Registration Open For UK High School Crop Scouting Competition

PRINCETON, KY.

   Registration is now open for the University of Kentucky’s 2021 High School Crop Scouting Competition.

   Organizers are planning an in-person event July 22 at the UK Research and Education Center in Princeton. However, they will follow COVID-19 protocols and host the event online if necessary.

   Participating teams should consist of four to six high school students and an adult leader. Agriculture educators, FFA leaders, 4-H adult volunteers, industry representatives and extension agents can field a team. The students will compete in hands-on, interactive field scouting exercises in corn, soybeans and tobacco. They will display their knowledge and decision-making abilities in basic agronomics, pest identification and big-picture crop production questions. All teams receive immediate feedback on their answers from UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment specialists and graduate students.

   “These competitions are a great opportunity for the state’s high school students to get hands-on experience in agriculture and practice their crop scouting skills,” said Kiersten Wise, UK extension plant pathologist and event organizer. “Through these events, young people gain knowledge about the challenges that farmers and the agriculture industry face each year.”

   The registration deadline is April 1, and registration is limited to the first nine teams. Once registered, teams will receive study materials to help them prepare for the competition.

   The top three teams will receive monetary prizes. First and second- place teams will be eligible to compete in the Regional Crop Scouting Competition later this year.

   Teams can register for the competition at https://forms.gle/MXagpu5vWSMKPKVs6 or by emailing Wise at kiersten.wise@uky.edu. ∆

 Kiersten Wise, UK extension plant pathologist, shows a team from Livingston Central an example of issues they

 might find in the adjoining soybean plot during the 2019 UK High School Crop Scouting Competition.

 Photo by Katie Pratt,UK agricultural communications