Progress 07/01/10 to 06/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: Secondary students Agricultural instructors at secondary schools and community colleges Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 1. Iowa State University faculty and staff gain experience with Extension-related activities 2. Students attending the competition have training in crop scouting basics. 3. Students whose instructors are using the learning materials in the classroom. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Yes. Updates have been sent to sponsors, a press release announcing the winners was prepared and posted. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We developed three distinct outputs for this project. The first is a 14-part PowerPoint series on IPM topics. These include Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Scouting Fields, Corn Growth and Development, Soybean Growth and Development, Introduction to Plant Pathology, Introduction to Insects, Introduction to Weed Science, Introduction to Crop Injury, Managing Plant Diseases, Managing Insects, Managing Weeds, Pesticide Resistance, Human Health and Pesticides, and Environmental Degradation and Pesticides. Each of these presentations is complete with scripts for instructors to use for teaching. The second output is a computer-based learning module titled Scouting Fields. This module covers the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. These materials are now available on-line (http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/cropscouting and http://www.cai.iastate.edu/modules/module.aspx?modID=114) and on a compact disc. The third output for this project is that these materials (the presentations and Scouting Field Module) were packaged with several existing ISU Extension resources and delivered to over 230 high school and community college agricultural teachers. The ISU Extension material included the Corn Field Guide, Soybean Field Guide, Weed Identification Field Guide, Soybean Diseases publication, Corn Diseases publication, and Field Crop Insects. This material was also made available to 4H instructors. The final part of the project was to organize a crop scouting competition in 2011. This was accomplished as was a competition in 2012, 2013, and plans are in progress for a competition in 2014. Several agricultural instructors contacted the ISU IPM Program thanking them for the materials to teach IPM. Several of the thank you letters included requests for additional materials. A response from a community college adjunct professor is as follows: “Your material that you sent us is awesome. I teach the crop scouting class here at DMACC [Des Moines Area Community College] and your material is exactly what a person needs to teach this class effectively. This will be the third year that I have taught this class and I can see it be the most informative time that I have taught it, where all the materials are all in one place. Thanks again for the teaching material.” On August 19, 2011, the first Crop Scouting Competition was held at the ISU Extension Farm near Ames, Iowa. There were thirteen student participants composing three teams and an individual. Teams were to prepare a community service project and a scouting report before the competition. Competition events included a written test and 10 in-field exercises covering a variety of topics such as soybean and corn insects, crop staging, weed identification, soybean cyst nematode, sudden death syndrome and other soybean and corn diseases. Students rotated through the field stations and were judged on their combined abilities as a team by ISU Extension and Outreach faculty and staff and others. During the 2011 competition, a survey was conducted of team leaders. Out of the categories “Disagree,” “Somewhat Disagree,” Somewhat Agree,” and “Agree,” all respondents indicated “Agree” (the top score) to the following statements: “Preparing for the Crop Scouting Competition was a useful learning tool for students,” “The Crop Scouting Competition itself was a useful learning tool for students,” and “The Prepared Scouting Report was a useful learning tool for students.” Ten teams from across Iowa attended the competition on July 31, 2012. Approximately 35 students and 11 team leaders were present. This included a 100 percent return on team leaders from 2011, and was over 300 percent growth in number of teams from the first year. One hundred percent of team leader surveys agreed that “Preparing for the Crop Scouting Competition was a useful learning tool for students” and that “The Crop Scouting Competition itself was a useful learning tool for students.” Furthermore, team leaders had the following to say about the 2012 competition: “The class will be coming back. They loved it and I truly enjoyed the day. I was proud of the class I had and I told them I wanted them to get some experience and have fun…. Thanks for doing a great job.” and “About the competition: My husband and I can't say enough good things about it. We all had a wonderful and educational experience and can't thank you enough for putting it on. I believe we are all looking forward to next year... We were very proud of our 2 groups and told them so. They put in more than 30 hours over the summer from early May till the competition. They started not knowing a thing about crop scouting and finished the summer knowing what crop scouting is all about and a whole lot more. Thanks Again.” Eight high school student teams competed in the third annual Crop Scouting Competition