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