The Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation has selected Arlys Cupp, a second-grade teacher at Chase County Schools in Imperial, as the 2020 Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. The Teacher of the Year is awarded to outstanding teachers who incorporate agriculture into their classroom through innovative ideas and lessons.

Cupp has been a teacher in southwestern Nebraska for 35 years. Throughout those years, she has continuously incorporated agriculture into her curriculum. Cupp uses a number of ways to connect learning and agriculture into core subject areas such as language arts, math, social studies and science.

Cupp uses Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom resources to help students learn and understand that agriculture is part of their everyday lives. Cupp also is involved with 4-H and FFA. She has been a 4-H leader for 26 years and has led projects in livestock, vet science, gardening, cooking, STEM and communications.

Cupp will receive an expense-paid trip to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as an accurate agriculture book bundle featuring 12 books and corresponding literature guides, and a $250 cash prize.

Pictured above are (from left) Mike Nelson, Chase County Farm Bureau president; Courtney Schaardt, director of outreach education at the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation; Arlys Cupp, Teacher of the Year, Chase County Schools; Rob Hartman, Chase County Farm Bureau board member; and Heidi Pieper, southwest regional manager at Nebraska Farm Bureau.

NCEA honors Jhala with excellence award

Amit Jhala, University of Nebraska–Lincoln associate professor of agronomy and horticulture and Nebraska Extension weed specialist, was honored with the Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association Award of Excellence Creative Individual Program for organizing herbicide-resistant weed management field days at the Nebraska Extension Fall Conference and NCEA Annual Conference.

This award recognizes a NCEA member who has demonstrated leadership in development and implementation of effective Extension programs with evidence of productivity, visibility and impact in Nebraska and beyond.

Jhala has been at Nebraska since 2012. His research focuses on the biology, pollen-mediated gene flow and management of herbicide-resistant weeds. He has developed an outstanding weed science Extension program that reaches several thousand clientele every year to solve weed-related problems in corn, soybeans, sorghum and popcorn in Nebraska.

Jhala provides cutting-edge information at Extension field days by demonstrating trials of new herbicides, multiple herbicide-resistant crops and how to manage herbicide-resistant weeds.

2020 corn and soybean ambassadors announced

This year, 11 University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, as part of the 2020 Corn and Soy Collegiate Ambassador Program, are getting the chance to learn more about the corn and soybean industries.

The goals of the program, launched by the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and Nebraska Soybean Association, are to educate students about state and federal policy issues affecting agriculture, and opportunities available to them from supporting organizations such as the Nebraska Corn Board, Nebraska Soybean Board and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

After completion of the program, students will be recognized at the annual meetings of the corn and soybean associations, and each will be presented a $500 scholarship to help with school expenses. Funding for portions of the program is being provided by the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Soybean Board.

The 11 members of the 2020 class are Jennifer Howsden of Alma, Taylor Nielsen of Lincoln, Tanner Nun of Geneva, Alexandria Humlicek of Linwood, Josh Bauer of Ravenna, Halie Andreasen of St. Edward, Nicole Hanson of Concord, Payton Flower of Scottsbluff, Emma Hoffschneider of Burwell, Brigita Rasmussen of Hudson, S.D., and Daniel Petersen of Nora.