The Adair County FFA received first place in the State Crop Scouting Contest for the second year in a row.
Team members are Ethan Wooten, Addie Baker, Lane Kelsay, and Hudson Hancock. The team spent weeks preparing for the contest over the summer and then travelled to Princeton to participate in the contest.
The contest required students to illustrate a wide expanse of knowledge related to row crop production and agronomy. They worked as a team in order to determine the growth stages of corn and soybean crops, calculate populations and estimate yield in different fields, identify common agronomic disorders, connect soil characteristics with nutrient availability, perform calculations related to sprayer calibration, determine causes of problems within tobacco crops, and identify common pests and their management methods.
Kiersten Wise, Ph.D., a KATS advisor and professor of plant pathology with UKREC, said the contest is one of her favorite events because it introduces students to the many disciplines that support modern agriculture.
“The high school crop scouting competition is a great opportunity to introduce students to agriculture and teach them the skills they need to be part of the agricultural workforce,” Wise said. “They get to see areas such as pest management, plant diseases, insects and weeds—disciplines they may not encounter at the high school level—and understand how each one influences production agriculture.”
Wise said the hands-on format helps students demonstrate what they know while leaving with a broader understanding of agriculture and potential career paths.
“This is ultimately a learning experience,” Wise said. “We want students to come in and show what they know, but also leave having learned something new about agriculture.”
The Adair county team worked extremely hard to achieve such a high level of success and will be representing Kentucky at the national level in Illinois this fall. This success would not have been possible without the assistance of local farmers that allow the students to prepare for the contest in their corn, soybean, and tobacco crops. The students appreciate our local farmers and the agronomists at White Farms and Beck’s Superior Hybrids, who provided additional assistance.
The students will continue their work throughout this fall to prepare for the national contest.
“This contest is the most hands-on competitive event that we do, and I know the students are much better communicators, agronomists and leaders because of the experience they have had,” said Gabby Barnes.
The team is excited to have the opportunity to travel to Illinois and expand their knowledge of agronomy.
