 Paul and Janie's son, Thad, is taking his passion for leadership and agriculture to the next level by running for National FFA Office! After an incredible year as the 2023-24 Illinois State FFA President, Thad wasn’t ready to step away from FFA quite yet. We couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishments and are excited to see what he will achieve as he strives to represent the organization at the national level! Though he has already been selected as Illinois' national officer candidate there is still a long road to go. The National FFA Officer selection process is rigorous, with now 37 candidates competing for just six spots. If elected, Thad would have the opportunity to dedicate a full year to inspiring FFA members, advisors, and staff across the US through workshops and motivational speeches. Though this would put his education at the University of Illinois on hold the opportunity would be well worth it! 2024-25 National Officer Candidates  During his time as Illinois State FFA President, Thad touched many lives with his advice to “love the people around you and hug your grandparents more often.” If you weren't able to attend last year's Illinois State FFA Convention to hear him speak you can watch the recording of his retiring address featured below. Thad couldn’t have prepared for this opportunity alone. He has received an enormous amount of support from former national officers and FFA members, friends, family, his local FFA chapter, the community, and many others. We cannot thank all of you enough for your commitment to helping him succeed!  Thad and family at the Illinois State FFA Convention. If you haven't had a chance to check out Thad's interview about running for national office with FarmWeek Now, you can check it out using the link below! In this interview Thad describes himself as "a total nerd when it comes to agriculture” and credits trying on his dad's old FFA jacket as a high school freshman to being the spark that lit his passion for this organization. The final selection will be held at the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indiana, where Thad and the other candidates will be evaluated for their character, knowledge, communication skills, and teamwork. We know that Thad’s passion and vision for agriculture will shine. Only 19 Illinois FFA members have ever served as National FFA Officers, and we would love to see Thad become number 20! Best of luck, Thad—we’re all rooting for you!
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Harvest is in full swing here at the farm, and we're off to a great start! Like many farm families, one of the kids' favorite activities this time of year is riding in the buddy seat of the combine as Grandpa Joe harvests corn. Harvest is an exciting time for everyone but Thane, Paul's youngest son, has been particularly eager to ride in the combine and practice driving the grain cart. Watching him learn the ropes has been one of many highlights of this year's harvest season! It’s also been great having Luke home to drive the grain cart when he's not busy with his new job working for Dr. Margenot. With Luke, Paul, and Joe all hard at work we have 3 generations of Bergschneider men harvesting this year! All in all watching the younger generation step up to the plate and carry on the legacy of the farm is one of the most beautiful parts of family farming operations. Especially when they bring their own flare back to the farm with them. Luke is very interested in soil health and regenerative agriculture practices, like cover cropping. This year, Luke planted a mix of triticale, turnips, and rapeseed after our corn silage was harvested. He is planning to use this as pasture for a small flock of hair sheep.   In other news, part of the new dryer has been delivered! We’re looking forward to having the grain dryer ready for the next harvest season to make things go even smoother. Whether you are out harvesting corn or enjoying a pumpkin patch with your family, we hope you enjoy this harvest season as much as we have so far! Happy harvest! 2024 Harvest Photo Gallery It feels like just yesterday Clark’s lambs were tiny little things learning to find their way around the farm. Now, they've grown into strong, healthy rams. Learning to keep sheep has been a learning experience for the whole family! Clark plans to keep the ewe lambs to continue to grow his small herd, but for the 7 ram lambs it's time to find new pastures. His sheep are Katahdin x St. Croix crosses, that have been raised entirely on pasture. Hot wire broke and accustomed to both dogs and people these rams could be the perfect fit for you! Daphne and Velma (the guard dogs) will miss them, but they'll be welcoming more friendly faces to the farm soon. Luke is working to purchase another group of hair sheep to graze the cover crops he planted this year. Clark has done an amazing job with this group and although it’s a bit sad to see them leave, we're proud to send them off! We're excited to watch our flock continue to grow and thrive. If you are interested in purchasing Clark's ram lambs or if you have a group of hair sheep that you think would be a good fit for Luke please reach out! You can reach Luke at [email protected].
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.  Luke and the Bergschneider family at his graduation 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, Paul, and Luke working together to help Thane clean his eggs. 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! Check out this link to watch a video of Luke talking about his poultry in 2019!
https://facebook.com/IllinoisFFA/videos/2019-poultry-production-luke-bergschneider/162780615160697/ 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 Our savior has risen and spring has sprung! It was great to be surrounded by our family to celebrate Easter on such a beautiful weekend. Things are beginning to green up here at the farm, and activities are starting to pick back up. Clark’s sheep are beginning to shed their winter coats and looking to lamb sometime in May. We are expecting 6+ lambs this spring. Daphne and Velma, the Anatolian Shepard x Great Pyrenees guard dog pups that came to call the farm home this fall, have grown a ton. In other news, Thane’s chickens are laying for the first time! If you are interested in buying eggs in the Franklin area reach out! He raised these hens from chicks he got last year. We have also been preparing equipment and resting up for the upcoming planting season. We hope you had as great a weekend celebrating Easter with your friends and family as we did! Luke and Thad both made the news this week! Thad authored an article for Farm Week ahead of National FFA Week and Luke was featured in an article on graduate student research for NREC. Illinois NREC is farmer funded and supports research on water quality and conservation practices across the state. The project Luke is involved with focuses on tile water quality monitoring on-farm. Luke is also wrapping up the second year of his master’s program at the University of Illinois, where he works in Dr. Andrew Margenot’s Soils Lab. Luke’s research focuses on nutrient use efficiency and soil nutrient stocks at on-farm sites mentioned earlier. After graduating in May he plans to continue working with the university and be around to help on the farm in the busy season.
Article links: https://www.farmweeknow.com/opinion/perspectives/its-ffa-week-let-the-fun-begin/article_3574fdd2-cb38-11ee-822a-1fa7f16b0922.html https://www.farmweeknow.com/general/student-research-takes-the-main-stage/article_ed7eeb18-cc3c-11ee-98e0-eb0b381a94af.html |
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