Ground was broken yesterday for a new 36’ X 72’ greenhouse to be located behind the Kreher Agriculture Center. After the foundation is laid, the greenhouse itself will arrive as a “kit” to be assembled. It will be used for horticulture and ag classes and is being funded through the Kreher Charitable Trust. It is hoped the greenhouse will be open for spring classes.
Category Archives: Ag
LLCC at the state fair
LLCC will be at the Illinois State Fair! From August 17-21 LLCC representatives from public relations and marketing, agriculture and the Workforce Institute will be in the Orr Building promoting STEAM education opportunities as part of the Tech Prairie STEAM Expo. The expo will include interactive exhibits and demonstrations as well as a drone competition.
The LLCC Ag Club will be helping out at the Pork Patio on Aug. 17 and 18.
LLCC Culinary will be sponsoring a culinary competition at the Hobbies, Arts and Crafts Building. Cooking demonstrations will also be provided at this location by LLCC Chefs Joshua Dineen on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 4 p.m. and Jolene Lamb, on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 4 p.m. Jay Kitterman, culinary and special events consultant, will be judging the Blue Ribbon Pie Contest once again at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 15. LLCC is partnering with the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance for a culinary demonstration on Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 4-6 p.m. in the Artisan Building. Jolene Lamb will be demonstrating how to choose the perfect cheeses and cured meats for a wine-friendly charcuterie board and how to dress it up with simple “flowers” made from edible ingredients.
In the community
LLCC Ag and LLCC-Taylorville partnered to be a sponsor of the Christian County Ag Fair this year. As part of the sponsorship, LLCC banners were placed at the main entrances of the fair and the Ag Building, LLCC was announced as a sponsor during the grandstand events and hand-held fans were disbursed during the Little Miss, Jr. Miss and Miss Christian County queen pageants.
Ag communications judges needed
LLCC Agriculture is hosting the Illinois FFA State Ag Communications Contest on June 13 and 14, and we need a few more judges.
On June 13, teams will be working on their individual practicums which consist of web design, video production, writing a feature story or writing a blog post. After the students are done with their area, I will email the student work and scoresheets to judges to evaluate and score. We are looking for three judges willing to judge the individual practicums remotely.
On June 14, teams will be presenting their marketing plan to a panel of judges at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel next to the BOS Center. Judging will begin at 8:30 a.m. and go through 3:30/4 p.m. with lunch and snacks/drinks provided. We are looking for one or two judges willing to judge the team presentations.
Please email Bill Harmon or Holly Bauman if you are interested in helping or have questions.
Thanks!
Still a few tickets left for Farmer’s Share Luncheon tomorrow
Enjoy a great meal for $1, and learn the small percentage a farmer earns from the cost of a typical meal at the annual Farmers Share Luncheon tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in the Trutter Center. Contact Bill Harmon, professor of agronomy, at 217-786-2573 or email bill.harmon@llcc.edu for your ticket. There will be ag trivia with prizes too!
LLCC Livestock Judging Contest
Over 750 FFA and 4-H members from Illinois and Indiana participated in the 24th annual Lincoln Land Community College Livestock Judging Contest yesterday at the Christian County Fairgrounds in Taylorville. Over 100 high schools and 4-H clubs were represented. The contest was provided by the LLCC Livestock Judging Team and Agriculture Club.
Contestants judged nine classes of beef, swine, sheep and goats. They were evaluating the animals on their quality as either breeding stock or for meat. Livestock judging teaches students critical thinking skills, public speaking and can lead to collegiate scholarships.
WCIA reported on the event.
LLCC Agriculture Club wins awards at national PAS conference
Back row, L-R: Fuller Anderson, Luke Adams, Wyatt Buckles, Shawn Goebel, Jacob Peters, Charlie Gum, Clayton Walch. Front row, L-R: Morgan Black, Elizabeth Lee, Mackenzie Harmon, Kylie Schakel, Meadow Sporrer.
