The Haskell Ag Lab is committed to supporting the development of teachers and students through various initiatives. This support includes providing opportunities for career development, fostering classroom curriculum connections, and promoting agriculture education. Through its partnership with the Northeast Nebraska Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Compact, Nebraska FFA chapters, and schools, Haskell has been able to reach over 1400 students between August 2024 and April 2025, both in-person and via recorded video, demonstrating the significant impact of these efforts. Learn more about the different opportunities for students and teachers below!
Ag Careers Day
The Haskell Ag Lab has hosted four different career days since 2022 for high school students. Students have had the opportunity to learn about three career areas of their choosing from several ag sectors: Agribusiness, Ag Communications, Ag Equipment, Ag Education & Extension, Ag Tourism, Animal Science, Crop Production, Forestry, Food Science, Horticulture & Floriculture, Soils & Nutrients
Beyond learning these topics, students also visited higher education institution representatives to learn about the agricultural programs they offer: College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UNL, Little Priest Indian College, Morningside College, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, Nebraska Indian Community College, Northeast Community College, South Dakota State University, and Wayne State College.
Classroom Curriculum Connections
The Haskell Ag Lab's educational events are emerging as a crucial bridge between classroom learning and real-world applications. Initiated in 2024, in part because of HAL’s commitment to being a partner in the Northeast Nebraska Education Compact, this effort provides valuable classroom curriculum connections. These classroom curriculum connections effectively strengthen students' understanding of STEM principles by demonstrating their relevance and application to real-world challenges in agriculture and environmental science.
The first classroom field trips were initiated by a high school science teacher, Meaghan Vollers, who wanted her sophomore biology and freshman physical science classes to have some hands-on experiences and create connections with curriculum outside the classroom. Both experiences were a big hit, and it was decided to create an opportunity for other schools to participate. These field trips are generally initiated by teachers and planned with the help of teachers. If you would like to see a topic or day for your class, contact us!
- Biology Day
- In 2024, the first Biology Day was a three-hour field trip that reinforced ecosystem topics they learned in the classroom (see attached). The class was split into groups and rotated through stations to learn about soils, the Northeast Arboretum, trees in the ecosystem, and pollinators.
- 1 school attended - Approximately 35 students attended
- The second event was in March 2025. With the help of Meaghan Vollers, we were able to add school standards that would help show schools what topics would be discussed and how it would connect with curriculum in their classrooms (see appendix for curriculum example). The goal was for students to be able to develop a wind break recommendation for a new home on a designated plot of land. Students were broken into groups and rotated through several different sessions: soil erosion, pollinators, wildlife, garden beds, an arboretum tour, and windbreak designs.
- 5 schools attended - Over 70 students attended
- In 2024, the first Biology Day was a three-hour field trip that reinforced ecosystem topics they learned in the classroom (see attached). The class was split into groups and rotated through stations to learn about soils, the Northeast Arboretum, trees in the ecosystem, and pollinators.
- Physical Science Day
- In 2024, a high school physical science class visited the Haskell Ag Lab to explore rocketry. The Heartland Organization of Rocketry (T.H.O.R.) provided a learning experience, where the students learned some model rocket basics. Students then designed, built, and launched their own rockets. These visits are generally initiated by a teacher asking to bring their class to Haskell.
- 1 school attended- Approximately 15 students
- In 2024, a high school physical science class visited the Haskell Ag Lab to explore rocketry. The Heartland Organization of Rocketry (T.H.O.R.) provided a learning experience, where the students learned some model rocket basics. Students then designed, built, and launched their own rockets. These visits are generally initiated by a teacher asking to bring their class to Haskell.
- Tree-rific Trees
- 2025 was the first year Haskell hosted the Tree-rific Trees event for elementary school (second-fourth grade) students. This event also had standards listed for teachers to review for their classrooms after the success of the 2025 Biology Day. Topics included Arbor Day, tree identification, tree bark textures, animals living in trees, food from trees, and root systems.
