Are you interested in ag or science classes? If so, the Youth Field Day on April 21st may be for you! A variety of agricultural careers could include interests of any student. Students that enjoy shop or ag classes could enter fields in mechanical work, maintenance, irrigation system construction or well drilling, just to name a few. Are science and math classes more your style? You could go to college to learn to work in a laboratory conducting studies, consult on range management, work as a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, punch in numbers as an economist, develop new food products, scout crops, design new tractors, work as an entomologist in fields or on crime scenes, manage turf for golf courses, market or advertise for an ag company, and the list goes on and on.

At the Youth Field Day held at the Gudmundsen Ranch near Whitman, agricultural topics and majors are discussed to high school students. The Youth Field Day is set for Wednesday, April 21, 2010 starting at 9:00 am MT (10:00 am CT). Rotations go in-depth into topics relating to agriculture. Specialists allow students to collect samples from a fisculated cow, view microbes under microscopes from a rumen sample, ultrasound reproductive tracts of beef cattle, meadow management, ag economics, and much more. The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) at UNL and Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) at Curtis will talk about the variety of majors available for any high school student interested in ag and science. The importance of ag to the state of Nebraska and careers in agriculture are also discussed.

A number of high schools with strong ag and science programs have participated in the past. Any schools interested in participating in this day of hands-on activities, insight to college majors at UNL and NCTA, and careers in agriculture should contact the Central Sandhills Area Extension office at 1.800.657.2113 or 645.2267 for more information. To keep the quality of the Field Day, a maximum of 250 students will be allowed to participate. Registration for meal count is due April 14th. Parents or FFA alumni are also encouraged to bring youth to the Field Day. Local sponsors provide breakfast and lunch at the event. Don’t miss this educational experience!

“Metabolomic Applications to Biological Systems”, Vicki Schlegel, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology

“Navigating the Biomedical Frontier with the Help of Nature’s Finest Chemists,” will be presented by Dr. Robert Cichewicz, University of Oklahoma. A reception will be held at 3:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The UNL Soil and Water Resources Club as part of the City of Lincoln Earth Day -- Day of Conversation presents Dirt! The Movie, an insightful and timely film that tells the story of the glorious and unappreciated material beneath our feet. Admission is free.