A competition that prepares youth for life beyond the field.

For youth looking towards a career in agriculture, specifically within the agronomy sector, the Illinois Youth Crop Scouting Competition with University of Illinois Extension is a perfect stop along the way. The one-day contest gives teams of high school students from across the state the chance to test their agronomy knowledge live and in the field.

Scouting gives farmers a heads-up about what is happening in the field starting from crop growth stages to the presence of insects or weeds.

Understanding what is happening in today’s farm fields strengthens relationships with growers and provides the advantage of strategically making the best management decisions to maximize yield and profit. The competition is a platform for students to demonstrate their expertise, skills, and knowledge towards becoming future agriculture professionals.

About Youth Crop Scouting

The competition is open to high school students completing grades 9 to 12 in the spring of 2025. Official teams include two to five students, and an adult coach must lead all teams. Teams are encouraged to sign up prior to the end of the current school year, as space is limited to 10 total teams. 

All teams rotate through 10 outdoor stations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign South Farm fields to test their skills hands-on with topics such as identifying weeds, insects, and diseases, identifying the growth stages of corn and soybean plants, assessing abiotic disorders, pesticide application, and integrated pest management.

Teams are scored by judges, including University faculty, specialists, and Extension educators, and the top four teams will win cash sponsored by industry and university partners. The top two teams will also advance to compete against students in other states and represent Illinois at the regional competition.

A university professor conversing with students while standing in a soybean field.
Group of students working together to identify field weeds.
A group of students pose smiling in front of university signage with winning certificate.

2025 Competition Details

  • Aug. 4 | Register by July 3
  • All teams will be required to provide completed release forms, by physical or digital copies, turned in prior to the competition, or the team will not be allowed to participate.
  • Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Crop Sciences Research and Education Center, 4202 South 1st St., Champaign
  • Agenda: 8:00 a.m. Check-In | 8:30 a.m. Competition Begins | 1:30 p.m. Competition Ends
  • Lunch, beverages, and snacks will be provided
  • Cash prizes awarded to the four top-scoring teams: 1st $500, 2nd $300, 3rd $200, 4th $100
  • For questions or accommodation requests, please contact Meagan Diss, mcdiss@illinois.edu; 217-300-5386

Program Sponsors and Supporters

To help provide these prizes and giveaways for this year’s competition, the funding goal is $10,000, with suggested sponsorship levels of $500 to $1,000. If funds raised are more than $10,000, additional support will be provided to the top two teams to help defray the cost of travel and lodging for the regional competition.

Sponsors that give $500 or more will have the opportunity to provide a branded sign to be displayed at one of the 10 competition stations. Sponsors that give $1,000 or more can have their logo included on the competition T-shirts as well as a branded sign at one of the competition stations. All sponsors of $500 or more are also invited to send up to three representatives on the day of the competition to interact with the students and be recognized at the closing ceremony. The 2025 deadline for sponsorship is due by June 30. For questions, contact event coordinator Meagan Diss at mcdiss@illinois.edu.

Event Sponsors:

Sponsorship

 

Resources

Once registered, teams should work with their coach to study regularly leading up to the competition. Review the below materials to help prepare.

  • IPM Curriculum: Integrated pest management presentations are available in both PDF and PowerPoint formats and includes notes. Provided by Iowa State University.
  • Virtual Crop Scout School: The Virtual Crop Scout School consists of webinars from crop protection specialists at 11 Midwest universities and is offered through the Crop Protection Network. The series is free, registration is required to access.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to: identification and information about crop diseases, insects, weeds, abiotic disorders, herbicide injury, growth stages, parts of the plant, degree day computation, sprayer calibration, and sprayer issues. There will also be a test on crop scouting.