Twelve LLCC Agriculture Club members competed at the National Professional Agriculture Student (PAS) Conference held March 16-19 in Minneapolis, Minn. with more than 450 college students from across the country. The contests are designed to test their knowledge and readiness for their future careers.
The LLCC swine specialist team of Morgan Black (Springfield), Jacob Peters (New Berlin) and Mackenzie Harmon (Morrisonville) placed second overall. Black also placed second individually.
The college bowl team of Peters, Kylie Schakel (Springfield), Luke Adams (Athens), Clayton Walch (Raymond), Harmon and Fuller Anderson (Atwater) placed third for the second year in a row. Also placing third was the LLCC sheep specialist team of Schakel, Adams and Elizabeth Lee (Springfield).
The soil specialist team of Walch, Meadow Sporrer (Springfield) and Anderson placed fourth. Walch also placed third individually. LLCC’s crop specialist team took seventh place. Team members were Shawn Goebel (Harvel), Wyatt Buckles (Mechanicsburg) and Charlie Gum (Petersburg).
In the employment interview competition, Walch, Adams and Lee won first place in their divisions. Schakel placed second, and Anderson placed eighth.
Harmon earned second place honors in the agriculture education teaching event.
PAS is a career and technical student organization for college students interested in agriculture. In addition to competitive events, the national conference provides an opportunity for students to attend leadership and career development workshops.
LLCC Ag hosts Professional Agriculture Student competition
The LLCC agriculture program hosted 122 students from 10 Illinois colleges and universities for the recent Illinois Professional Agriculture Student (PAS) Annual Conference in the college’s new Kreher Agriculture Center.
The event brought agriculture students together to compete in career preparation events and develop leadership skills. Twenty-two LLCC students participated in a variety of contests for the privilege of representing Illinois at the National PAS Conference in Minneapolis, Minn. in March.
Individual LLCC results:
Mackenzie Harmon, Morrisonville, second place in Agriculture Education Contest; Kylie Schakel, Atlanta, Ind., third place in Prepared Public Speaking.
LLCC team event results:
Crop Specialist: first place. Individual placings: Clayton Walch, Raymond, first place; Fuller Anderson, Atwater, fifth place; Charlie Gum, Talulla, ninth place; Shawn Goebel, Harvel, 11th place; Wyatt Buckles, Mechanicsburg, 12th place.
College Bowl: second place. Team members include: Mackenzie Harmon; Luke Adams, Athens; Clayton Walch; Kylie Schakel; Jake Peters, New Berlin; Fuller Anderson; Meadow Sporrer, Springfield.
Sheep Specialist: second place. Individual placings: Emma Peters, Versailles, Ohio, second place; Breanna Knittel, Greenfield, third place; Shaylee Maddox, Thomas, Okla., third place; Cole Ellerbrock, Atkinson, fifth place; Evan McClain, Anderson, Ind., ninth place; Kylie Schakel,10th place.
Soil Specialist: second place. Individual placings: Clayton Walch, first place; Fuller Anderson, fifth place; Meadow Sporrer, seventh place; Yves Doumen-Nyansi, Springfield, 10th place; Ryan McGrew, Goodhope, 15th place.
Overall Livestock Specialist: third place. Individual placings: Jett Vickery, Taylorville; Tommy Tarr, Dawson; Sam Stickley, St. Paris, Ohio, tied for ninth place.
Swine Specialist: third place. Individual placings: Makenzie Hereth, Woodbine, Md., second place; Morgan Black, Darlington, Wis., third place; Brooklyn Wurm, Monroeville Ind., 10th place.
Mr. Greenwood visits Kreher Agriculture Center
It was an honor this week to welcome Mr. Eldon Greenwood, the last surviving founding member of the LLCC Board of Trustees, to campus to visit the new Kreher Agriculture Center. He’s shown here with Bill Harmon, professor of agronomy.
Ag Club invites potential members to cookout
Please share with students that the LLCC Agriculture Club is inviting all students interested in becoming members of the club to a cookout this Friday, Aug. 27 at noon in the Kreher Ag Center. They look forward to seeing all returning and potential new club members!