Jen Cunningham - Lincoln
A field trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch will entice second graders to become interested in science, exploration and agriculture. The students will study the life cycle of pumpkins, apples and bees.

Randy Lienemann - Franklin
The students will create concrete that could be used in bin sights or the foundation for agricultural buildings. The concrete will be stronger due to the rubber being added ... this will allow the concrete to have a stronger weight resistance and be able to last longer than ordinary concrete.

Randy Lienemann - Franklin
Students will determine which hybrid will produce the highest yield by using different hybrids of corn. The hybrids are NC+, Fontanelle, Pioneer and Dekalb. The students will determine which herbicide gives the best season-long control from weeds.

Julie Walling - Omaha
The project will involve a small group of students working together to research and present the effects of one type of dangerous weather on agriculture and the community. At the end of the research and presentations, the students will go to a farm and create a small version of their weather on the harvest remnants. They will talk to a farmer about the effects of weather on agriculture and the community.

Teresa Luers - Ashland
The students will make "Gingerbread" structures out of food products. The structures will relate to agriculture because the students will determine where each part of the structure came from (graham crackers - flour, frosting - powdered sugar, chocolate - cocoa beans, etc.). The agriculture message is that farmers provide us with many products, which can also be used to make "fun structures" and that students can "produce" something creative with many food products.

Jonathan Anderson - Murray
Proper food safety starts at the farm and extends to the dining room table. In order to prepare the students to understand this concept, the cropland site at Conestoga Public Schools must be improved and developed. A majority of the work done on the site in the past has been the generous donation of area producers. This shows students possible agricultural fields outside of production agriculture.

Sandy Dorn - Lincoln
For several years, students have enjoyed using the Learning Barn from the NE AITC. The literature books included are a valuable teaching tool for all ages. We have "weeded out" the materials in our media center this school year so it is an ideal time to "plant" new literature in the school's collection and it will be time "to harvest" a love for reading books that contain a strong gardening/agricultural message.

Lori Broady - Johnson
Students will interview farmers of various ages with a focus on how the technology, techniques and the economy of agriculture have changed over the past several generations. These interviews will be completed in pairs or small groups.

Mary Jo Overton - Indianola
First grade students study life cycles in science. One of the units centers on embryology of the chicken. This relates to agriculture in many ways: raising poultry, care and feeding of chicks, and the importance of egg production for consumers. Students will take a field trip to a nearby farm and will learn about the care that is given to chickens and the different types of poultry.

Cindy Simonsen - Halsey
Global positioning is becoming an important tool in precision agriculture or site-specific management. This project will increase the awareness of GPS agriculture applications and mapping skills. The project will include plotting range plants and soils in our unique Nebraska Sandhills ecosystem as well as basic operation of a GPS unit and map skills.