youth crops programming – Views from VanDeWalle

Youth Learn Crop Scouting Skills

August 3, 2019August 1, 2019 Brandy VanDeWalle

group 0 On July 23, 2019, the sixth annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth was held in which seven teams from across Nebraska competed. It was held at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, Nebraska on July 23, 2019. Teams of students (those completing 5-12th grades) participated by completing a written knowledge test and seven crop scouting exercises in field plots.

The purpose of the competition was 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.

Results from the 2019 competition were as follows:

First place- Colfax County 4-H (R. J. Bayer, Jestin Bayer, Austin Steffensmeier, Logan Nelson, and Brad Kratochvil)

Second place – Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club #1 (Payton & Levi Schiller, Matthew Rolf, and Kaleb Hasenkamp)

Third place – Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club #2 (Landon Hasenkamp, Ethan Kreikmeier, James Rolf, and Ian Schiller)

Also participating was

Humphrey FFA with Bryce Classen, Jacob Brandl, and Mikayla Martensen

Twin River FFA with Keaton Zarek, Kyle Kemper, Jacob Czarnick, and Landon Cuba

Auburn FFA with Kellen Moody, Austin Youngquit, Braden Gerdes, and Riley Stukenholtz

Wayne FFA with Justus Greves, Noah Lutt, Tyler Reinhardt, Elle Barnes, and Alyssa Carlson

Top-scoring teams won prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place. The top two teams will represent Nebraska at the regional competition held in Iowa on August 26, 2019.

Teams were expected to know 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.

corn growth staging, maturity, development 2 — Kornhusker Kids team determine the corn growth during the program.

More information about the crop scouting competition are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth. Click on the link that says, “Crop Scouting Competition”.

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 2020 program, please contact me at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.

Crops, Programming, Youth

Youth Crop Scouting Competition

May 29, 2019May 24, 2019 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 6^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. Crop Scout Design (1)

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 23, 2019. 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 Iowa this year.

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: https://go.unl.edu/cropscoutingreg

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, Uncategorized, Youth

Youth Learn Crop Scouting Skills

July 27, 2018 Brandy VanDeWalle

At the end of the July I coordinated the fifth annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth in which four teams from across Nebraska competed. It was held in at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead, Nebraska on July 26, 2018. Teams of students (those completing 5-12th grades) participated by completing a written knowledge test and seven crop scouting exercises in field plots.

Results from the 2018 competition were as follows:

First place- Colfax County 4-H (Logan Nelson, Brad Kratochvil, Austin Steffensmeier & Korbin Kudera)

Second place – Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club of Cuming County (Payton & Levi Schiller, Matthew & James Rolf and Kaleb Hasenkamp)

Third place – Humphrey FFA Team #2 (Mikayla Martensen, Bryce Classen Jacob Brandl and Wyatt Wegener)

Also participating was Fillmore Central FFA with Carson & Brock Tatro, KayLynn Sieber, Kaylea Geiser and Gunner Gewecke.

Top-scoring teams won prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place. The top two teams will represent Nebraska at the regional competition held in Nebraska on August 27, 2018.

Teams were expected to know 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.

More information about the crop scouting competition are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth. Click on the link that says, “Crop Scouting Competition”.

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.

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!

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.

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

7th Annual Innovative Youth Corn Challenge

February 14, 2018February 2, 2018 Brandy VanDeWalle

iycc-cover Attention 4-H and FFA Youth! 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?

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers are in high demand and will continue to be in future years. To engage youth in crop science based education, the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge (IYCC) was created as a partnership between the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Extension. Since the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge program’s inception in 2012, 35 teams have participated in the program with 20 teams successfully harvesting and analyzing their plot data. A total of 105 youth have participated. This contest, open to 4-H members or FFA members, guides participants through all aspects of corn production, as well as agricultural careers related to corn production.

2017 participants attended the banquet in January to receive recognition for their hard work.

Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Corn Board are offering the seventh 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.

Cash prizes and plaques are given. First place receives $1,000, second place receives $500, and third place receives $250. Sustainability, crop scouting and “extra mile” awards are also given as cash awards.

To participate in 2018, 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 after January 1^st at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth/activities. For more information, contact Brandy VanDeWalle at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu.

Crops, Youth

Making One Agronomist at a Time

September 8, 2017 Brandy VanDeWalle

Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club of Cuming County and Colfax County 4-H represented Nebraska in the regional youth crop scouting competition on August 28, 2017.

In late August, seven Nebraska youth traveled to Indiana to participate in the 2^nd Annual Regional Youth Crop Scouting Competition held at Purdue University’s Beck Ag Center near West Lafayette, Indiana. These youths 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 3^rd and 6^th respectably. Between all three state competitions, 195 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. Next year’s regional competition will be hosted by Nebraska Extension.

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, globally there is an effort to encourage youth in agricultural positions. According to the U.N. International Labor Organization (a specialized agency of the United Nations), globally there will be about 74.2 million unemployed young people (ages 15-24) in 2017 which is an increase of 3.8 million since 2007. While it is troublesome that those graduating high school and/or college are unemployed, this could present an opportunity for those in the agricultural industry. If we can create programs which spark an interest in agriculture, there is potential to attract youth to the agricultural industry.

Getting over the stigma that agriculture is a back-breaking with little room for advancement, while in fact it is quite the opposite. As educators, we should be promoting agricultural careers as “intellectually stimulating and economically sustainable” according to foodtank.com. Programs designed to encourage young people into agriculture are in numerous countries across the world including the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in the U.S., a variety of USDA initiatives and programs like Farm Africa for youth in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda or the International Fund for Agricultural Development Rural Youth Talents Program in South America. If you know of a young person undecided in his/her career path or a youth who is passionate about agriculture, let them know of the bright future and opportunities available in agriculture.

