After a season of head-to-head decisions and real-world tradeoffs, Nebraska producers gathered Jan. 31, 2026, to celebrate the ninth year of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) program at the program’s annual awards banquet.
A night of interaction and celebration, the banquet recognized top achievers from the 2025 TAPS season, which included six farm management competitions held at three research locations across Nebraska:
- Irrigated Sprinkler Corn and Continuous Corn competitions at the West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte, Nebraska.
- Food Grade Corn competition sponsored by Bayer Crop Science at the Water Utilization Learning Center in Gothenburg, Nebraska.
- Irrigated Soybean and N-Source Corn and Irrigated Corn competitions at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead, Nebraska.
Participants made several input and management decisions during the growing season, which were implemented alongside those of their competitors in the same field. These decisions differed for each competition, but included factors such as crop insurance, hybrid/variety and seeding rate, nitrogen timing and amount, bioactive nutrition products, irrigation timing and amount, insecticide, fungicide, cover crop termination, micronutrient applications and, lastly, marketing of their crop.
Each competition featured unique award categories, including greatest grain yield, highest input use efficiency, and most profitable. Each award came with a cash prize of up to $1,500, plus a plaque, an oversized check and personalized TAPS apparel for first time winners.
WCREEC Irrigated Corn Winners
- Most Profitable: Sam McCord and Jeff Landon
- Highest Input Use Efficiency: Brandon Rimpley, Ron Robison, Brent Stroebel and Adrian Stroebel
- Greatest Grain Yield: Sam McCord and Jeff Landon.
WCREEC Continuous Corn Winners
- Most Profitable: Jamey Balthazor and Dan Fitts
- Highest Input Use Efficiency: Rattlesnake Boys – Kevin Harsch, Amy Harsch, Jeremy Gewecke and Jay Johnson
- Greatest Grain Yield: Lorn Dizmang
Food Grade Corn Winners
- Most Profitable: Matt Dalrymple
- Highest Input Use Efficiency: Matt Dalrymple
- Greatest Grain Yield: Matt Dalrymple
ENREEC Soybean Winners
- Most Profitable: Kenny Reinke
- Highest Input Use Efficiency: Kenny Reinke
- Greatest Grain Yield: Kenny Reinke
ENREEC Irrigated Corn Winners
- Most Profitable: Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment – Stefan Remund, Rachael Whitehair, Adele Phillips, Andy Pedley, Avery Dresser, Lori Arthur, Noah Hovorka, Jessica Russell, Daniel Ross, Katie Hickle, Sam Fleagle, Ryan Kelly
- Highest Input Use Efficiency: Lauren Benoit, Katie McFarlane, Gabrielle Croft
- Greatest Grain Yield: Dave Nelson, Josh Reed, Chad Guthrie, Justin Trompke, Lane Schoff, Cole Guthrie
ENREEC N-Source Corn Winners
- Most Profitable: Nitrogen Eraser: Curtis Scheele, Carrie Putnam, Pat Nott
- Highest Input Use Efficiency: Nitrogen Eraser: Curtis Scheele, Carrie Putnam, Pat Nott
- Greatest Grain Yield: Brandon Andrews
Matt Stockton, UNL professor and extension agricultural economist, was also recognized for his dedicated service in developing UNL TAPS and the virtual TAPS program.
The last recognition presented was the Outstanding TAPS Advocate, which honors an organization, person or business that goes above and beyond in supporting the UNL TAPS program. This year, the recipient was the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. Since the inception of the TAPS program, NRCS has not only provided financial support but has also been instrumental in advancing the program’s mission.
The full 2025 TAPS competition report can be found in the TAPS Media Library.
Created in 2017 by University of Nebraska Extension educators and faculty, the TAPS program connects producers with university and industry professionals, providing a low-risk environment to test farm management strategies, technologies and marketing decisions.
TAPS would like to express its gratitude to the generous sponsors, dedicated supporters and passionate participants whose contributions have been instrumental in driving the continued success and growth of the program.
Anticipation is already growing for the 2026 TAPS competitions, as plans are underway for another exciting year of innovation and collaboration. If you're ready to get involved or learn more about this innovative program, don’t hesitate to reach out to the UNL TAPS team or check out our website.