- 2 schools registered – Approximately 70 students attended
- 2025 was the first year Haskell hosted the Tree-rific Trees event for elementary school (second-fourth grade) students. This event also had standards listed for teachers to review for their classrooms after the success of the 2025 Biology Day. Topics included Arbor Day, tree identification, tree bark textures, animals living in trees, food from trees, and root systems.
Teacher Testimonial:
- Meaghan Vollers, a high school science teacher at Laurel Concord Coleridge School, provided some insight about field trips to Haskell Ag Lab: "I highly recommend schools to visit Haskell Ag Lab! The staff have been incredibly helpful in planning and executing learning opportunities. The site lends itself to supporting all areas of science. I have used them to support Physical Science and Biology lessons, but plan to use them for Earth Science and Environmental Science in the future. There are also many resources available for elementary and middle school students. Haskell Ag Lab [has] countless opportunities for FFA or Agriscience students to practice and learn new skills."
FFA and Ag Students
With the help of Monty Larsen, an ALEC professor, the Haskell Ag Lab has hosted CDE Invitationals and a land judging soil pit. The success of these events has led to larger competitions and the continued expansion of support we can provide for students, creating opportunities in agricultural education for both FFA members and students in schools without FFA programs.
- CDE Invitationals
- In January of 2024, the Haskell Ag Lab hosted an agronomy invitational competition for FFA and Science students who would be participating in the upcoming District Career Development Events (CDEs). CDEs are competitive events that mirror real-world career skills and are organized by the National FFA Organization. The turnout was great! With 48 students across 8 schools competing, it was decided to add a few more events for 2025.
- In 2025, over 170 students from 15 schools competed across three competitions: agronomy, environment and natural resources (ENR), and meats judging. We had several sponsors to help cover costs. Tyson sponsored the meats judging, Junck Seeds sponsored the agronomy contest, and the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District sponsored the ENR contest.
- The next CDE Invitational will be February 12 & 13, 2026. To learn more or to sign up your teams, contact Monty Larsen at monty.larsen@unl.edu
- Land Judging Soil Pit
- The Land Judging Pit was dug in late September of 2024 as a learning opportunity for local schools to visit and videos that could be sent to others. The pit provided a way for teachers and advisors that were new to the land judging Career Development Event but wanted to engage their students in the art and science of land judging both as a classroom activity and as a possible link to future careers. Schools were able to bring students to the Haskell Ag Lab (HAL) site where the students were able to walk into the soil pit and practice slope calculations.
- In 2024, over 70 students attend the site in-person and over 900 students viewed the videos.
Soybean Summer Institute
The Nebraska Soybean Board continued its support for the 2025 Summer Soybean Institute, a hands-on, multi-day program designed to equip 20 middle and high school educators with the knowledge and resources to integrate soybeans into cross-curricular learning, highlighting their impact on science, math, economics and agriculture. Educators can choose to attend sessions at either the University of Nebraska Haskell Agricultural Laboratory in Concord or the FEWS2 Hub on East Campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. HAL will serve as a host site for 2025, and teachers will connect with some local producers, industry, education pathways, and HAL faculty and staff that have expertise in soybeans as they develop lesson plans to share the Nebraska Soybean Story.
Teacher Summit
The Northeast Nebraska Education Compact’s teacher supports committee will develop teacher opportunities in the form of teacher summits that are developed from the themes that teachers have expressed needs. The first summit in 2023 focused on technology and the opportunities available at HAL for teacher collaboration. Many student events have been developed from the discussions at the teachers’ summit.
Read about the 2023 Summit here.
Tours
Tours are generally customized by groups’ requests and interests. We have done trolley tours of the farm, including a general overview of research happening in the fields, and we’ve also done walking tours of the arboretum and orchard. If the groups haven't been to Haskell before, we have a presentation on what Haskell is and what we do before going on a trolley and arboretum tour. To schedule a group tour, contact Agnes Kurtzhals at akurtzhals2@unl.edu or 402-584-3803.
- Dixon Board of Supervisors
- CASNR Deans
- LCC Agriculture Class