The sixth annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth was held in July at the Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center near Mead. Seven teams of students from across Nebraska (those completing fifth through 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 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:

Also participating were:

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

Teams at the Nebraska event were expected to know the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This included crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; and disease, insect and weed seedling identification.

For information about the crop scouting competition, visit cropwatch.unl.edu/youth and 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 are interested in sponsoring the 2020 program, email [email protected].

VanDeWalle is a Nebraska Extension educator.

Source: UNL CropWatch, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.