Month full of action for FFA officer team

From holidays to “Harvesting Success,” the Illinois FFA major state officer team has been busy in the city and making an impact on members all across the state. This month has been filled from the last week of chapter visits to the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.

To kick things off, Illinois FFA hosted our first two Middle School Conferences of the season. With conferences hosted by Lincoln Land Community College and Richland Community College, the majors and section presidents helped more than 250 middle school students begin their journey in FFA.

For many of them, this may have been their first experience learning about the agriculture industry and FFA as a whole. At the Middle School Conferences, seventh- and eighth-grade members are invited to participate at fall and spring events to gain leadership experience and learn more about the organization.

After the fall Middle School Conferences, the majors hit the road for one final week of chapter visits. During this week, the team split up across Sections 1, 3, 7, 8 and 19.

By the end of this final week, the majors had visited nearly 400 FFA chapters across all 25 sections. Throughout the entire fall, the majors traveled 27,926 miles and connected with more than 8,500 individual students.

As soon as chapter visits wrapped up, the majors returned to Illinois State University for the 2025 Being United in Leadership Development Conference. At BUILD, junior and senior FFA members gain an excellent opportunity to develop premier leadership, personal growth and career success.

This two-day event was packed with energy, engagement and insight into the evolution of the agriculture industry. Students also explored a career and college fair featuring institutions and businesses from all across Illinois, helping them identify future educational and career pathways or possible jobs right out of high school.

After some enjoyable time with family and friends over Thanksgiving, it was time to prepare for the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, themed “Harvesting Success.” After loading the cars, the majors made the drive to Chicago, where they spent three days attending the meeting.

To begin, the majors watched the Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leaders compete in the Discussion Meet. At the first session, the majors assisted with the Presentation of Colors and heard remarks from State FFA President Natalie Pratt.

Her remarks reflected on the significance of the partnership between Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois FFA in growing the next generation of leaders who will harvest success.

Throughout the next few days, the majors attended sessions, but also made time to visit Millennium Park, skate together on the ice and appreciate the beauty of the Windy City.

To round out the time up north, the majors visited West Chicago to meet with friends at Ball Horticultural. This offered a unique opportunity to take a deeper look at horticultural plants from the very beginning of their development.

Ball Horticultural works to harvest seed from countless flower varieties and breeds new types, as well. Their team distributes flower seeds to six different continents and manages seed operations around the globe.

While this month was certainly full of action, time was well spent. With chapter visits completed and conference season just beginning, the officer team is excited for all of the upcoming Ground Zero conferences and other events around the state.

Ethan Bremmer from the Pearl City FFA Chapter is the 2025-2026 Illinois Association FFA state reporter.