crop activities for youth – Views from VanDeWalle

Future Agronomists at Work

October 6, 2023 Brandy VanDeWalle

In 2013, I had the opportunity to observe a crop scouting competition conducted by Iowa State University and was fortunate to garner financial and organizational support to bring the program to Nebraska in 2014. Since that time, a group of states including Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Illinois have hosted contests and have been able to allow youth to experience crop production in other states.

The purpose of the competition is to provide students an opportunity to learn crop scouting and principles of integrated pest management (IPM) for corn and soybeans in Nebraska, to obtain knowledge and skills that will be helpful in future careers and to demonstrate newer crop scouting technologies.

On September 18, 2023, five states competed at the eighth annual Regional Youth Crop Scouting Competition at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead, Nebraska. Teams of youth participated by completing nine crop scouting exercises in field plots. This educational, hands-on program provided students an opportunity to learn crop scouting and principles of integrated pest management (IPM) for corn and soybeans, obtain knowledge and skills that will be helpful in future careers and to demonstrate newer crop scouting technologies.

The top two teams from Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana qualified for the competition. Extension faculty from Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois served as judges for the program and tested the teams’ knowledge on the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This included crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; disease, insect and weed identification; precision ag exercise; cover crops, etc.

Results from the 2023 competition were as follows:

First place — Iowa team Clayton County #1: Ben Gibson, Amelya Weigand, Keaton Klingman and Jacob Schilling.
Second place — Nebraska team Colfax County #2: Callen Jedlicka, Cody Jedlicka, Daphne Jedlicka and Justin Eisennman.
Third place — Indiana team Cascade FFA: Will Thompson, Zach Benter, Adryanah Hendershot, Ethan Tames and Evan Fishel.
Fourth place (tie) — Nebraska team Colfax County #1: Josh Eisenmann, Rylan Nelson and Hayden Bailey; and Iowa team Clayton County #2: Mindy Keehner, Henry Reimber, Cora Keehner and Carter Hillers

Also participating was the Indiana team of Heritage Hills FFA Chapter with Megan Steinmetz, Riley Steinmetz, Dani Beier, Trenten VanHorn and Owen Foertsch. From Illinois was Wesclin FFA with Camren Ferri, Michael Anderscavage, Lilly Biggs, Cole Friederich and Carson Richter, and Pontiac FFA with Jared Bressner, Brock Clement, Chancey Haas, Cole Rapp and Landen Wilson. Rice/Dakota County from Minnesota consisted of Nick Bayer, Molly Albers, Garrett Ostermann and Lucas Deplazes, and Sebeka FFA with Mindy Keehner, Henry Reimber, Cora Keehner and Carter Hillers.

More information about the crop scouting competition is available online at CropWatch. Click on the link “Crop Scouting Competition”.

This program was sponsored by the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association, Nebraska Soybean Board, Ward Laboratories and UNL’s Doctor of Plant Health Program in collaboration with Nebraska Extension. For more information about the program, please contact Brandy VanDeWalle, Nebraska Extension educator, at (402) 759-3712.

Crops, Programming, Youth

Future Agronomists at Work

September 7, 2018 Brandy VanDeWalle

Three states competed at the 3^rd Annual Regional Youth Crop Scouting Competition on August 27, 2018 at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, Nebraska. Teams of youth participated by completing six crop scouting exercises in field plots. This educational, hands-on program provided students an opportunity to learn crop scouting and principles of integrated pest management (IPM) for corn and soybeans, obtain knowledge and skills that will be helpful in future careers and to demonstrate newer crop scouting technologies.

Youth worked in teams of 4-5 to create a solution or answer to the crop scouting exercise.

The top two teams from Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana qualified for the competition. Extension faculty from Nebraska served as judges for the program and tested the teams’ knowledge on the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This included crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; disease, insect and weed seedling identification; etc.
Results from the 2018 competition were as follows:

First place- Nebraska Team, Colfax County 4-H (Logan Nelson, Brad Kratochvil, Austin Steffensmeier & Korbin Kudera)
Colfax County 4-H received top honors as the 2018 Regional Crop Scouting Competition Champion.
Second place – Indiana Team, Heritage Hills FFA (Sydney Hassfurther, Bryce Peter, Gabe Gogel, Alex Gehlhausen and Luke Rahman
Third place (Tie) – Nebraska Team of Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club of Cuming County (Payton & Levi Schiller, Matthew & James Rolf and Kaleb Hasenkamp) and Iowa Team from Clayton County (Team #1) consisting of Andre Shirbroun, Max Gibson, Matt Whittle, Cassidy Penrod and Cole Deitchier.

