View from the Cab: A proud moment
By: Kent Casson
I’m going to warn you…there’s a proud dad moment coming.
We had the honor of seeing our son, Kasen, walk on stage during last week’s Illinois FFA State Convention in Springfield. His Prairie Central Junior High team was recognized as the middle school dairy products CDE winner.
Our daughters joined us for a fun day seeing Kasen on stage at the Bank of Springfield Center. It was impressive to see all of the awards and honors received by our own Prairie Central FFA chapter. The future of agriculture is bright! We look forward of many more years of seeing our kids in the blue jacket as this is only the beginning for us.
What an opening session it was at the 96th state FFA convention, complete with the National Anthem, invocation, light show, recognition of section presidents and major state officers, opening ceremonies and even a retiring address from the State Reporter, Cooper Nelson.
Awards were presented for dairy cattle evaluation, dairy cattle handlers, forestry, horse evaluation, land use, ag business management, ag mechanics, ag sales, agronomy, dairy cattle evaluation, dairy foods, Envirothon and horticulture to name a few.
Though we only stayed around for the first day, the following two days included highlights such as remarks from the Illinois Department of Agriculture director, recognition of top Foundation supporters and performances from the FFA band and chorus.
Many agricultural businesses were on hand to show the young people about possible careers in the industry. It was great to see agriculture spotlighted in such a positive way.
The website www.ilaged.org states ag education has a long and rich history in Illinois, although organized efforts to foster this type of education for all students didn’t start until the 1980s. The Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education was created in that decade thanks to a grassroots movement from the Illinois ag industry, which recognized that ag is central to the economic stability and welfare of Illinois and requires a continued source of qualified individuals for employment.
Illinois General Assembly members legislated in 1986 that a comprehensive program for ag education be created and maintained by the public school sytem for all school districts. This is when the Illinois Committee for Agricultural Education was formed. The very first line item for ag education within the State Board of Education budget was approved in 1987. This line item was increased from $48,500 originally to $1,000,000 in 1989. The current ag education funding level is at about $7,050,000.
Let’s hope ag education continues to be funded and the FFA supported here in Illinois. We need them.
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