Left to right, front row – Sarah Starasta, Jaydon Miller, Stephen Starasta, and Blaine Hellman (Farm Credit Illinois representative); Back row – Leslie Starasta (Leader), Sarai Jackson, Ivy Sandel, David Morrow, Roux Starr, and Kristy Morrow

2019 Monarch Initiative earns Cloverdale 4-H Club a Farm Credit Illinois Grant

 

[May 17, 2019]  LINCOLN - Farm Credit Illinois recently awarded a community improvement grant in the amount of $500 to the Cloverdale 4-H club of Logan County.

Cloverdale 4-H Club will use the grant funds to plant milkweed at Lincoln College’s Creekside Outdoor Center for Environmental Education. Milkweed will attract the Eastern Monarch butterfly which is an important pollinator. Cloverdale 4-H members will participate in the National Monarch Watch by tagging Monarch butterflies before their migration to Mexico. Members will learn about the importance of pollinators to the environment and local agriculture. Members also will learn how to record research data in spreadsheets and track the migration pattern of the tagged butterflies.

The Cloverdale 4-H club was one of 50 4-H clubs and FFA chapters to receive a community improvement grant. In 2019, Farm Credit Illinois has awarded a total of $25,000 in grant funds to clubs and chapters making tangible contributions in their communities by implementing an improvement project.

About Cloverdale 4-H Club
Cloverdale 4-H Club has 16 members ranging from 8-18 years old. Members are enrolled in a wide variety of 4-H projects from animals to technology. Cloverdale 4-H Club meets on the first Thursday of each month from September to May.

For 2019, our club chose natural resources as our service initiative. Our service project committee for this year includes Roux Starr, David Morrow, and Stephen Starasta. To learn more about 4-H in Logan County, visit https://web. extension. illinois.edu/lms/logan4h/.

About Farm Credit Illinois
Farm Credit Illinois is a farmer owned and directed agricultural lending cooperative serving 11,000 farm families, agribusinesses, and rural landowners in the southern 60 counties of Illinois with competitive and flexible financing and crop insurance expertise. The Association manages a $4.34 billion loan portfolio, sells 1.2 million acres of crop insurance coverage, and employs 220 staff based in the Mahomet central office and 14 regional office locations. The U.S. Farm Credit System supports rural communities, farm families, and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services today and tomorrow.

[Leslie Starasta
Cloverdale 4-H Leader]