conducted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach on August 1, 2013. Most competitors and instructors (90 percent of post-event survey respondents) agree that the competition was a useful learning tool for students. However, 100 percent of respondents said most of the learning takes place before the competition, when team leaders are training student teams to compete. As a result of this project, those making future management decisions for the two largest crops grown in Iowa, corn and soybean, may be better equipped to scout fields. Learning crop scouting information can result in an increase of its application among future corn and soybean farmers and agronomists. The result of applying crop scouting principles could mean a decrease in the amount of pesticide applications, saving time and money and preventing unnecessary applicator, non-target organism, and environmental pesticide exposure risk. We requested an extension of one year from the current date of expiration (currently June 30, 2013). A no-cost extension was requested because we want to expand the scouting competition into states outside of Iowa: Nebraska and Indiana. We wanted to bring in potential organizers of scouting competitions in these states, and if possible, teams from these states to compete alongside Iowa teams in the 2013 competition. We also wanted to pay salary and benefits to the 2013 competition planner. Additional competitions in other states will create venues for future farmers and agribusiness personnel to learn principles of crop scouting. We had representatives from both Nebraska and Indiana, but they did not bring teams, and they paid for their own travel. The portions of the project that we requested the extension for were completed August 1, 2013, excepting salary for planner. Educators from Nebraska and Indiana attended the competition, but did not bring teams. The competition planner has been drawing salary from the remaining funds as well. Planning for the 2014 competition in Iowa, to be held August 5th, is underway. The theme for this year is Crop Scouting Innovations. The competition will be a one day event with both indoor and outdoor components. Other sponsors include DuPont Pioneer, Iowa Soybean Association, and Iowa Independent Crop Consultants Association. A planning meeting for the 2014 competitions with individuals from Nebraska and Indiana was held on October 23rd. We are working with these educators to expand the competition into those states in 2014, having offered use of our materials and experience. A major goal for 2015 is to have a regional competition that state competition winners are invited to compete at.
Publications
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Progress 07/01/12 to 06/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Students, agricultural instructors, farmers, and agribusiness professionals all can use the Scouting Fields Learning Module and IPM PowerPoint series. Pre-collegiate students can use all of the IPM material (publications and curriculum) produced or made available through this project. Students and team leaders can use the contests, as well as preparing for the contests, as opportunities to learn. Changes/Problems: Major changes include cancelling the four regional contests in 2011 and, instead, inviting all registered teams to the state-wide competition and the addition of a second state-wide contest in 2012, held July 31st. The contest has turned into an annual event, with the 2013 competition occuring August 1. Another major change was an additional mailing to secondary educators with copies of the new "Field Crop Insects" publication and holding an informational meeting for agricultural educators and others who were interested in bringing a team to the 2012 competition. This informational meeting included discussion with team leaders from 2011 and important concepts to know for the 2012 competition. Rebudgeting was requested in 2013 because we would like to expand the scouting competition into states outside of Iowa: Nebraska and Indiana. We desired to bring in potential organizers of scouting competitions in these states, and if possible, teams from these states to compete alongside Iowa teams in the 2013 competition. The scope of work will change because we did not originally ask for funding to expand the competition into other states. Additional competitions in other states will create venues for future farmers and agribusiness personnel to learn principles of crop scouting. Basically, we would like to provide travel for one competition planner, one team leader, and four team members (six people total) from each state. However, this did not occur in 2013. We had representatives from both Nebraska and Indiana, but they did not bring teams, and they paid for their own travel. Although we will attempt in 2014 to expand the competition, we are not sure of funding sources at this time. