Last week I shared about Nebraska Extension and some of my yearly impacts from 2024 and this week, I’ll share a few more. I am blessed to work with other talented Extension colleagues who create positive change every day. Some Extension impacts can be found online at https://extension.unl.edu/impact-nebraska/.
In 2024, I conducted the Nebraska Youth Crop Scouting Competition with 31 youth on 7 teams competing from 5 counties at ENREEC by Mead. Seven stations ranged from precision ag scouting to diseases, insects weed identification, etc. with judges from the Cropping Systems programming area. The Nebraska Soybean Board, Independent Crop Consultant Association, and UNL’s Doctor of Plant Health program sponsored this in-depth learning experience. 2024 survey results show that:
- 80% of youth learned about a new career option
- 93% of youth are more aware of degree opportunities at UNL & improved knowledge of accurately identifying pests as well as learning effective non-chemical control practices.
- 97% of youth have an improved knowledge of crop scouting procedures.
- “I learned how to use aerial imagery to better diagnose a field.” – Participant
As state co-superintendent of 4-H Agronomy, I led the Special Agronomy Project (SAP) which delivered nearly 700 seed packets to NE youth. Eleven sugar beet projects were exhibited at the state fair.
- 38% of participants who completed the evaluation said it was the first time they took an agronomy project to fair & 81% learned a skill that can be used in the future; 92% will enroll in the SAP next year.
- “This is a neat program, and I’d love for our whole club to do this next year.” – 4-H mom
- This project made headlines on IANR news and was featured in a statewide booth by Western Sugar.
STEM Education – The Department of Defense projects that 80% of jobs will require STEM skills in the next decade, underscoring the need to engage students and educators in impactful STEM experiences. In 2024, I taught 1,619 STEM lessons to youth across 11 counties and 42 adults from the U.S. and a U.S. territory, covering topics from electricity and robotics to soil science and pollinator education.
I forged a new partnership with Nebraska EPSCoR through my ROOTED in Ag project. This led to an opportunity to organize a session at the National EPSCoR Conference. Alongside project members from Alaska and Hawaii, we delivered a cutting-edge workshop showcasing our agricultural science virtual reality field trips—demonstrating the power of technology in education. I developed a VR Robotic Dairy field trip and captured 360-degree images of cropping systems throughout the year, as well as drone footage and still images, all of which will be integrated into our group’s website and project. These immersive, high-tech field trips are slated for full implementation in 2025, promising to create lasting impacts on STEM education. Impacts from 18 direct teaching hours, representing a total of 64,110 direct learner hours taught in STEM-based.
Leadership Education– Investing in youth leadership development is a vital skill that contributes to both the personal success of young people and the overall well-being of our society. I taught both the Leadership Summit and Purple Ribbon Kid programs to 105 youth from 9 classrooms in 3 counties.
- 100% of teachers who participated in the Purple Ribbon Kid program agreed/strongly agreed they have already witnessed positive behavior change in their students because of the lessons.
- Because of the program, one youth said, “I will be more open to other people and their perspectives.” The teacher reported that the class “looks forward to using this knowledge as they continue throughout their lives” and 100% of youth now feel they can create positive change in their community.
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