Local FFA Members Attend Youth Conference

       More than 425 FFA members, County Farm Bureau Managers, FFA advisors from 82 Illinois counties attended the 2012 Illinois Farm Bureau® & Affiliates Youth Conference, April 2-3 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield.

      Pictured (left to right) are:  Front Row – Eliza Hess, Bushnell-Prairie City FFA; Hannah Cortez, Bushnell-Prairie City FFA; Danielle Moore, West Prairie FFA; Trisha Ferguson, Bushnell-Prairie City FFA  Back Row – Katie Hopping, West Prairie FFA; Rana Gooden, West Prairie FFA; Kayla Payne, West Prairie FFA.

            "Miles of Opportunity”, the theme of this year’s conference, offered FFA members in their  junior year of high school, a unique opportunity for career and personal development. This year’s attendees got the opportunity to visit with representatives about scholarships, internships, leadership programs, and career opportunities from community colleges, universities, agriculture commodity groups, and the Illinois Farm Bureau and its family of companies at a career fair. The conference also provided a series of breakout sessions that outlined opportunities in agriculture and provided information about the Illinois Farm Bureau and its family of companies.

            The annual two-day conference is sponsored by Illinois Farm Bureau and its affiliated companies, which include GROWMARK, COUNTRY Financial, Prairie Farms and the IAA Credit Union. Please visit www.youthed.org or http://www.facebook.com/ilfbyea for more information on the Illinois Farm Bureau & affiliated companies Youth Education program.

  Greuel & Fowler Win Raffle 

                 The McDonough County Farm Bureau Foundation is pleased to announce that Katie Greuel and Louis Fowler are the winners of the MCDFB Foundation 2012 Raffle to benefit the Ag in the Classroom program.

Greuel is the recipient of a brand new John Deere push lawnmower and Fowler received the Stihl chainsaw both graciously donated by Heritage Equipment Company in Macomb. 

           Proceeds of the raffle benefit the McDonough County Farm Bureau Foundation’s Ag in the Classroom program which provides agriculture related presentations and resource materials to McDonough County teachers and classrooms free of charge.

           MCDFB would like to thank Heritage Equipment for their donation to this worthy cause and their commitment to the future of agriculture education.  For more information about the Foundation or the Ag in the Classroom program, please contact the McDonough County Farm Bureau office at 309-837-3350.

Pictured from left to right is Sarah Grant, Manager of the McDonough County Farm Bureau, Katie Greuel, Louis Fowler and Shawn Hendel, Sales Manager at Heritage Equipment Company.

West Central FS donates to         Farm Bureau Foundation 

     West Central FS recently showed its commitment to agriculture literacy programs in McDonough County with a presentation of $1000 to the McDonough County Farm Bureau Foundation’s Ag in the Classroom program. The funds are a portion of the comprehensive donation to the Illinois Ag in the Classroom program provided through GROWMARK’s FS Seed Division.

 Ag in the Classroom provides agriculture related presentations and resource materials to McDonough County teachers and classrooms free of charge.

Pictured from left to right is West Central Manager, Barry Schmidt and McDonough County Farm Bureau President, Jeffrey Butler.