Also participating was Indiana Team, Eastern Hancock FFA with Jackson Beaudry, Ryan Kohlstrum, Loren Matlock, Zach Sickle and Brent Sorrell and Iowa Team from Clayton County (Team #2) which consisted of Mia Gibson, Jon Whittle, Tom Whittle, Laci Orr and Macy Weigand.

More information about the crop scouting competition are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth.

This program was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association and Farm Credit Services of America in collaboration with Nebraska Extension. If you know of a company or you would are interested in sponsoring the 2019 program, please contact me at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.

Crops, Programming, Youth

Connecting Youth with Crops

May 18, 2018 Brandy VanDeWalle

Looking for a fun project for 4-H or FFA youth? Want to unite your club members? Running out of ideas for youth projects? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, help is on the way! Nebraska Extension is pleased to present the 5^th annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth. Youth interested in crops have the opportunity to learn about crop growth & development and basic crop scouting principles.

Don’t know a lot about crops? Ask a local agronomist to assist by providing a short lesson on crop production. You can have the agronomist meet with youth a little during each meeting or outside of the meeting. This is one way to engage those youth interested in crops.

This contest will be held at the ARDC near Mead, Nebraska on July 26, 2018. The event will include both indoor and outdoor events. Teams of junior high and high school students (those completing 5-12^th grades) from across Nebraska are invited to participate. This event is limited to the first ten teams who sign-up!

Clubs or other organizations may enter a team composed of three to five participants. An adult team leader must accompany each team of students. Team leaders could be FFA advisors, crop consultants, extension staff, coop employees, etc.

Top-scoring teams win prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place. Top two teams will be eligible for regional competition in August at Nebraska.

Teams will be expected to know the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This includes crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; disease, insect and weed seedling identification; etc. Other topics many include but are not limited to, pesticide safety, nutrient disorders, and herbicide injury.

More information about the crop scouting competition and instructions on how to register a team are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth. Register at: go.unl.edu/cropscoutingregistration. For more questions, contact me at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu or (402) 759-3712.

Teams must be registered by July 18. This program is sponsored by Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association, DuPont Pioneer, Farm Credit Services of America and Nebraska Extension.

Crops, Programming, Youth

Youth Crop Scouting Competition

May 21, 2017May 19, 2017 Brandy VanDeWalle

One of the statewide programs I coordinate is the Youth Crop Scouting Competition which engages youth in the crop sciences. It provides youth with real-world scenarios in crop production as they diagnose plant diseases, crop disorders, identify insects and weeds and other challenges producers currently face.

Registration is now open for the 2017 Youth Crop Scouting Competition to be held this August in eastern Nebraska. The contest is open to FFA and 4-H club members and will help those interested in crops test their skills and those new to crops better understand crop production.

To prepare for the contest youth are encouraged to learn about crop growth and development and basic crop scouting principles. If a group doesn’t know a lot about crops, they’re encouraged to ask a local agronomist to assist by providing a short lesson on crop production at regular meetings or outside of the meeting.

The crop scouting contest will be held at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center (ENREC, formerly ARDC) near Mead on Aug. 1. The event will include both indoor and outdoor events. Teams of three to five junior high or high school students (those completing 7-12th grades) from across Nebraska are invited to participate.

FFA Chapters or 4-H Clubs may enter a team composed of three or four participants. An adult team leader must accompany each team of students. Team leaders could be FFA advisors, crop consultants, extension staff, coop employees, etc.

Top-scoring teams win prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place. The top two teams will be eligible for regional competition in August at Indiana.

Teams will be expected to know the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This includes crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; disease, insect and weed seedling identification; etc. Other topics may include but are not limited to pesticide safety, nutrient disorders, and herbicide injury.

More information about the crop scouting competition and instructions on how to register a team are available online in the Youth section of CropWatch under “Crop Scouting Competition” and in the contest flyer. The program is limited to 10 teams so be sure to register soon! Teams must be registered by July 20.

This program is sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association, and Nebraska Extension.

Crops, Uncategorized, Youth

Innovative Youth Corn Challenge

February 24, 2017 Brandy VanDeWalle

Attention 4-H and FFA members! Do you enjoy being outside? Learning new things about crops? Considering a career involving crops, insects, diseases, soils, water or more? Do you want to help figure out how to feed our world’s growing population in a sustainable way?

Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board are offering the sixth Innovative Youth Corn Challenge contest. This contest, open to 4-H members (age 10 & older as of Jan. 1st) or FFA members (in-school members), guides participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.