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Outputs We developed three distinct outputs for this project. The first is a 14-part PowerPoint series on IPM topics. These include Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Scouting Fields, Corn Growth and Development, Soybean Growth and Development, Introduction to Plant Pathology, Introduction to Insects, Introduction to Weed Science, Introduction to Crop Injury, Managing Plant Diseases, Managing Insects, Managing Weeds, Pesticide Resistance, Human Health and Pesticides, and Environmental Degradation and Pesticides. Each of these presentations is complete with scripts for instructors to use for teaching. The second output is a computer-based learning module entitled "Scouting Fields." This module covers the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. These materials are now available on-line (http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/cropscouting and http://www.cai.iastate.edu/modules/module.aspx?modID=114) and on a compact disc. The third output for this project is that these materials (the presentations and Scouting Field Module) were packaged with several existing ISU Extension resources and delivered to over 230 high school and community college agricultural teachers. The ISU Extension material included fifteen copies each of the "Corn Field Guide," "Soybean Field Guide," "Weed Identification Field Guide," "Soybean Diseases" publication, "Corn Diseases" publication, and "Field Crop Insects." All of this material was also made available to 4H instructors as they requested it. The final part of the project was to organize a crop scouting competition. There have been scouting competitions in 2011 and 2012. Outcomes Agricultural instructors have 14 PowerPoints with scripts to learn and teach integrated pest management. Agricultural instructors have sets of printed materials (5 ISU Extension publications) to complement the IPM curriculum. Several agricultural instructors contacted the ISU IPM Program thanking them for the materials to teach IPM. Several of the thank you letters included requests for additional materials. A response from a community college adjunct professor is as follows: “Your material that you sent us is awesome. I teach the crop scouting class here at DMACC and your material is exactly what a person needs to teach this class effectively. This will be the third year that I have taught this class and I can see it be the most informative time that I have taught it, where all the materials are all in one place. Thanks again for the teaching material.” On August 19, 2011, the Crop Scouting Competition was held at the ISU Extension Farm near Ames, Iowa. During the first year, there were thirteen student participants composing three teams and an individual. Teams were to prepare a community service project and a scouting report before the competition. Projects varied in complexity and quality and utilized different mediums including video and presentations to peers. Competition events included a written test and 10 in-field exercises covering a variety of topics such as soybean and corn insects, crop staging, weed identification, soybean cyst nematode, sudden death syndrome and other soybean and corn diseases. Students rotated through the field stations and were judged on their combined abilities as a team by ISU Extension and Outreach faculty and staff and others. Adult team leaders attended a lecture on insect specimen saving. During the 2011 competition, a survey was conducted of team leaders. Out of the categories “Disagree,” “Somewhat Disagree,” Somewhat Agree,” and “Agree,” all respondents indicated “Agree” (the top score) to the following statements: “Preparing for the Crop Scouting Competition was a useful learning tool for students,” “The Crop Scouting Competition itself was a useful learning tool for students,” and “The Prepared Scouting Report was a useful learning tool for students.” Ten teams from across Iowa attended the competition on July 31, 2012. Approximately 35 students and 11 team leaders were present. This included a 100 percent return on team leaders from 2011, and was over 300 percent growth in number of teams from the first year. One hundred percent of team leader surveys agreed that “Preparing for the Crop Scouting Competition was a useful learning tool for students” and that “The Crop Scouting Competition itself was a useful learning tool for students.” Furthermore, team leaders had the following to say about the 2012 competition: “The class will be coming back. They loved it and I truly enjoyed the day. I was proud of the class I had and I told them I wanted them to get some experience and have fun…. Thanks for doing a great job.” and “About the competition: My husband and I can't say enough good things about it. We all had a wonderful and educational experience and can't thank you enough for putting it on. I believe we are all looking forward to next year... We were very proud of our 2 groups and told them so. They put in more than 30 hours over the summer from early May till the competition. They started not knowing a thing about crop scouting and finished the summer knowing what crop scouting is all about and a whole lot more. Thanks Again.” as well as “1st time here but it is great activity because of the hands on and real life question and problem. Like kids talking to judges. It is not a contest - it's an education opportunity. Need address of sponsors to send thank you’ s. Good teamwork for students” As a result of this project, those making future management decisions for the two largest crops grown in Iowa, corn and soybean, may be better equipped to scout fields. Learning crop scouting information can result in an increase of its application among future corn and soybean farmers and agronomists. The result of applying crop scouting principles could mean a decrease in the amount of pesticide applications, saving time and money and preventing unnecessary applicator, non-target organism, and environmental pesticide exposure risk. Instructors have requested we continue this program and Pioneer Hi-Bred and Iowa Soybean Association have committed to supporting it moving forward. The competition was again held in 2013 and is planned again in 2014.
