BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Susan Moore knows firsthand how much fun vanity license plates can be, and she also knows firsthand how much value they hold.

Moore, the foundation director for the Illinois Farm Bureau, had the vanity plate 2TWIRL on her vehicle in high school. It fit well because she was a majorette for her high school’s marching band in Knox County.

Today, the vehicle she drives sports a different specialty plate, one that helps raise money to help teach children about the value of agriculture in the United States. The agriculture specialty license plates have been sold to vehicle owners since 2007, and so far about 2,800 AG plates are affixed to cars on Illinois roads.

“We really didn’t see the sales pick up until the past couple of years,” Moore said. “And now, with that many already sold, we have a steady stream of income to support the Agriculture in the Classroom (IAITC) program.”

Annual renewal for regular license plates in Illinois is $101. The one-time fee to obtain the ag specialty plate without any customization is $40. To renew the plate each year, the fee is $101 plus $27; of that $27, $25 goes to the IAITC program and $2 covers administrative costs.

To obtain a customized ag plate, also called a vanity plate, vehicle owners pay the same fees of $101 and $27, plus they are required to pay a vanity fee of $94. That fee applies to any vanity plate in Illinois, whether it is about agriculture or any other kind of plate offered by the secretary of state’s office.

Vanity plates can include just about any numbers or letters the owner wishes – assuming the phrase is still available. (And, yes, AG LADY is already taken, according to Moore.)

“It comes down to a point of pride for a lot of our farmers. People want to support the industry, and this is an excellent way to do it. After all, ag is our bread and butter in this state,” Moore said.

The IAITC program has an annual budget now of about $700,000, with more than 10 percent covered each year by the license plate program. Since it started, ag plates have raised about $240,000 for IAITC, and with 2,800 plates on the roads, the renewal fees alone will bring in $70,000 annually.

Coupled with private donations and contributions, the funds are used to support 63 ag literature coordinators throughout the state who help teachers fashion learning plans that incorporate elements of the agriculture industry. The program also has a network of 3,000 volunteers, Moore said.