Most of Julie LeFevre’s seventh-grade agriculture students have had a taste of agriculture education when they get to her classroom. She sees her job as giving students a bigger bite to keep them at the table.

“My class is a sample of all the ag classes to get them excited and to want to continue with ag classes when they get to high school,” LeFevre said.

She has taught agriculture at Challand Middle School in Sterling since the program started in 2016. It originally started as an eighth grade class but scheduling conflicts moved the class to the seventh grade schedule. In 2026-27, Challand students will be able to take agriculture in seventh and eighth grade.

The majority of LeFevre’s students don’t come from farms or farming backgrounds. But they have already had some agriculture learning through the Whiteside County Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program, which brings agriculture education and educators into classrooms starting in kindergarten.

“They spark their interest and do a phenomenal job getting a little bit of interest going. They talk about fiber, food and fuel and how agriculture is part of every bit of our lives,” LeFevre said.

LeFevre takes that a step further.

“Once we find their own personal connection, they’re hooked,” she said.

Students who choose LeFevre’s agriculture class are automatically FFA members through a program by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which pays for any student in an agriculture class, starting in seventh grade, to receive free FFA membership.

LeFevre said participation in FFA, in activities, contests and Career Development Events, makes a difference in how students do in school as a whole.

“When they find something they enjoy and that they flourish with, when they have that moment that sparks to them, lots of little things fall in line. They become more organized as a student, they show enjoyment in school. Attendance improves because they want to get here for this. It spirals into other classes,” LeFevre said.

Students gain soft skills and practical knowledge through participation in FFA and in LeFevre’s agriculture class that they can use in the rest of their school careers and in life.

“I focus on English language arts,” LeFevre said. “We talk about how you have to be able to put a sentence together and use proper grammar and be able to speak and read and that all just builds off of each other. It makes them a better student and a better student leader. FFA opens opportunities for all students.”