Publications
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Progress 07/01/11 to 06/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We developed three distinct outputs for this project. The first is a 14-part PowerPoint series on IPM topics. The series includes: Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Scouting Fields, Corn Growth and Development, Soybean Growth and Development, Introduction to Plant Pathology, Introduction to Insects, Introduction to Weed Science, Introduction to Crop Injury, Managing Plant Diseases, Managing Insects, Managing Weeds, Pesticide Resistance, Human Health and Pesticides, and Environmental Degradation and Pesticides. Each of the presentations is complete with scripts for instructors to use for teaching. The second output is a computer-based learning module entitled "Scouting Fields." This module covers the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. These materials are now available on-line (http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/cropscouting and http://www.cai.iastate.edu/modules/module.aspxmodID=114) and on a compact disc for instructors to order. The third output for this project is that the materials (the presentations and Scouting Field Module) were packaged with several existing ISU Extension resources and delivered to over 230 high school and community college agricultural teachers. The ISU Extension material included fifteen copies each of the Corn Field Guide, Soybean Field Guide, Weed Identification Field Guide, Soybean Diseases publication, Corn Diseases publication, and Field Crop Insects. All of this material was also made available to 4H instructors as they requested it. The final part of the project was to organize a crop scouting competition. There have been scouting competitions in 2011 and 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Daren S. Mueller (Extension Program Specialist and IPM Coordinator) and Adam Sisson (IPM Extension Specialist) oversaw the project. Jay Staker (Extension 4H Specialist) and Alan Spencer (Iowa State FFA Director) assisted with organizing the scouting competitions. The ISU Crop Adviser Institute in the Department of Agronomy developed the Scouting Fields Learning Module. Josh Dunn (ISU Extension Farm Coordinator) set up plots and hosted the scouting competition. Iowa Soybean Association collaborated on the development of the Soybean Field Guide, Soybean Diseases publication, the Weed Identification Field Guide, and Field Crop Insects. They also provided additional funding for the Scouting Competitions. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. sponsored the printing of all six publications that were sent to instructors. Several faculty and staff, including Clarke McGrath, Lori Abendroth, Terry Basol, Bob Hartzler, Erin Hodgson, Alison Robertson, Kristine Schaefer, Laura Jesse, Mark Licht, Nate Bestor, Erika Saalua and Roger Elmore, assisted in the development of the presentations and accompanying scripts or helped judge at the scouting competitions. TARGET AUDIENCES: Students, agricultural instructors, farmers, and agribusiness professionals can all use the Scouting Fields Learning Module and IPM PowerPoint series. Pre-collegiate students can use all of the IPM material (publications and curriculum) produced or made available through this project. Students and team leaders can use the contests, as well as, preparing for the contests as opportunities to learn. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Major changes include cancelling the four regional contests in 2011 and instead inviting all registered teams to the statewide competition, as well as, the addition of a second statewide contest held on July 31, 2012. Another major change was an additional mailing to secondary educators with copies of the new Field Crop Insects publication and holding an informational meeting for agricultural educators and others who were interested in bringing a team to the 2012 competition. This informational meeting included discussion with team leaders from 2011 and important concepts to know for the 2012 competition. Instructors have requested we continue this program and Pioneer Hi-Bred and Iowa Soybean Association have committed to supporting it moving forward.
Impacts
Agricultural instructors have 14 PowerPoint's with scripts to learn and teach Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Agricultural instructors have sets of printed materials (5 ISU Extension publications) to complement the IPM curriculum. Several agricultural instructors contacted the ISU IPM Program thanking them for the materials to teach IPM and requesting additional materials. A response from a community college adjunct professor is as follows: "Your material that you sent us is awesome. I teach the crop scouting class here at DMACC and your material is exactly what a person needs to teach this class effectively. This will be the third year that I have taught this class and I can see it being the most informative time, where all the materials are all in one place. Thanks again for the teaching material." In August 2011, the Crop Scouting Competition was held at the ISU Extension Farm near Ames, Iowa. There were thirteen students composing three teams and an individual. Competition events included a prepared community service project, written test and 10 in-field exercises covering a variety of topics. Students rotated through the field stations and were judged on their combined abilities as a team by ISU Extension and Outreach faculty and staff. Thirty-five students (10 teams) from across Iowa attended the July 2012 competition. Eleven team leaders were present, including all the team leaders from 2011. All team leaders from both years "Agreed" (the top score) that "Preparing for the Crop Scouting Competition was a useful learning tool for students" and that "The Crop Scouting Competition itself was a useful learning tool for students." Furthermore, team leaders had the following to say about the competition: "The class will be coming back. They loved it and I truly enjoyed the day. I was proud of the class I had and I told them I wanted them to get some experience and have fun." And "My husband and I can't say enough good things about it. We all had a wonderful and educational experience and can't thank you enough for putting it on. I believe we are all looking forward to next year. We were very proud of our 2 groups and told them so. They put in more than 30 hours over the summer from early May till the competition. They started not knowing a thing about crop scouting and finished the summer knowing what crop scouting is all about and a whole lot more. Thanks Again." As well as "First time here but it is great activity because of the hands on and real life question and problem. Like kids talking to judges. It is not a contest - it's an education opportunity." As a result of this project, those making future management decisions for corn and soybean will be better equipped to scout fields. Also, at least two participating students have decided to pursue an agricultural degree. Learning crop scouting information can result in an increase of its application among future corn and soybean farmers and agronomists. The long term benefits of these activities will be realized when these students enter the agricultural workforce.
