Purpose/Objectives:

• Allow youth to explore the production and utilization of agronomic crops important to North Carolina.
• Give participants a greater understanding of the importance of agronomic crops to North Carolina's economy.
• Provide youth the opportunity to learn about new technologies and developments in crop production and utilization.
• Develop leadership abilities and build oral and visual communication skills through telling others what was learned about producing and using agronomic crops.

Eligibility:

Individuals or teams may compete. Each county may enter up to two participants in each age division.

• 8-10 - 4-H'er must be 8 years old before January 1 of the current year and not have reached their eleventh birthday before January 1 of the current year.
• 11-13 - 4-H'er must be eleven years old before January 1 of the current year and not have reached their thirteenth birthday before January 1 of the current year.
• 14-18 - 4-H'er must be fourteen years of age before January 1 of the current year and not reached their nineteenth birthday before January 1 of the current year. Eligibility: Individuals or teams may compete.

Presentation Ideas:

• Integrated pest management
• Rotational grazing systems
• Use of biotechnology in crop production
• Cotton utilization
• Peanut production
• Importance of crops to the animal industry
• No-till crop production
• Double cropping of wheat and soybeans
• Use of growth regulators in cotton and tobacco production
• Alternative crops for North Carolina
• Crop production and the environment

Rules/Regulations: See NC 4-H Presentation Regulations.

Resources:

• Commodity promotion groups
• Crop production information guides developed by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service and available from your county extension office
• Area growers and processors
• Local agricultural suppliers

Suggestions/Helpful Hints:

• Pick a topic that is specific and can be covered in 8-12 minutes.
• Choosing more general topics often results in too much information covered at too fast of a speed.
• Keep the talk to the point by conveying a few main messages.
• The presentation should have an introduction, where you tell the audience why the chosen topic is important to them.
• It also needs a conclusion, where you summarize into a few main points what was covered in the presentation.
• Speak directly to the audience and avoid reading from a script.
• Use an outline, posters, and demonstration materials to guide the audience through the presentation.
• Relax and have fun!
• Crop production - Presentations concerning new technologies and/or production practices will be valued over presentations that are more general in coverage.
• Crop utilization - Any discussion concerning the processing or marketing of agronomic commodities is appropriate.

Awards:

• District Winners: Medallion & Monetary awards are listed in the 4-H Awards Handbook.
• State Winner: Medallion & Monetary awards are listed in the 4-H Awards Handbook.