The Haskell Ag Lab (HAL) welcomed nearly 200 students from 19 schools to its Career Development Event (CDE) Invitational on September 9, launching an expanded slate of programming for the 2026-2027 school year. The expansion includes additional contests and more dates throughout the year.
Blue skies and warm temperatures greeted participants in the Forestry and Floriculture CDEs. Forestry, which debuted in spring 2026, was used by two FFA districts as their district qualifying event. Contests were designed to emulate state-level competition at the Nebraska State FFA Convention in April.
Over more than two hours, students gained hands-on experience and explored careers in plant and natural resource fields. Contest components included specimen identification, problem solving, and a written exam, along with a team event built around real-world scenarios that required creativity, calculations, and cooperation.
The Floriculture contest was sponsored by Noecker Acres of Hartington and Hy-Vee of Norfolk. HAL also thanked the volunteers from the LCC Schools, Wayne County Extension, local supporters, and the HAL crew whose efforts made the event possible.
Additionally, many thanks go to those who volunteered for the event, as events such as this wouldn’t be possible without the efforts and support of many volunteers from the LCC Schools, Wayne County Extension, local supporters, and the dedicated crew at HAL.
Individual and Team results for the 2026 HAL CDE Invitational are as follows:
Floriculture Champion Team CDE sponsored by Noecker Acres
- Team Champion: Pender 1
- Team Members: Amaryn B., Adyson E., Sadie R., Kelly R.
Floriculture Champion Individual CDE sponsored by HyVee West (Norfolk)
- Individual Champion: Adrianna M. (Winside)
Forestry CDE
- Team Champion: Pierce 1
- Team Members: Jessa K., Brandon T., Cole D., Evelyn S.
- Individual Champion: Javier B. (Omaha Bryan)
Currently, plans are underway for the 2026 HAL Winter CDE Invitational (Food Science and Vet Science) If you or your business would be interested in sponsoring a contest or learning more about supporting this activity, reach out to Monty Larsen at monty.larsen@unl.edu or Agnes Kurtzhals at akurtzhals2@unl.edu.