As a team (2 or more participants), youth will be challenged to implement a production practice different than normal to determine if they increased their yield. Economics and sustainability of the practice will also be considered. Yields, cropping history, and production information will be collected in the Corn Yield Challenge management summary.

Each year youth are surveyed and an overwhelming majority indicate an improvement in knowledge in the areas of: economic thresholds to treat pests, crop scouting procedures, financial record keeping, determining if practices on a field are profitable and how to evaluate new products/practices on a field. One youth stated, “I learned about how much time and hard work is needed to care for corn.” Several other youth enjoyed meeting new people (as a result of the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge). Another participant said, “I realize what I do today matters for tomorrow.” iycc-cover

Cash prizes and plaques will be given to the first, second, and third place teams. First place will receive $1,000, second place will receive $500, and third place will receive $250. Sustainability, crop scouting and “extra mile” awards will also be given, each worth $200. A webpage and FaceBook page are available with resources to help participants complete their project that can be found at cropwatch.unl.edu webpage under “related topics” titled “youth and youth activities”.

To participate in 2017, youth must complete an online entry form by March 15^th to the Fillmore County Extension Office in Geneva, NE. Hard copy forms can also be downloaded. For more information, contact me at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.

Crops, Uncategorized, Youth

Making One Agronomist at a Time

September 2, 2016 Brandy VanDeWalle

Last week, eight Nebraska youth traveled to Iowa to participate in the 1^st Annual Regional Youth Crop Scouting Competition held at Iowa State University’s Field Extension Education Location near Boone, IA. These youth scouted six fields for diseases, insects, abiotic/biotic disorders, weed identification and crop growth stage and development. Teams from Iowa and Indiana also competed. Nebraska teams ranked 4^th and 5^th respectably. Between all three state competitions, 111 youth competed from Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana. Top two teams from each state competed at the regional competition. Congrats to all of the youth who not only networked with agronomic professionals, but also gained the most by improving life skills related to a potential career path.

While this is one program, which impacts a very small percentage of youth, it is very important to start training the next generation of ag leaders to feed our growing population. In fact the USDA’ National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) believes so strongly in the future of agricultural career pathways, they are funding $3.1 million through a Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship Grants Program (NNF). This fellowship will aid in supporting the next generation of scientists and innovators who will be key to the future of our food and agricultural systems.

The NNF program is for graduate degree (masters and doctoral) programs and postgraduate training. The Nebraska Farmer website says it well, “the purpose of this program is to develop intellectual capital to ensure the preeminence of U.S. food and agricultural systems. This funding invests in experiential learning, including international experiences, for individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to NIFA’s mission.”

There are eight targeted expertise shortage areas in which applicants should target their projects which include: animal production; plant production; forest resources; agricultural educators and communicators; agricultural management and economics; food science, human nutrition and human sciences; sciences for agricultural biosecurity; veterinary sciences; food and agriculture data analytics and tools; and integrative biosciences for sustainable food and agricultural systems. Applications are due September 22, 2016. For more information go to the NIFA – NNF website.

While this program is for graduate and postgraduate degree programs, it all starts by sparking the interest in youth, one at a time with the goal of “making on agronomist at a time.”

For more information on how to engage youth in crops, visit our UNL CropWatch site at http://cropwatch.unl.edu/cropwatch-youth.

Crops, Programming, Uncategorized, Youth

Youth Crop Scouting Competition

July 1, 2016 Brandy VanDeWalle

Connecting Youth with Crops…

Looking for a fun club project? Want to unite your club members? Running out of ideas for club meetings? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, help is on the way! Nebraska Extension is pleased to present the 3^rd annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth. Youth interested in crops have the opportunity to learn about crop growth & development and basic crop scouting principles.

This contest will be held at the ARDC near Mead, Nebraska on August 2, 2016. The event will include both indoor and outdoor events. Teams of junior high and high school students (those completing 7-12^th grades) from across Nebraska are invited to participate.

Clubs or other organizations may enter a team composed of three or four participants. An adult team leader must accompany each team of students. Team leaders could be FFA advisors, crop consultants, extension staff, coop employees, etc.

Top-scoring teams win prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place.

More information about the crop scouting competition and instructions on how to register a team are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth. Top two teams will be eligible for regional competition in late August at Iowa.

Teams must be registered by July 18. Registration is $50/team; the fee will be refunded when the team attends the competition. Payment by check is due along with the registration form by July 18. This program is sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, the Nebraska Soybean Board, Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association and Nebraska Extension.

