poultry CDEs

• April 12, 2025 - State Food Science CDE, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL

• April 15, 2025 - Illinois FFA Board Meeting, IL FFA Center, Springfield, IL

• April 15, 2025 - Illinois FFA WLC Trip Registration Closes (FULL)

• April 15, 2025 - Ed Curry Camp Scholarship Application DUE 

• April 15, 2025 - Agriscience Fair Intent DUE

• April 17, 2025 - Women Changing the Face of Ag, Southern Illinois University, 1263 Lincoln Dr, Carbondale, IL

• April 17, 2025 - State Ag Mechanics Mandatory Registration & Results DUE

• April 17, 2025 - State Ag Mechanics, Parliamentary Procedure, and Conduct of Chapter Meetings ICC Required Waiver DUE

• April 17, 2025 - Parliamentary Procedure Results DUE

• April 17, 2025 - Conduct of Chapter Meetings Results DUE

• April 17, 2025 - Special Needs Accommodations Form for State Ag Mechanics, Parliamentary Procedure, and Conduct of Chapter Meetings DUE

• April 17, 2025 - IL FFA Center closes at 12:30 p.m.

• April 18, 2025 - IL FFA Center CLOSED

• April 23, 2025 - Special Needs Accommodations Form for State Ag Business Management CDE

• April 23, 2025 - Invitational Marketing Plan, by Appointment Only

• April 25, 2025 - State Livestock and Poultry CDE’s, University of Illinois, Stock Pavilion, 1402 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana, IL 61801

• April 25, 2025 - State Horticulture CDE, Parkland College, 2400 W Bradley Ave, Champaign, IL 61821

• April 25, 2025 - IL FFA WLC Health Profile, Signature Form, and Insurance Card DUE

• May 1, 2025 - Agriscience Fair Papers DUE

• May 1, 2025 - State Ag Mechanics CDE, Illinois Central College, 1 College Drive, East Peoria, IL

• May 1, 2025 - Parliamentary Procedure LDE,  Illinois Central College, 1 College Drive, East Peoria, IL

• May 1, 2025 - Conduct of Chapter Meetings,  Illinois Central College, 1 College Drive, East Peoria, IL

• May 5, 2025 - State Ag Business Management CDE, 2-Day Mandatory Registration ENDS

• May 5, 2025 - Agriscience Fair Interviews by Appointment Only

• May 5-6, 2025 - Illinois State Envirothon CDE, Allerton Park, 515 Old Timber Rd, Monticello, IL  61856

• May 7, 2025 - State Ag Business Management CDE, District Sites TBD

• May 15, 2025 - Job Interview Results DUE

• May 15, 2025 - Public Speaking LDE Results DUE

• May 15, 2025 - Greenhand Quiz Bowl Results DUE

• May 16, 2025 - State FFA Convention Registration ENDS

• May 16, 2o25 - IAVAT Conference Crowne Plaza Hotel Room Block ENDS

• May 26, 2025 - Ag Issues Mandatory Registration ENDS

• May 26, 2025 - Ag Communications, Mandatory Registration ENDS

• May 26, 2025 - Special Needs Accommodations Form for Ag Issues or Ag Communications DUE

• May 28, 2025 - Ag Issues Materials DUE

• May 28, 2025 - Job Interview Materials DUE

• May 28, 2025 - Public Speaking Materials DUE

• June 1, 2025 - IAVAT Conference Registration $50 Late Fee Begins

• June 1, 2025 - Illinois FFA Leadership Camp Registration ENDS

• June 6, 2025 - Ag Communications CDE Mandatory Materials DUE

• June 9, 2025 - State Ag Communications, Lincoln Land Community College, 5250 Shepherd Rd, Springfield, IL 62703

• June 9, 2025 - Ag Issues, Lincoln Land Community College, 5250 Shepherd Rd, Springfield, IL 62703 

• June 10-11, 2025 - State FFA Convention, BOS Center, 1 Convention Plaza, Springfield, IL 

• June 10, 2025 - Public Speaking LDE at State FFA Convention, Springfield

• June 11, 2025 - Greenhand Quiz Bowl at State FFA Convention, Springfield

• June 16-18, 2025 - IAVAT Conference, Crowne Plaza, 3000 S Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield, IL 62703

• June 22-28, 2025 - IL FFA Washington Leadership Conference Trip

• July 3, 2025 - IL FFA Center closes at 12:30 p.m. 

• July 4, 2025 - IL FFA Center CLOSED

• July 7, 2025 - Illinois FFA Leadership Camp Health Profile, Signature Form/Insurance Card, and Obstacle Course FORMS DUE

• July 7-11, 2025 - State FFA Officer Meeting, SIU, Carbondale

• July 9-10, 2025 - 2nd Year Ag Teacher Conference, Lincoln Land Community College, 5250 Shepherd Rd, Springfield, IL 62703

• July 17, 2025 - Illinois FFA Leadership Camp Arrive Late/Leave Early Forms DUE

• July 21-24, 2025 - Illinois FFA Leadership Camp, 4-H Camp, Allerton Park, 515 Old Timber Rd, Monticello, IL  61856

• July 29-30, 2025 - Beginning Advisors Conference, Lincoln Land Community College, 5250 Shepherd Rd, Springfield, IL 62703

• July 31, 2025 - Joint FFA/IAVAT Board Meeting, Springfield, IL

• August 1, 2025 - IAVAT Section Chair Meetings, IL FFA Center, Springfield, IL

• August 5-6, 2025 - Illinois FFA State Officer Meeting, IL FFA Center, Springfield,

• August 7-17, 2025 - Illinois State Fair, Springfield, IL