Nominate, apply for ISA awards

The Illinois Soybean Association has opened nominations for the new ISA achievement awards program. Nominate yourself or another farmer who has impacted the Illinois soybean industry before July 8.

There are five awards up for grabs in 2022:

Chairman’s Award. This is the highest ISA achievement award, which is designed to recognize an individual who has dedicated years of service and leadership to the soybean industry.

Legislator of the Year Award. This award honors an Illinois lawmaker who has been dedicated to help soybean farmers through advocacy of policy and regulatory issues affecting the soybean industry.

Excellence in Media Award. This is an award to recognize an individual in media who promotes the Illinois soybean industry and agriculture through print, broadcast, social and other media platforms.

Friend of Illinois Soybean Farmers Award. This award is designed to show appreciation to an individual who has gone above and beyond to advocate on behalf of Illinois soybean producers. 

Farm Family of the Year Award. This award recognizes an Illinois farm family who is actively engaged in ISA’s membership program, along with showing commitment to ISA programming and with demonstrated impact in the industry and in their communities.

Do you know someone who should be honored with an ISA award? Fill out the online nomination form by July 8. Award winners will be announced in the fall.

Participate in IDOA clean sweep collection

Do you have unwanted agricultural pesticides in need of proper disposal? Consider participating in the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s pesticide clean sweep collection program this summer.

Every year, the collection rotates among Illinois counties and is open to farmers, nursery owners, private pesticide applicators, structural pest control applicators and landowners with unwanted agricultural pesticides. This year, collections are scheduled for residents in the following counties: Fulton, Henderson, Knox, Marshall, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Stark, Warren and Woodford.

Brad Beaver, IDOA acting bureau chief of environmental programs, says farmers should take advantage of this opportunity for two reasons — the disposal service is free of charge to farmers, and the state of Illinois, instead of participants, will be liable for proper disposal of products collected.

Individuals who would like to take part in this program must register products for disposal before July 27. To register, obtain a form from IDOA by calling 800-641-3934 or going online, or visit one of the following clean sweep collection program sponsors:

After completed forms are mailed or faxed to IDOA, participants will receive a reservation card with date, time and location of their collection.

Since the start of the clean sweep collection program in 1990, IDOA has collected 626,669 pounds of material from 2,196 participants.

IMPB seeks dairy farmer leaders

The Illinois Milk Promotion Board recently announced open director positions on its board of directors. Applications must be postmarked by July 30.

Who’s eligible? Candidates must be active dairy farmers from districts 1 or 3. District 1 includes Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago counties. Counties in District 3 are Bond, Calhoun, Christian, Clark, Clinton, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Scott, and Shelby.

Are you a dairy farmer interested in applying? Contact Tasha Bunting, IMPB manager, at [email protected] or 309-557-2993 to obtain a petition. Candidates should complete and postmark petitions by July 30. Ballot elections will occur in September.

Growmark FS announces 2022 interns

The Growmark FS system has recently announced its 2022 class of interns. Seventy-four students from colleges across North America are in person for their internships with Growmark FS locations. In 2020 and 2021, this internship program was offered in a hybrid format.

Interns are on one of the following program tracks below:

Growmark program. Interns are exposed to accounting, marketing, and product and service-related activities.

Exploring Agriculture. Interns focus on operations, equipment and technology for scouting, and assisting with facility and equipment maintenance and repair.

The following are interns in the Growmark program who attend Illinois colleges:

The following are interns in Exploring Agriculture who attend Illinois colleges:

Register for ACES Family Academies

Are you an alum of the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences? Bring youth ages 8 to 13 to campus July 14-15 for the College of ACES Alumni Association 2022 ACES Family Academies.

The two-day experience will include opportunities to:

For more information, visit the College of ACES Alumni Association website. Register online by June 3.

IPPA awards 2022 scholarships

The Illinois Pork Producers Association annually offers scholarships to students who will attend a two- or four-year institution of higher education and have an interest in the pork industry.

This year, IPPA is awarding nine scholarships that total $13,500 due to funding from the Wilbert and Carol Keppy Foundation.

Scholarship recipients were determined based upon IPPA involvement, other activities and an essay covering the effects of the pandemic on the pork industry.

Scholarships are awarded at three different levels: gold, silver and bronze. Here are the recipients:

Gold level. Lydia Louise Oker of Sandwich, Lauren Curry of Alpha and Jaidyn Miller of Sheffield will receive $2,000 each.

Silver level. Madisen Winter of Kewanee, Hailey VanOpdorp of Geneseo and Michael Steimel of DeKalb will receive $1,500 each.

Bronze level. Emma Coursey of Bushnell, Lindsey Lehman of Mount Vernon and Hallie Ray of Carthage will receive $1,000 each.