A 13-year partnership with the Nebraska Corn Board in the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge (IYCC), a youth on-farm research project has successfully engaged youth in agricultural, science-based learning. A long-term program evaluation shows that over 100 IYCC alumni have pursued agricultural or STEM careers, with nearly 300 youth participating. One Arlington FFA ag literacy video alone has nearly 1,000 views and six shares. 

Latest evaluation results show that:

• 100% of current IYCC participants enhanced their ability to 1) accurately identify pests, 2) understand crop scouting procedures, 3) set-up research plots, 4) determine profitability of practices and 5) evaluate new products/practices in the field.
• “I enjoyed having a project last for a long duration and seeing the end results.” — current participant
• “There have been numerous individuals that have gone into ag fields” as a result of this long-standing program, a former Innovative Youth Corn Challenge advisor said. “Two have went to farming, one ag retail and one agronomy.”

The winning team from the 2024 growing season was the Arlington FFA Chapter from Washington County consisting of Haydn Hegemann, Brock Lauristen, Luke Sharp, Wes Monke, Aaron Fuchs and Ethan Hilgenkamp, with Kali Agler as the team sponsor. The team decided to look at TerraMar, intended for foliar use in row crops to deliver increased nutrient uptake and enhanced stress mitigation, optimizing plant health and contributing to enhanced yield. 

They planted the plot with two populations of 25,000 plants/acre and 30,000 plants/acre. On their challenge plots, they tested an application of TerraMar and a foliar fertilizer applied at the V6 growth stage and a drone application of TerraMar at the VT growth stage. Yields were the following: 

• Check plots with 25,000 plants/acre yielded 178 bu/ac and 188 bu/acre at 30,000 plants/acre.
• Challenge plot with 25,000 plants/acre with foliar fertilizer and TerraMar at V6 yielded 188 bu/acre. 
• Challenge plot with 30,000 plants/acre with foliar fertilizer and TerraMar at V6 yielded 199 bu/acre. 
• Challenge plot with 25,000 plants/acre with a V6 foliar fertilizer and TerraMar application and VT application of TerraMar yielded 188 bu/acre. 
• Challenge plot with 30,000 plants/acre with a V6 foliar fertilizer and TerraMar application and VT application of TerraMar yielded 203 bu/acre. 

Considering all factors, the V6 application was the most efficient due in large part to the fact that application using a ground rig is less expensive than requiring a drone post-spray application. The team concluded that TerraMar did contribute to the plant health of the corn crop, reduce stress via lower canopy temperatures, and overall increased yields at both medium and higher planting rates, but due to the increased cost, not economically feasible at this time. 

The Ag Literacy Award and Extra Mile Award was also presented to the Arlington FFA Chapter. This program is for youth aged to 8-18 as of Jan. 1 in 2024. Prizes for participation in this project include first place — $1,000, second place — $500, third place — $250, “Extra Mile” award $250, Ag Literacy award $250, and $50 for completion of the project.  

In 2025, there is a new opportunity to increase involvement for youth with this program. There will be two pathways for youth to select. The first pathway will be the traditional, “innovative” pathway in which participants choose their own treatments and manage their plots on their own. The second pathway will be the business/industry pathway — this will include youth working with an industry representative to create a treatment and assist in the implementation of the plot protocol. 

This new and exciting twist to the Innovative Youth Corn Challenge program enables youth who might not otherwise have physical access to cropland or industry connections. When youth sign-up, they will select which pathway they intend to take. 

For more information about this program and to register in 2025, go to the CropWatch Corn Challenge site. Registration is due Tuesday, April 1. 

Contact Brandy VanDeWalle at (402) 759-3712 for details about the Youth Corn Challenge. This program is possible due to the generous support of the Nebraska Corn Board.