FFA students gather information on the ag industry and careers

LINCOLN —FFA youth from around the Panhandle came together on Wednesday, Aug.

28, for the WESTCO-UNL FFA Field Day in Gering and at the Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff.

WESTCO started the FFA Field Day three years ago. This year, it grew to include the UNL Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff, but the field day has been growing in more ways than one. “It’s been a growing process. The first year was pretty small, we didn’t have as many chapters, and in year two, it just exploded,” said Cole Vejraska, WESTCO Agronomy Sales Manager. In the morning, half of the 250 students were at the Center.

“It’s our first time teaming up, and we have a whole bunch of activities here related to different Agrelated management, livestock systems, and water systems.

Just giving the kids a chance to do some hands-on activities here and learn about some of these systems,” said Troy White, UNL assistant professor of Practice Ag Leadership Education and Communication. The center had 11 activity stops where students could learn about plant diseases, 4-H robotics, entomology, range, weeds, and more. Many activity stops had hands-on demonstrations or were built around games. Most stations were indoors, but a few, including the Weed ID Walk led by Nevin Lawrence, Nebraska Extension integrated weed management specialist, were outdoors.

“They're learning,” said Bill Gifford, Banner County High School Ag Education instructor. “He (Lawrence) gave us some great tips on how to identify certain plants and some interesting facts about those certain plants too, so that was great.” The Weed ID Walk was one of the Banner County FFA student's first stop.

Gifford said their interests vary from plants to animals and technology, The FFA students at the Center rotated to the cornfield plots in the afternoon, east of Gering and the WESTCO sessions. The cornfield had farm equipment as part of some stations, where students learned about various careers in agriculture and what it takes to grow a crop.

“Our main goal is to have students learn and, at the same time, just expose them to the idea of careers in agriculture and various different aspects,” Vejraska said. “I think a lot of the (FFA) Chapters are here today. I did hear David (Briggs, CEO of WESTCO) talking about Bayard. This is the first time in three years that they've actually been able to be here due to scheduling and other things. So, they were really excited to be here.”

While the day was hot, with a temperature of 98 degrees, the FFA students stayed hydrated with water at the stations that dealt with healthy corn roots, sensors, and precision ag.

“We try to have all of our stations really focus on handson activities,” said Greta Birch, WESTCO Precision Ag Specialist. “The feed station where they have a cow with the cannula has been a big hit. And they really seem to enjoy hopping up in the big rigs and seeing the inside of them.”

The day also had some college recruiters for students interested in pursuing careers in agriculture.