Illinois
Pesticide training available across Illinois
The University of Illinois Pesticide Safety Education Program will host private applicator training across the state. There are six different locations and dates; each costs $45 and requires online registration. Training courses typically last 2.5 to 3.5 hours and conclude with a test.
Young women in ag: Mark your calendar
The 2024 Women Changing the Face of Agriculture career exploration event will be held at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., on March 1. Online registration is open now and closes Feb. 16.
Organized by the Illinois Agri-Women, this year’s event will emphasize entrepreneurial careers, hands-on activities and career development.
Get your scholarship essays ready
‘Tis the season to apply for scholarships! The IIA Foundation has opened its application period for more than $192,000 in scholarships, all directed to agriculture students in the 2024-25 school year. The foundation will award 110 college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 and include:
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Promoting Careers in Agriculture Scholarship
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Robert E. Koeller Scholarship
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Allen and Ellen M. Blessman Scholarship
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Prairie Farms Dairy scholarships
Fellowships are also available to support students pursuing advanced degrees in fields that directly relate to agriculture. Scholarships are awarded based on involvement in extracurricular activities, community service, academic performance, leadership experiences and an essay. Previous winners of an IAA Foundation scholarship are eligible to apply again if the individual scholarship allows.
Online applications are due Feb. 15. For more information, contact your county Farm Bureau, call the IAA Foundation at 309-557-2232, or email Jennifer Smith at [email protected].
Time to get estate plans rolling
If you know you need to formulate a succession plan but you don’t know where to start, an upcoming workshop may be just what you need. Cheryl Mitchell is hosting a Farm Legacy Family Workshop, designed to help families start conversations — without trying to sell anyone anything. Mitchell is a former farm kid who works with farm families to help guide and facilitate conversations between generations.
“The purpose of the Farm Legacy Family Workshop is to provide a dedicated time and place for your family to work together toward the successful development of your farm legacy,” Mitchell says. “We will guide you in the process of identifying your challenges and facilitate finding solutions to these obstacles.”
Mitchell says it’s often the weight of the conversation that keeps families from taking the first steps in succession planning.
“I have recognized over and over again, they know the steps to take, but they aren’t taking them because most of the time they can’t get past the ‘soft conversations.’ That’s what I do and why I’m hosting the workshop,” Mitchell explains.
The three-hour workshops are open to any interested farm families from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with two different dates and locations:
Cost is $30 per person or $100 per family, payable at the door. To register, contact Mitchell at 217-369-0637 or [email protected].
Read about Illinois’ female horse jockey
“Jockey Queen” is a new book by author Roger Peach detailing the life and times of Lillian Jenkinson Holder, an early female horse-racing jockey in southern Illinois. Holder grew up on a dairy in Nebraska, and loved working with horses, ultimately racing thoroughbreds all across southern Illinois county fairs. The book details her life as she attempts to become a recognized, licensed female jockey.
“Jockey Queen: Lillian Jenkinson Holder, Horse Racing’s Fearless Lady” will be released Feb. 20, available nationally through popular booksellers, including Amazon.
Illinois
Thousands of birds could migrate over the Chicago area this week, and here’s how to protect them
Thousands upon thousands of birds are expected to cross over Illinois as part of their spring migrations in coming days.
Thursday night saw the highest migration totals of the season so far, but researchers at Cornell believe that Sunday and Monday nights could see even more avian traffic in the skies over the Chicago area, with hundreds of thousands of birds expected to traverse the area.
According to estimates from Birdcast, Sunday night and into Monday morning there could be “medium” activity for migrating birds, with thousands of birds per kilometer flying over the area.
Even more birds are expected to take flight Monday night and into Tuesday morning thanks to favorable weather conditions, with a “high” number of birds expected to take to the skies over the Chicago area.
According to estimates, up to 383 million birds could be in flight over the central United States during the peak of the migration overnight.
On Thursday night the Chicago area experienced its busiest night of the spring migration season so far, with more than 367,000 birds having been estimated to have passed over Cook County alone.
In all, more than 23,000,000 birds are believed to have crossed the state of Illinois so far during the spring migration.
Among the primary birds expected to be flying through the area are American Redstarts, Magnolia Warblers, Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings, according to researchers at the CornellLab.
As millions of birds continue visiting the Chicago area, here are some steps that residents can take to keep them safe.
When do birds typically migrate?
Peak migration for birds over the state of Illinois occurs in mid-to-late May, with hundreds of different species heading north for the summer breeding season.
Those migration flights for songbirds and other species typically take place in the overnight hours. According to experts, birds typically take flight 30-to-45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number of birds in flight typically seen approximately two-to-three hours later.
When should residents turn lights off?
One of the best ways to help protect birds is to turn off lights during peak migration times.
According to Birdcast, the best time to turn off or dim exterior lights and interior lights is between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., when most birds are active.
Bright lights can disorient and attract birds, making them vulnerable to collisions and to predators on the ground, according to the website.
Hundreds of millions of birds are killed each year in collisions with buildings, and residents and businesses are being asked to do their part to keep the creatures safe.
In addition to turning off unneeded exterior lights, residents and businesses are also asked to dim or turn off lights in lobbies, and to draw blinds to help keep light from escaping through windows.
Finally, exterior lights should be aimed downward and be well-shielded so that birds aren’t attracted to them.
Are there other steps?
Another key step in protecting birds is to bring pet cats inside during overnight hours.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds in the United States every year, and during migration season those impacts can be even more devastating, as exhausted birds typically seek refuge in plants and trees to rest on their journeys, making them vulnerable to attack.
Since cats like to hunt at night, active migrating birds can be a target, leading to experts asking residents to keep animals inside when possible.
Police are investigating after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash in suburban Oswego on Saturday afternoon.
Officers responded to the 4000 block of Route 34 near Wolf Road for the crash around 1:42 p.m. The motorcyclist was unconscious and was receiving CPR when officers arrived.
They took over medical care until paramedics arrived and took the victim, identified as a 20-year-old man, to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending an autopsy scheduled for Monday, police said.
Initial reports say the victim was traveling eastbound on Route 34 when he hit an enclosed trailer being towed by a van. According to the police, the van was also traveling eastbound and was attempting to make a right turn into a driveway when the crash occurred.
The driver and passenger in the van were not hurt, police said.
Route 34 was closed between Wolf Road and Boulder Hill Pass for four hours for crash reconstruction.
The crash remains under investigation pending completion of the traffic crash reconstruction report.
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