This course aims to increase understanding and knowledge of our food and fiber system, giving a starting point for students to explore pathways and occupations related to the agriculture industry, and gain hands-on experience learning basic agricultural practices. This curriculum, designed for eighth-graders, is intended to be student-led and inquiry-based.  Written by Emma Sunderman; Ice Cream in a Bag Lesson Plan by Caleb tenBensel; other activities developed and curated by Nebraska AFNR educators

In this activity, students will explore 12 different career development events through a station activity. The purpose of this activity is for students to explore different educational and personal growth opportunities within agricultural education / FFA.Students will have 5 minutes to complete 5 general knowledge questions and 5 questions as a part of a practicum activity. Contests included in this lesson include: Agriscience (2022 theme), Agronomy, Ag Sales, Ag Mech & Tech, Environmental & Natural Resources, Farm & Agribusiness Management, Floriculture, Food Science, Livestock Management, Meat Evaluation, Nursery Landsdape, Vet Science. 

Students will learn about different types of breeds within the American Kennel Club (AKC). They will determine breed and dog group differences between the major breed groups within the AKC standards. 

CropWatch is a central resource for University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension information on crop production and pest management. It is written by Extension Educators and Specialists and produced by IANR Media in the UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Information is organized into two key areas, each of which offers thousands of crop-specific articles for Nebraska producers and crop consultants:

The CropWatch newsletter, which includes timely articles published to the site's home page. New issues are published weekly during the heart of the crop production season and generally biweekly during the remainder of the year. Older articles are archived for later review.

CropWatch also includes:

- Calendar of ag events and programs
- Daily news and updates via Twitter at UNL_CropWatch (also displayed on the home page)
- Ag decision-aid tools and resources from UNL Extension
- Content tags at the end of individual stories to help you located related articles released since April 2016.
- Use the Search box in the top right of every page or the Archives to locate additional articles.
- Crop-specific production and pest management sections, with additional sites for whole farm and production systems. Use the top red-bar navigation to access specific crop, management and related topics.

This lesson plan helps students prepare for the agricultural industry and storytelling through photography. They will learn the basics of how to operate a camera, perfect the lighting, and line up the composition for the perfect photo.

This activity guides students through creating a full business plan through a seven-week competition to become the winner of a fictional Ag Econ Apprentice job. Adapted from activity by Megan Dohrman.

Students practice professional sales techniques, develop speaking skills with customers, then create an imaginary business to pitch products or services. This is an interactive activity where students will experience practical application of the skills. Written by Brian Miller, Falls City Schools, Nebraska

In this four-day lesson, students will learn the importance of aging whitetail deer, demonstrate the aging process, and complete a lab activity in which assesses their deer aging ability.

Students will write a daily response to an agriculture news story and make connections to thier community and predict the impact of the event on the agriculture industry.  Reading current agriculture news will help students be more informed consumers while also helping them to connect content learned in agriculture class to real-world events and applications. Written by Taryn Dameron.

Course provides students with the information and skills necessary for career success in agribusiness and in the operation of entrepreneurial ventures. Topics include economic principles, budgeting, risk management, finance, business law, insurance and resource management. Other possible topics are development of a business plan, employee/employer relations, problem solving and decision making, using computers. A survey of the careers within the agricultural industry is also incorporated. ** References to Common Core Standards are included as the first slide in each lesson's PowerPoint**

This course is designed to strengthen students' personal and group leadership skills. Topics such as public speaking, effective communication, human relations, parliamentary law, and group dynamics are covered. Also covered is the development of Programs of Activity, and Service-Learning projects, including student development, chapter development, and community development. ** References to Common Core Standards are included as the first slide in each lesson's PowerPoint**

Students learn about economic costs and benefits and cultural costs and benefits. By practicing cost-benefit analysis, students discover that decision making is a complex task.

These resources present an overview of FFA agriscience fair options and requirements, gives tips on recruitment for team members, timeline for project work, and templates for a written report and a poster. Written by Brandon Jacobitz.

One in four jobs in Nebraska are related to agriculture. With one of our main industries being agronomic crops, crop scouting is important to learn. This lesson will test the students' knowledge of all things pests and challenge them to identify the problem in a field. 

There are over one million species of insects in the world. Although we feel like we see millions of insects in one day in the summer, there are only 1,000 major insect species that are pests to crops. This lesson will teach students about the taxonomy of insects and have them investigate some of the biggest threats in our area.

This resource contains one lab activity plan and two lecture notes on three different agronomy related topics. 

In this place-based lesson, students will dissect an apple fruit to learn more about its different parts. Includes activity instructions, extension activities, songs and rhymes, anatomy of an apple student worksheet, and sink or float student worksheet.

NGSS: K-ESS3-1, 1-LS1-1

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: "Apples Grow on Trees" or other book about apples, knife, cutting board, at least three apples, apple parts tray, and apple dissection worksheet.

This lesson offers learners the opportunity to understand the importance of nutrition in the livestock industry and the differences between species in terms of anatomy, physiology, and nutrient requirements and/or deficiencies. This represents a portion of the Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) series in Nebraska middle and high school agricultural education.  

This lesson presents an overview of the role of genetics, breeding, and reproduction in animal agriculture. Learners will become familiar with fundamentals of genetics, complete a Punnett square, understand phenotypes and genotypes, identify parts of reproductive systems, and discuss breeding systems used in the animal industry. This represents a portion of the Introduction to Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) series in Nebraska middle and high school agricultural education.