Nebraska Extension strives to recruit the next generation of agronomy professionals by annually conducting the Nebraska Youth Crop Scouting Competition. During the 2024 competition on Aug. 7, seven teams were able to interact with extension staff and scout field plots at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center. This competition is a great experience for those wanting to work in many different fields of agriculture. This competition provides a fun competitive environment where teams can receive hands on learning about all aspects of crop scouting.

Receiving first place and a cash prize of $500 was Colfax County 4-H Team #2, which consisted of Justin Eisenmann, Callen, Cody and Daphne Jedlicka, with Steve Nelson as their coach. Second place and receiving $250 was Johnson County 4-H, which included Wesley Schmid, Cameron Warner, Bryce Goracke, Bo McCoy, Sophia Schmid, Reese Badenschter, Levis Othmer, and coach Jon Schmid. Receiving third place was Colfax County 4-H Team #1, represented by Mic Sayers, Rylan Nelson, Hayden Bailey and Josh Eisennman, with coach Steve Nelson.

The very close fourth place team was the Kornhusker Kids 4-H Club from Cuming County, with Ian Schiller, Brayden Rolf, Eli Ritter, Nolan Hasenkamp and Isaac Wooldrik, coached by Chris Schiller. The other participating teams included Wayne FFA with Jamison Meyer, Madi Janke, Elijah Stecki, Lucas Allemann and Derek Heinemann, and Toni Rasmussen as their advisor; and two teams from the Arlington FFA Chapter, with Kali Agler as the sponsor — team #1 members included Aaron Fuchs, Wes Monke, and Ethan Hilgenkamp, and team #2 included Brock Lauritsen, Hayden Hegemann, Grant Monke, Logan Hilgenkamp and Luke Sharp.

A regional competition will be held among Nebraska, Iowa, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota teams, hosted by Minnesota Extension on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Participants from Colfax and Johnson County 4-H will represent Nebraska this year.

The 2024 Nebraska Youth Crop Scouting Competition was sponsored by the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association, the Nebraska Soybean Board and UNL’s Doctor of Plant Health program in collaboration with Nebraska Extension.

For more information on the Youth Crop Scouting Competition, contact Brandy VanDeWalle or go to the CropWatch youth activities page.