Eight Nebraska youths traveled to Iowa and participated in the first Regional Youth Crop Scouting Competition held at Iowa State University’s Field Extension Education Lab near Boone Aug. 31. They scouted six fields for diseases, insects, abiotic/biotic disorders, weed identification, and crop growth stage and development. Teams from Iowa and Indiana also competed.

FIELD EXPERIENCE: Members of the Humphrey FFA Team scout a soybean field at the Youth Crop Scouting Competition in August. From left are Justin Ternus, Beau Beller, Kendal Brandl and Michayla Goedeken.

Among all three state competitions, 111 had participated. The top two teams from each state competed at the regional competition. Nebraska teams ranked fourth and fifth. The Colfax County 4-H Team placed fourth and consisted of Logan Nelson, Joey Kratochvil, Brad Kratochvil and Korbin Kudera. In fifth place was the Humphrey FFA Team with Kendal Brandl, Beau Beller, Michayla Goedeken and Dustin Ternus.

Following the competition, participants and sponsors received tickets to attend the Farm Progress Show, which was being held in Boone at the time, and learned about the newest technologies and products available in agriculture.

Sponsors for this regional event included DuPont Pioneer, the Iowa Soybean Association On-Farm Network, Environmental Tillage Systems Inc., C8MP Ltd., Nebraska Extension, Purdue Extension and Iowa State University Extension. Locally, the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association sponsored teams to participate at regionals.

The participants not only networked with agronomic professionals, but also gained life skills related to a potential career path. Nebraska’s Youth Crop Scouting Competition is set for Aug. 1. Top team teams in 2017 will travel to Indiana for the regional competition.

For more information about the Nebraska Youth Crop Scouting Competition, contact Brandy VanDeWalle at [email protected] or 402-759-3712.

Source: University of Nebraska Extension