After college, Marcus Maier got a full-time job, but he still had the notion of joining the Army in the back of his mind.

New Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers officers were installed at the group’s annual conference.

The Illinois Soybean Association has named Jennifer Jones and Megan Miller as agronomy managers.

Farm Credit Illinois named 29 high school seniors as agriculture scholarship recipients and awarded 50 community improvement grants to FFA chapters and 4-H clubs in central and southern Illinois.

The industrial hemp industry is still in its infancy in Illinois and a new venture is underway to create viable models for its success. Mississippi Fiberworks was developed last year at the Savanna Industrial Park, and Robert Davies detailed the new initiative at the recent Illinois Hemp Summit, hosted by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts is accepting applications for the George McKibben Memorial Scholarship.

Fasteners, composites, plastics and biofuel — all made with industrial hemp fiber — will come under the spotlight at Eastern Illinois University this year.