Former Illinois FFA State Secretary Gracie Murphy was elected National FFA Eastern Region Vice President. From premier chapters to team recognitions to individual proficiency awards, read about the areas Illinois FFA members stood out in. READ MORE

Dean Dittmar’s efforts to foster growth of ag education in Illinois earned him national recognition during the National FFA Convention. The state coordinator for Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education was named the outstanding state supervisor. Among his accomplishments was his role in establishing chapters of Junior Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences and others. READ MORE

During Illinois’ Farm to Food Bank program’s first two years, nearly 2.5 million pounds of food was provided to food banks costing $1.1 million. The pilot program provides new market opportunities for farmers to move surplus food commodities or product considered “seconds” to food banks, and expands the supply of fresh food to food banks. Several stakeholders discussed how the “farmer-first” initiative works and the development of several models to fit the needs of different-sized farms. READ MORE

“Part of our goal is to develop an agritourism network of service providers like ourselves, researchers, outreach nonprofits, government folks who are there to support producers diversifying into agritourism.” — Lisa Chase, University of Vermont Extension professor   “There’s a lot of work we could be doing collectively to learn from each other and share these programs and essentially support our producers and their rural (and urban) communities,” said Lisa Chase, University of Vermont Extension professor. READ MORE

Four Illinois Farm Bureau members received summit sponsorships from IFB. Bringing diverse backgrounds to the table, including farmers markets, beekeeping and vegetable-growing, the four attendees shared highlights from the summit and key takeaways. READ MORE

Hundreds of specialty growers, agritourism operators and ag service providers gathered last week in Pensacola, Florida for the National Agricultural Marketing Summit. FarmWeek’s Tammie Sloup has coverage from the event.   Rural Development staff laid out how Value-Added Producer Grants can help farmers and producers get their products in front of consumers. Applicants can receive up to $250,000 in a matching grant, with several options for how applicants can meet the match aside from cash. A winemaker and dairy farmer who received grants discussed how the program helped benefit their operations. READ MORE