Nebraska Extension is pleased to present the ninth annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth, as a potential fun club project, a way to unite club or chapter members, or as an idea for educational opportunities at meetings.

Youth interested in crops can learn about crop growth and development and basic crop scouting principles. 

Still learning

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 youth interested in crops.

The contest will be Aug. 3 at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead. The event will include both indoor and outdoor events. Teams of junior high and high school students (those completing fifth through 12th grades) from across Nebraska are invited to participate. This event is limited to the first 10 teams that sign up. 

Clubs or other organizations may enter a team comprised 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, co-op employees or others. 

Top-scoring teams win prizes, including $500 for first, $250 for second and $100 for third place. The top two teams will be eligible for a regional competition held virtually 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; and more. Other topics include pesticide safety, nutrient disorders and herbicide injury. 

More information about the Crop Scouting Competition and instructions on how to register a team are available at cropwatch.unl.edu. Teams must be registered by July 15. This program is sponsored by Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association, Ward Laboratories and Nebraska Extension.

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