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

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.

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, Youth

Youth Crop Scouting Results

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015 Brandy VanDeWalle

Nebraska Extension is pleased to announce eight teams from across Nebraska competed in the second annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth. It was held in at the ARDC near Mead, Nebraska on August 4, 2015. Teams of students (those completing 7-12^th grades) participated by completing a written knowledge test and eight crop scouting exercises in field plots.

Results from the 2015 competition were as follows:

First place- Colfax County 4-H

Second place – Humphrey FFA

Third place – Amherst FFA

Also participating were

Ashland-Greenwood FFA
Sumner/Eddyville/Miller FFA with two teams
Pawnee City FFA with two teams

Top-scoring teams won prizes: $500 for first, $300 for second, $100 for third place.

Teams were expected to know 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.

More information about the crop scouting competition are available online at cropwatch.unl.edu/youth. Click on the link that says, “Crop Scouting Competition”. Next year’s competition will be held August 2^nd, 2015 at UNL’s ARDC again.

This program was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer, the Nebraska Soybean Board, in collaboration with Nebraska Extension.

Crops, Youth

Innovative Youth Corn Challenge Banquet

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 Brandy VanDeWalle

Today’s agricultural world faces several challenges, one of them being the decline of our most valuable resource, the future workforce. Rural communities, including agricultural producers, can benefit from expanding youth into leadership opportunities, therefore mentoring youth leaders. With this in mind, the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge was born which involves 4-H or FFA members, challenging them to produce the most economical, highest yielding corn. The team with the highest percent yield increase over their local county average is eligible for cash awards to further their 4-H or FFA plant science or leadership based programs. Both irrigated and dryland fields are eligible and will be scored accordingly. In addition awards are given to the team who has completed excellent production and economic records and an innovation award.

The Innovative Corn Challenge is designed to encourage youth to pursue an agricultural career and return to rural Nebraska. This program is implemented through UNL Extension with financial assistance from the Nebraska Corn Board. Extension faculty, agriculture education instructors and crop consultants may serve as harvest supervisors and assist with data collection.

In 2012, the pilot year, ten teams signed up with six completing the project proposal and five completing the program. Each team received $50 for their efforts and a copy of the Hybrid Maize CD, which is a computer program that simulates the growth of a corn crop under non-limiting or water-limited (rainfed or irrigated) conditions based on daily weather data.

The participants and their sponsors are listed below:

Super Strong H’s from Osceola consisted of Rob Buhl and Bennett Nelson with Tim Pallas as their supervisor. This team focused on planting populations in dryland conditions with populations at 26K and 30K. Yields of 49.05 bushels/acre with 30K and 52.65 bushels with the 26K respectively. This team did well on explaining the importance of increased yield to feed our growing population and also explained the important role of drought tolerant hybrid technology.

Humphrey FFA members, Spencer Beller and Lynn Slama tested strip till with a starter and nitrogen in the furrow vs. a perplant application of starter and nitrogen 15” from the row. They exceled with crop scouting records and their rainfall report. Their challenge plot yield was 217.5 bushels. Their project sponsor was Robyn Graham, FFA Advisor.

The Wranglers 4-H Club from Platte County tested the use of a foliar fungicide to early-stage corn (V5) to help corn reach its yield potential by protecting the corn plant from early-season diseases. Their challenge plot using Headline was 250 bushels and without was 254.8 bushels. Detailed crop scouting reports were completed with production information and a very complete budget. Their sponsor was Alex Labenz.

Austin Tatro and Trevor Birky, members of the Strang 4-Bar-H club in Fillmore County tested planting populations. On irrigated

ground they tested 34K and 30K per acre compared to a check plot of 32K seeds per acre. Their economic analysis was complete and showed the difference in costs between treatments. Planting population at 30K yielded 223 bushels, while 34K yielded 216 bushels and their check was 226 bushels/acre. Project sponsor was Brandy VanDeWalle.

The Pioneers 4-H Club from Madison County consisted of Kaylyn Kucera, Sidney Kucera, and Andy Zessin. They tested a higher population (30 vs. 38K), increased nitrogen rate (200 vs. 250# N) and a biological growth enhancer. Their challenge plot yielded 249.1 bushels while their check yielded 237.5 bushels. In addition to great production records, they documented visual differences in their report. Regan Kucera was their sponsor.

AWARDS

The data completion award was awarded to the team who demonstrated excellent record-keeping. The 2012 Data completion award went to the Strang 4-Bar-H club from Fillmore County with Austin Tatro and Trevor Birky. They received $200 for their efforts.

The Innovation Award was given to the team with the most innovative challenge plot and thorough explanation why it was innovative. This team also received $200 and went to the Super Strong H’s 4-H Club of Polk County with Rob Buhl and Bennett Nelson.

The teams with the highest percent yield increase over their local county average were the winners of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place awards. The winning teams also completed their harvest report form and were presented to:

1^st Place Corn Challenge Team receiving $1,000 was the Wrangler’s 4-H Club from Platte County with Elizabeth Blaser & Reid Fullner.
2^nd Place Corn Challenge and receiving $500 was the Pioneers 4-H Club of Madison County with Sidney Kucera, Kaylyn Kucera, and Andy Zessin3^rd Place Corn Challenge with $250 was Humphrey FFA with Spencer Beller & Lynn Slama

Project coordinators were Brandy VanDeWalle and Aaron Nygren, UNL Extension Educators. The 2^nd Annual Innovative Youth Corn Challenge is planned for 2013 with the addition of another award. The limited resources award will be given to the team that achieved the highest yield per inch of water. Entry forms to participate in this program are due March 1^st. For more information, contact Brandy VanDeWalle at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu or (402)759-3712.