View Presentation Application

The Special Agronomy Project (SAP), now in its fifth year, aims to engage youth who might otherwise lack access to agronomic crops or projects. At the Nebraska State Fair, this 4-H Agronomy project focused on sugar beets in 2024. A newsletter was distributed during the 2024 growing season to all 93 Nebraska County Extension Offices via email; offices print or email copies to the 4-H'ers participating in the program. In 2025, the program will be implemented in the same manner with 726 youth enrolled in this year's project. In 2024, 11 exhibits, including a video submission, were entered at the state fair, garnering positive feedback, with one participant’s mother noting, “This is a neat program, and I’d love for our whole club to do this next year.” I distributed nearly 700 seed packets to Nebraska 4-H and FFA youth. The project’s impact was substantial, with 38% of participants (n=16) reporting it was their first time taking an agronomy project to the fair, and 81% noting they learned a valuable skill for the future. Additionally, 92% expressed intent to enroll in SAP again the following year. SAP gained statewide recognition, making headlines in IANR news and being prominently featured in a booth by Western Sugar. This initiative not only increased youth engagement in agronomy but also sparked greater interest in sugar beet cultivation across Nebraska, raising awareness of the field’s relevance to the state’s agricultural community.