Publications
- Mueller, D., Sisson, A., McGrath, C., Abendroth, L., Robertson, A., Hodgson, E., Schaefer, K., and Elmore, R. 2011. Scouting Fields. Crop Adviser Institute, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University.
- Mueller, D., Sisson, A., and Klein, W. 2012. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/article/competition-gives-students-b asics-crop-scouting
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Progress 07/01/10 to 06/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We developed three distinct outputs for this project. The first is a 14-part PowerPoint series on IPM topics. The presentations include Introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Scouting Fields, Corn Growth and Development, Soybean Growth and Development, Introduction to Plant Pathology, Introduction to Insects, Introduction to Weed Science, Introduction to Crop Injury, Managing Plant Diseases, Managing Insects, Managing Weeds, Pesticide Resistance, Human Health and Pesticides, and Environmental Degradation and Pesticides. Each of these presentations is complete with scripts for instructors to use for teaching. The second output is a computer-based learning module titled "Scouting Fields." The module covers the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. The third output for this project is that these materials (the presentations and Scouting Field Module) were packaged with several existing Iowa State University (ISU) Extension resources and delivered to 240 high school and community college agricultural teachers. The ISU Extension material included fifteen copies each of the Corn Field Guide, Soybean Field Guide, Weed Identification Field Guide, Soybean Diseases publication, and Corn Diseases publication. All of this material was also made available to 4H instructors as they requested it. The final part of the project is to organize scouting competitions this summer. These are being organized and registration is currently open. PARTICIPANTS: Daren S. Mueller (Extension Program Specialist and IPM Coordinator) and Adam Sisson (IPM Extension Specialist) oversaw the project. Jay Staker (Extension 4H Specialist) and Alan Spencer (Iowa State FFA Director) assisted with organizing the scouting competitions. Tom Schultz (ISU Crop Adviser Institute, Department of Agronomy) developed the Scouting Fields Learning Module. ISU Research Farms, led by Mark Honeyman, are setting up and hosting the scouting competitions. Iowa Soybean Association collaborated on the development of the Soybean Field Guide, Soybean Diseases publication and the Weed Identification Field Guide. They are also involved with the Scouting Competitions and will reimburse participants for travel to these competitions. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. sponsored the printing of all five publications that were sent to instructors. Several faculty and staff, including Clarke McGrath, Lori Abendroth, Erin Hodgson, Alison Robertson, Kristine Schaefer, Laura Jesse, and Roger Elmore, assisted in the development of the presentations and accompanying scripts. TARGET AUDIENCES: Students, agricultural instructors, growers, and agribusiness professionals all can use the Scouting Fields Learning Module. Agricultural instructors can use the IPM PowerPoint series. Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4H participants can use all of the IPM material (publications and curriculum) produced or made available through this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Agricultural instructors have 14 PowerPoints with scripts to learn and teach integrated pest management. Agricultural instructors have sets of printed materials (five ISU Extension publications) to complement the IPM curriculum. Several agricultural instructors contacted the ISU IPM Program thanking them for the materials to teach IPM. Several of the thank you letters included requests for additional materials. A response from a community college adjunct professor is as follows: "Your material that you sent us is awesome. I teach the crop scouting class here at DMACC and your material is exactly what a person needs to teach this class effectively. This will be the third year that I have taught this class and I can see it be the most informative time that I have taught it, where all the materials are all in one place. Thanks again for the teaching material." An estimated 40 students have already signed up for the summer scouting competitions. Several agricultural organizations and companies have expressed interest in helping with the scouting competitions. These entities are especially interested in identifying youth interested in scouting corn and soybean.
Publications
- Mueller, D., Sisson, A., McGrath, C., Abendroth, L., Robertson, A., Hodgson, E., Schaefer, K., and Elmore, R. 2011. Scouting Fields. Crop Adviser Institute. Department of Agronomy. Iowa State University.
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