A year-long experience designed for Illinois farmers and agriculturalists who are eager to become more active sharing their perspective and engaging on social media to promote Illinois agriculture.
Our 2027 Creator Cultivation Series cohort will begin in January 2027 and continue through November 2027. This year-long experience is designed to train farmers and agriculturists how to be a voice for agriculture online and beyond, specifically on social media. This series is designed for anyone eager to become more active sharing their perspective and engaging on social media. These individuals should already be familiar with navigating popular social media platforms and have established profiles on at least one platform.
This series is open to any Illinois Farm Bureau member (farmer or non-farmer), 18 years of age or older, who is passionate about engaging with non-agriculture audiences to share about Illinois agriculture and modern farming practices. The goal of the Creator Cultivation Series is to prepare you to be an expert voice online so that you can build trust in Illinois farmers and their farming practices. You do not have to be a farmer to participate, but you do have to be a current Farm Bureau member with a knowledge of Illinois agriculture and/or modern farming practices. We are excited to create a space full of diverse ideas, backgrounds, and interests.
Throughout the course of this series, you will meet five times in-person and twice virtually with the same cohort to hear from expert guest speakers about a variety of topics, network together, and brainstorm ideas for your own pages and content. On months we do not meet in person you will receive tasks to complete on your own. The goal of this take-home work is that you will begin to build your own social media pages and by the end of the year, have an established following and rhythm of posting. It is not expected that you are already active on a social media page prior to joining the cohort. We will help you build it along the way!
The Creator Cultivation Series is just that – a series. Each session will build on previous sessions and give you new tools to create content. It is important to attend each session and commit to engaging with your cohort in between sessions.
Before you apply, be sure you can commit to the following meeting dates. In person meetings will start at 9am and end at 4pm. Virtual meetings will take place over the lunch hour from 12pm – 1pm.
| In Person / Virtual | Date | Location |
| In Person | Friday, January 22nd, 2027 | Bloomington |
| In Person | Friday, February 26th, 2027 | Champaign |
| Virtual | Friday, April 9th, 2027 | Zoom Call |
| In Person | Friday, June 18th, 2027 | TBD |
| In Person | Friday, August 13th, 2027 | Springfield (IL State Fair) |
| Virtual | Friday, September 10th, 2027 | Zoom Call |
| In Person | Friday, November 12th, 2027 | Bloomington |
*locations and dates are subject to change
Applications will be open through December 31st, 2026. We will review applications and accept participants on a rolling basis.
Questions? Please reach out to Gracie Pierson or Jacey Yahne. They will be happy to talk with you more about the Creator Cultivation Series.
Engage 