Crops, Uncategorized, Youth

Innovative Youth Corn Challenge Results

January 29, 2016 Brandy VanDeWalle

One of the statewide projects I coordinate engages youth in crop production so I decided to share the results of this program. Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board teamed up to offer the fourth Innovative Youth Corn Challenge contest. This contest, open to 4-H members or FFA members, guided participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production. IMG_4693 - Version 2.JPG

The 2015 winning team was Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club from Cuming County. The team with the highest percent yield increase over their local county average is the winner. In earning the $1,000 first-place award, Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club decided to test the effect of Procidic with two different application timings to see the effect against Goss’s Wilt and if there were additional plant health benefits. The three treatments were: control, Procidic applied in furrow at planting at 2 oz/ac and Procidic applied in furrow at planting followed by another 2 oz applied post prior to tasseling. Also, important to note is that this team had randomized and replicated plots which is important in figuring out the statistical significance. Their check yielded the highest at 226.7 bushels/acre with the challenge plots yielding 225.4 & 223.7 bushels/acre.

Second-place team overall was the Palmyra FFA Chapter, earning $500 for their efforts. Team members tested the impact of corn sweetener being applied to the corn plant between the V-6 and V-12 stage of development. They sprayed a foliar application of corn sweetener on the growing corn plant with the challenge plot yielding 214.2 bu/acre and check plot yielding 205.3 bu/acre.

Third place went to the Fillmore Central FFA Chapter. They tested nitrogen application rates and tried to push for a higher yield in order to reach the highest potential of their corn variety. They learned that 29.8 pounds of more nitrogen resulted in 14 more bushels per acre with 207.3 pounds of N on their challenge plot yielding 278.2 bu/acre and the check plot with 177 pounds of N yielding 264.2 bu/acre.

Other teams who completed their plots were:

Norfolk FFA did a two pass system, the first pass putting on 65 pounds of nitrogen and the second pass putting on 75 pounds of N and a nitrogen stabilizer to minimize nitrogen loss due to leaching in sandy soils. The main innovation testing was comparing early season fungicide application to no fungicide application. Their challenge plot yielded 191.5 bushel/acre and check at 183.3 bu/acre.

Osceola FFA tested nitrogen application with the check plot of 210 lbs of N at planting and the challenge plot of 210 lbs/acre in addition to 45 pounds of N applied at pre-tassel. Their check plot was 243.5 bushels/acre and challenge was 244.7 bu/acre.

The Stuart FFA Chapter’s goal was to improve the yield of corn by adding the AEGIS ESR plant growth stimulator. The product was applied to corn at V-6. They also measured the amount of water in the cornfield using watermark sensors. They determined that the growth stimulator did increase yield as anticipated, as the challenge plot with AEGIS yielded 5 bushels higher at 230 bu/acre compared to 225 for the check plot.

As a team, youth worked with an adult mentor throughout the process. Mentors can be extension faculty, ag teachers, or other qualified agronomy professionals. Other awards handed out during the banquet held on UNL’s East Campus included:

The Extra Mile Award, worth $200, went to the Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club.
The Innovation Award, worth $200, was presented to the Palmyra FFA Chapter.
The Sustainability Award went to both Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club and Fillmore Central FFA Chapter, which will split the $200 award.

The Sustainability award which uses Field to Market’s Field print Calculator was added this year, led by Randy Pryor, Extension Educator in Saline County. Field to Market, the alliance for sustainable agriculture has grown to 87 members. This group contains multiple fortune 500 companies involved in the nation’s food chain, national farm groups, conservation groups and Nebraska Extension is a new affiliate member. The diverse group is all about defining, measuring and advancing sustainability in the food sector from the farm field to the retail level. The current version of the Fieldprint Calculator is free to use, and these youth were the first 4-H and FFA students in Nebraska to ever use the Fieldprint Calculator for sustainability measures.

The metrics used were:

Land use efficiency
Soil conservation
Soil carbon
Irrigation Water Use Efficiency
Water Quality Index
Energy Use Efficiency
And Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

To participate in 2016, youth must complete and return an entry form by March 15^th to the Fillmore County Extension Office in Geneva, NE. Forms can be downloaded .

Programming, Youth

Big Red Crops Camp: Youth Discover Crop Science

March 31, 2015 Brandy VanDeWalle

Are you interested in science, agriculture, plants, crops, insects, or diseases? If so, join our team of detectives to solve crop-related problems in the Crop Science Investigation (CSI) Big Red Camp! Become a detective while participating in hands-on sessions to learn about and increase your knowledge of crops, science, and agricultural careers. Youth detectives will interact with agronomic professionals across Nebraska to solve experiments in: nutrient management; managing disease, insect and weed problems; water management; crop production, and much more! Do you have what it takes to become a CSI detective?

