The kids have been extra busy lately preparing for the Morgan County Fair. From pigs to scones, they did it all! Enjoy these photos of the kids and their hogs at the fair!

In May, Luke graduated with his master's degree in crop science. His thesis, entitled "On-farm nutrient balances and nitrogen use efficiency in north central Illinois", was successfully defended and he is now in the process of publishing his papers. Luke plans to move back to the family farm and continue working for the University of Illinois.

Thane's chickens are laying eggs by the bushel! If you need farm-fresh eggs in the Franklin, IL area look no further! Thane's eggs are $3 per dozen.

Thane is not the first Bergschneider boy to be a poultry producer. Luke and Thad both raised and sold poultry for their FFA SAEs. In fact, Luke was the 2019 Illinois State FFA Poultry Production Award winner. Though the poultry may look a little different now these boys have birds in their blood!

 Earlier this spring Clark wrapped up his lambing season with a whopping 12 lambs from his 5 Katahdin x St. Croix ewes. Daphne and Velma (Clark's guardian dogs) made it through their first lambing season like professionals and are ready to handle many more. The lambs are growing like weeds and the sheep are ready to be put out to pasture. Clark plans to keep his ewe lambs and continue to grow his little herd. This means it's time to begin looking for a new ram. We are looking for a ram. If you or someone you know has a ram looking for new pasture shoot us an email or a message! 

Thad recently wrapped up his term as the 2023-24 Illinois State FFA President and we couldn't be more proud of him! This year was packed full of growth and new experiences for Thad and our family. You can watch his retiring address given at the 2024 Illinois State FFA Convention by clicking here.
 
In this address, Thad's advice to the Illinois FFA was to "love the people around you and hug your grandparents more often because the people in life are what we will remember." And we couldn't agree with him more! Thad will be attending the University of Illinois in the fall, following the footsteps of his father and oldest brother. Though he will be starting college, he's not prepared to be done with FFA just yet. Here are a few media highlights from Thad's term as president.

Here are a few media highlights from Thad's term as you 2023-24 Illinois State FFA President.
 
WRAM Officer Induction Radio Interview
https://977wmoi.com/2023/06/introducing-thaddeus-bergschneider-2023-24-illinois-state-ffa-president/
 
Journal Courier 20 Under 40
https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/journal-courier-s-20-40-thaddeus-thad-j-18550238.php

Farm Week Now article about FFA Week
https://www.farmweeknow.com/opinion/perspectives/its-ffa-week-let-the-fun-begin/article_3574fdd2-cb38-11ee-822a-1fa7f16b0922.html

Farm Progress FFA Tribute
https://www.farmprogress.com/ffa-chapter-tribute/ffa-tribute-thaddeus-bergschneider