Iowa youth crop scouting competition offers career exploration

AMES — Youth teams can now register for the 2025 Youth Crop Scouting Competition, hosted by Iowa 4-H and the Iowa State University Integrated Pest Management program.

The event will be held July 24 at Wyffels Hybrids in Ames.

Middle and high school students in grades 7-12 can put their crop scouting skills to the test, competing against other youth teams across the state. The event brings awareness of IPM in Iowa and allow youth to learn IPM basics through hands-on learning and teamwork.

“Teams prepare in advance of the competition, working together to learn about pest identification, crop management and crop scouting,” said Maya Hayslett, crop science youth education specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and program coordinator for the Iowa Youth Crop Scouting Competition.

“The competition is then a chance for them to use their critical thinking and teamwork skills to assess field conditions and consider management options.”

Teams will rotate between different crop plots where they are evaluated on their knowledge and skills in crop scouting by answering questions and demonstrating field skills as asked by station judges.

Stations are run by ISU faculty and staff and agriculture industry professionals, allowing students to work next to and learn from experts.

“The competition is a chance for them to see several different career paths related to agronomy,” Hayslett said.

Potential topics include crop diseases, insects, disorders, weed identification, crop growth stages, cover crops, sprayer calibration and pesticide use.

After the competition, participants can visit the Iowa State University agronomy and agricultural and biosystems engineering departments to learn about their program offerings.

Based on points accrued from the field station evaluations, the top four teams are eligible to win cash prizes. The top two teams will advance to the regional competition to compete against teams from seven states in September.

ISU Extension and Outreach has resources, including a coach’s guide, study guide, field guides, publications and presentations to help each team prepare for the event.

For more information and resources, and to register, visit ipm.iastate.edu/crop-scouting-competition-iowa-youth.

A video recap from last year’s event is online.

The event is sponsored by the following Corteva Agriscience, Wyffels Hybrids, Iowa 4-H Foundation, Bayer, Syngenta, United Soybean Board, Iowa Independent Crop Consultants Association, Iowa Certified Crop Advisors, ISU Integrated Pest Management Program, Iowa Soybean Research Center and Environmental Tillage Systems.