Youth in Crop Sciences Investigation (CSI) workshops learn about crop production and have the opportunity in investiage what pests might be present in the field. — Youth who attend Big Red Camp – Crop Science learn about crop production and have the opportunity in investigate what pests might be present in the field.

There are a variety of careers related to plant sciences such as: Agricultural Communicator; Agronomist; Crop Consultant; Crop Insurance Adjuster; Educator; Co-op Manager; Farmer or Rancher; Farm Credit Banker; Field or Lab Researcher; Plant Breeder; Soil or Water Conservationist; Seed, Fertilizer, or Chemical Sales; or Technical Representative.

This program was held two years and one participant said, “It (the camp) let me see all of what an agronomy career is made up of.” All youth said they would recommend this camp to their friends. As I write this, there are several spots already taken, so be sure and get your registration form in soon to ensure a spot at this year’s camp.

To register or download a camp brochure, visit BIGREDCAMPS.UNL.EDU. Final registration deadline of May 1^st! Scholarships are available for crops camp. If you have questions about the camp or the required essays, please feel free to contact me at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu or 402-759-3712.

Youth

Innovative Youth Corn Challenge

January 26, 2015January 23, 2015 Brandy VanDeWalle

Those who know me probably know how much I enjoy working with youth. I’ve taken a statewide leadership role in Nebraska Extension engaging youth in the crop sciences and one of the programs that has came to life is the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge. This has been a very rewarding effort seeing the excitement and pride of the youth who have completed their project and the appreciation from their parents for offering this program. Recently, we held the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge (IYCC) banquet to recognize teams for the accomplishments, which I’ve decided to share in this week’s article.

Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board teamed up to offer the third Innovative Youth Corn Challenge contest in 2014. This contest, open to 4-H members (age 10 & older as of Jan. 1st) or FFA members (in-school members), guided participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.

The 2014 winning team was from the Fillmore Central FFA chapter, consisting of Adam Hoarty, IMG_20140613_093836_936 Garrett Whitley, Tyler O’Conner, Logan Peppard and Aaron Poppert. The team with the highest percent yield increase over their local county average is the winner. In earning the $1,000 first-place award, Fillmore Central FFA tested corn-seeding rates on irrigated ground to determine the optimum rate. Their check plot of 32,000 seeds per acre yielded 253 bushels per acre, while their challenge plot, planted at 38,000, yielded 281 bushels per acre.

Second-place team overall was the Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club of Cuming County, earning $500 for their efforts. Team members tested two different sources of sulfur–gypsum (calcium sulfate) and ammonium sulfate. The check plot of 167 bushels per acre yielded the highest. The ammonium sulfate treatment produced 164 bushels per acre and gypsum 163 bushels per acre. The Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club included Kaleb Hasenkamp, Angela Rolf, Matthew Rolf, Levi Schiller and Payton Schiller.

Third-place team was the Eagle Hustlers 4-H Club in Holt County, which tested a product, called Pervaide, which was developed to reduce compaction. The challenge plot yielded 213 bushels per acre, while the check plot yielded 210 bushels per acre. The Eagle Hustlers 4-H Club consisted of Miles and Jace Stagemeyer of Page.

As a team, youth worked with an adult mentor throughout the process. Mentors can be extension faculty, ag teachers, or other qualified agronomy professionals. Other awards were handed out recently during the banquet in Lincoln:

The Data Completion Award, worth $200, went to the Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club.
The Innovation Award, worth $200, was presented to the Eagle Hustlers 4-H Club.
The Limited Resource Award went to both the Eagle Hustlers team and Fillmore Central FFA Chapter, which will split the $200 award.

To participate in 2015, youth must complete and return an entry form by March 15^th to the Fillmore County Extension Office in Geneva, NE. Cash prizes and plaques will be given to the first, second, and third place teams. First place will receive $1,000, second place will receive $500, and third place will receive $250. Sustainability, crop scouting and “extra mile” awards will also be given, each worth $200.

Forms can be downloaded at UNL’s CropWatch-Youth webpages. For more information, contact myself at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu, Aaron Nygren at anygren2@unl.edu or Amy Timmerman at atimmerman2@unl.edu.

Updates on the progress of the Corn Challenge can be found on FaceBook! Tweet about it using #IYCC!