Illinois deer farmers proved resilient and steadfast as we all came together for our Annual Meeting on February 21st, 2026 in Altamont, Illinois. Close to 100 people gathered to celebrate our unity as an association and to enjoy great catered food, games, raffles, prizes and a well-supported fundraiser. Our annual online auction, which happened the week before, brought in the most revenue ever, and we are very grateful for that.
As an association we feel our best days are yet to come, and we really appreciated guest speakers Shawn Schafer, Dr. Ray Favero and a representative from our association’s lobbyists group for their insightful presentations. While we keep a watchful eye on the latest news about CWD, here in Illinois we are more concerned about EHD as that seems to affect us in a much larger way.
However, the vibe and energy in Illinois remains positive, and we were excited to meet and welcome new deer farmers into our fold and wish them every success on their new adventure. We hope to make our event even bigger and better next year and add to those loyal companies and deer farms who set up booths to enhance business relationships and network with all of us. We also hope to have a lot more association meetings so stay tuned!! Thank you!
ILLINOIS