Education

When her father became ill several years ago, the interactions with his doctors stood out to Rock Falls native Heather Moser.

Cattle producers are the original stewards of land and livestock and are constantly striving to improve their operations through education and professional development.

Illinois Valley Community College has learned it will be the recipient of a $3.5 million U.S. Department of Economic Development Administration grant to construct a new agriculture education facility.

In an attempt to keep brain cells active this winter, I have signed up for a college course. The good news is that it’s all online and it’s free. The other good news is that it’s sponsored by a major university.

Happy September! Always seems like the summer goes by so fast. It is nice to have a little cooler evenings. Great weather to sit out on the porch and enjoy. My Shetland lambs are growing nicely. Their color patterns are really starting to be vibrant.

A new agriculture program is in the works at Grace College. The college is planning a Center for Agriculture. The school is seeking a director and program coordinator for the center.

Enthusiastic fifth-grade students from the Whitehead Elementary School learned about dairy cows, the feed the cows eat and spent time petting calves during a tour of a farm.

Row crops and livestock were part of Tammy Miller’s day-to-day life on her family’s Livingston County farm and she now shares her experiences and helps guide college students toward agricultural careers.

“This is different every day. It’s always challenging and it’s very interesting. You’ve got to really be the type of individual that likes to find answers. This career path is never going to be boring.”

Normal Community High School made a commitment to an expanded agriculture program and hired its first full-time ag teacher in 2014. It was a good move, as the number of students taking ag classes increased from 75 to 80 the first year to about 200 students this school year.

Faith, farming and agricultural education are all tied together at Huntington University, where Raymie Porter teaches agriculture to students. Porter is also director of academic programs at Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies.

African swine fever, a highly contagious swine disease, is in the Dominican Republic. The disease does not infect people, but it can wipe out pork production in a region.

In the late 1990s, Prairie Central was among the first school districts in Illinois to extend FFA opportunities to junior high students.

College students graduating with a degree in agricultural education have a lot of job opportunities.

All students at the Grand Ridge School are learning about agriculture this year with the development of an ag program at the school that includes kindergarten through eighth grade.